For the second year in a row, Houston’s beloved jammers Moses Guest will host Guest Fest II, a full day of music celebrating the city’s many talented bands. Guest Fest II will take place on Saturday, May 16, with all night performances split between the larger Continental Club space and the adjoining Big Top Lounge.
“It made sense to do it at the Continental Club,” says Graham Guest, singer/guitarist for the band and one of its original four members. He recalls the Continental Club as one of their strongholds during Moses Guest’s busiest years.
The event will feature performances by a diverse range of acts including the country rock trio Pecos Jane, the intense duo Saint Judas & The Black Hymns, Ruckus, reggae band DEM Roots and blues artists The Mighty Orq and Nathan Quick. The evening will conclude with performances by Moses Guest, Irish rockers The Blaggards and Houston’s funniest band around, Swimwear Department.
Guest credits the band’s bass player, Jeremy Horton and Alyx Birdwell of Diverse Musicworks, with firsthand involvement in selecting the bands and shaping the vision for the entire evening.
“It’s an opportunity to bring a lot of music together and a celebration of Houston music around us as an older Houston band,” says Guest.
Diverse Musicworks is a local agency that helps artists with a wide array of tasks like booking, production, management and more. The group organized this year’s Guest Fest and has put on many events and music festivals around town.
“We just try to be one big community so that’s how we are approaching Guest Fest,” says Birdwell. “We want to bring awareness to the Houston people that have strong roots or are up and coming and just highlight them and have that vibe sprinkle out. The common thread I’m seeing with this lineup is these people are really nice and their music is rocking.”
Last year’s event was a hit and filled the room at Dan Electro’s, a venue deeply tied to Moses Guest’s history. “I just remember those days at Dan Electro’s back in the late ‘90s with Teri Greene’s blues jam and he basically gave everybody this enormous chance and that’s where I met everybody,” says Guest.
“I don’t think a lot of people realize what a good place Houston is to cut your teeth in music,” says Guest, who has been playing with his band for the last 30 years.
Organizers hope to continue the event hosting new bands each year at different venues around the city that are important to the band’s history and development and possibly expanding beyond Houston at some point.
“Our fondest and craziest memories of the apex of all of our time in Houston is at Continental Club,” recalls Guest. “A couple of times we sold it out and we were so jacked. It’s just going to be great to be back at home.”
When asked what his favorite memory of last year was, Guest describes not only having a sold-out event but all of the positive energy in the room.
“When we don’t play for months we kind of forget the feedback of love we get from the Houston crowd,” says Guest, who currently lives in Durango, Colorado making Moses Guest gigs a somewhat rare event.
“And when we hear our song lyrics coming back to us it just completely flips a switch and it happened a lot at Guest Fest I. It just feels like the circuit that gets going between the crowd, the band and the music, it all just becomes really transcendent. There were some good, long transcendent moments at Guest Fest I and I’m hoping for more at Guest Fest II.”
Guest Fest II will take place on Saturday, May 16, 6 p.m. at The Continental Club, 3700 Main. For more information visit continentalclub.com
