Birthplace of Route 66 Festival organizers Aaron Sachs & Associates, Ozarks on Two Wheels, KY3/KSPR, the City of Springfield and West Central Neighborhood Alliance announced the lineup for the Aug. 14-15 festival at a press conference held March 3 at the Discovery Center. Car registration is open at route66festivalsgf.com.
The festival, which drew 65,000 last year, features an all-free musical lineup that includes live music acts on the KY3/KSPR stage in Park Central Square and local and regional favorites on the Aaron Sachs Stage just south of Jefferson Avenue and Park Central East. The headliners for the 2020 festival are Sixwire, featuring former lead singer of Kansas John Elefante and a former lead singer of Journey, Steve Augeri.
Other confirmed entertainment for 2020 include:
- Sequel Dose
- Mark Chapman Band
- The Rosy Hips
- 7D Funk
- Machine Gun Symphony
- The Dirty Saints.
New to the festival this year is the Great Route 66 Talent Search. All ages and genres are welcome. Artists will perform live for a panel of judges with talent industry experience who will determine whether the artists will advance to the next levels of competition. Semifinalists will be invited to perform on the Park Central Square Stage, where 10 finalists will be named. Those 10 finalists will be winnowed down to one grand prize winner.
Stay tuned to the festival’s social media and route66festivalsgf.com as more details become available about this fun new addition to the festival.
Returning to the festival this year is the Mother Roadster Foundation raffle benefiting Shriners Hospitals for Children. The 2020 Mother Roadster is a brand-new 1932 Ford Roadster, also known as “The Fezster,” and is named for all of the Shriners who have worn the iconic red cap and do so much to help the children at Shriners Children’s Hospital. This roadster, custom-built by Show Me Rod and Custom and Curry’s Hot Rod will be the third car given away by the Mother Roadster Foundation at the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival.
The 2018 and 2019 raffles made it possible for the foundation to donate more than $70,000 to Shriners Hospitals.
Tickets can be purchased online at MotherRoadsterFoundation.com. The winner will be drawn Saturday, Aug. 15 after the car show awards on the Sachs stage. Ticket holders do not have to be present at the festival to win. Every ticket purchased contributes to the many thousands of dollars raised to benefit Shriners Hospitals.
Mother Roadster Foundation board members include Rick Hughlett, Rick’s Automotive; Jack Stinson, Stinson Building Company; Bill Hobbs, Kwik Kar Tire Pros; Kirk Wheeler, Wheeler Work Trucks; Larry Krauck, KOLR-TV/KOZL-TV; Terry Parrish, Abou Ben Adhem Shrine Temple; Dennis Hobbs; and Mike Edwards, a member of the Springfield-based Shriners Hospital Dads, who transport local children and their families from the Ozarks to Shriners Hospitals for treatment.
Also back this this year are the Authors, Artists, Collectors & Associations expo at The Old Glass Place, Vendor Village, the Birthplace of Route 66 Festival Parade and the 6.6K Run/3.3K Walk. Motorcycle Village on the east side of the festival footprint will again be in full swing with live music, demos, stunt shows, the Globe of Steel, Pogo Fred, the Gypsy Tour Poker Run and other motorcycle-geared entertainment and vendors.
Vendors interested in participating in this year’s festival should contact Tom Mast at masterfuleventsMO@gmail.com.