Second Annual “Revel For a Cause” concert event returns to Greenfield
By: Kevin Vickery
On August 10th, Depot Street Park, located in downtown Greenfield hosted their second annual concert event, “Revel For a Cause” drawing over 1000 attendees and raising over $9,000 for local charities; Meals on Wheels of Hancock County,
Talitha Koum Women’s Recovery House, and The Landing.
Like last year, the all-ages event featured food and drink from local vendors, children’s activities during the earlier part of the evening, a jeep show & contest, and live music from three great bands.
First on the bill was, “Mercury’s Muse” featuring Kaitlyn Rene, Josh Phipps, Darren Smallwood, and Scott Stackhouse returning for their second Revel For a Cause appearance. The energetic band based out of Tipton, IN says, “There is something about live music in the way it unifies people, the energy is tangible, and we are glad to be in the thick of it.”
Next up was Hero Junior from Indianapolis featuring Evan Haughey, David DuBrava, and Ryan Keyes. Their crunchy, guitar riff driven, and hard rock vocal style reminds me of some of the great 80’s metal bands like Skid Row and Guns & Roses.
The night closed out with the return of The Native Howl from Detroit, MI whose “thrash-grass” sound is what drew me to this event in the first place. Mixing bluegrass music and heavy rock holds a special place in my heart as that’s what my own band has been doing for nearly 20 years. These guys do it as well as anyone I’ve ever heard and their songs like “Sons of Destruction”, “Thunderhead”, and their mashup of Metallica’s, “Harvester of Sorrow”, blended with, “Man of Constant Sorrow”, made what they call, “Harvester of Sorrow” a head bobbing crowd favorite that both metal heads and bluegrass fans enjoyed this year, just as much as last time.
The band features the deep, growling vocals and acoustic guitar of frontman, Alex Holycross along with bassist, Mark Chandler and drummer, Zach Bolling. Normally, their line-up is rounded out with banjo player and backing vocalist, Jacob Sawicki but due to a scheduling conflict he was unable to perform at this year’s Revel For a Cause event. Filling his spot for the evening was the band’s long time friend and musical collaborator, Erin Zindle, of Erin Zindle and The Ragbirds who integrated her amazing fiddle work into The Native Howl set.
I asked Erin how her collaboration with The Native Howl had come to fruition and she told me, “In 2019 Alex (Holycross) and I started writing songs together and we launched a duo project which performed a few shows during the pandemic years when both of our bands were sidelined. We plan to record and release some of those duo songs soon. Over the years I’ve sat in with the band as a guest artist a number of times and there have been a few shows where I’ve filled in a bigger role when Jake (the banjo player) wasn’t able to make it.”
She added, “I’m going to be playing with the band (as a sub for Jake) again in September when they go on tour with GWAR and I’m looking forward to it! I had a blast at Revel for a Cause – it was definitely a memorable experience for me!”
On the events continued success, Event Coordinator, Keely Butrum said, “I would call Revel For a Cause a great success again in year two. All thanks are due to the sponsors, attendees, and Jeep owners that funded an amazing free community event of live original music and free entertainment for kids. It truly could not be done without them. It takes a village to put on Revel For a Cause, and I am just extremely grateful to everyone who contributed.”
I’d add that if you’ve not been to an event at Depot Street Park in Greenfield, you should. It’s a gem of a local, outdoor venue and a great place to see a show on a warm Summer, Indiana evening.
For more information about Revel For a Cause, you can find them on Facebook.
To keep up with The Native Howl’s tour schedule, hear their music or purchase their merchandise, visit their official website at the thenativehowl.com.
Erin Zindle and the Ragbirds can be found on all social media outlets or on their official website at theragbirds.com
You can follow Hero Jr. on their Facebook page or get even more information on their official website at herojrmusic.com
You can also find Mercury’s Muse on social media or visit their website at mercurysmusemusic.com
For information about future events at Depot Street Park go to parksingreenfield.com or visit their Facebook page.
Make Some Noise 