“Louie Louie,” the most recorded rock song in history, returns to the music forefront at LouieFest on July 28 and 29 in Tacoma, Washington. The outdoor music festival will be hosted by LeMay–America’s Car Museum (ACM) on the museum’s Haub Family Field.
The 1960’s song “Louie Louie,” written by the late Richard Berry and arranged into rock format by Tacoma’s own The Fabulous Wailers, ranks No. 55 among Rolling Stone magazine’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.”
LouieFest, established in 2003, was inspired by the song and celebrates Pacific Northwest music, arts, crafts and culture. A portion of the funds from the two-day festival go to the Wailers Performing Arts Foundation and other youth music organizations that support scholarships, music lessons and mentoring for youth music education.
“One of our goals when we built this museum was to make it an integral part of the community,” said Scot Keller, chief marketing and communications officer for ACM, which officially opened last month. “LouieFest is legendary for highlighting the region’s vibrant music scene and the museum will surely help bring the event back in style.”
LouieFest will feature 40 bands on four stages, headlined on Saturday, July 28 by Moby Grape. The event also includes food booths, a beer garden, local vendors and children’s activities.
Additionally, “The Celebration of 1,000 Guitars” grand finale on Sunday, July 29 at 5pm invites amateur and professional musicians to play “Louie Louie” with original members of The Fabulous Wailers.
LouieFest is the first of three events at ACM this summer, along with the “MEET AT THE ACE – A Summer Shakedown 2012” Vintage Motorcycle and Scooter Festival (August 24-26) and the Kirkland Concours d’Elegance (September 9). For tickets or more information on upcoming events, visit www.lemaymuseum.org.
Click on LouieFest for information on tickets and other LouieFest news.
For more information about top events in Washington State take a look at the Top Events USA selection of the annual main festivals and events in Washington