Getting Out! by the Standard-Examiner – GO! is a weekly publication serving the Top of Utah.

It's time for the third annual three-day music festival with Ogden's name on it. This year, it will be in a new location, and will also include an instrument contest for the first time.

The nonprofit Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music is presenting the Ogden Music Festival, with talent this year including Junior Brown, the Clumsy Lovers, and Corky Siegel & The Chamber Blues Band.

Due to high water, the show, previously held at Ogden's Fort Buenaventura, will be moved this year to the drier ground of North Fork Park in Liberty.

"The snowpack is just too volatile, said Michelle Tanner, festival founder/operator. "It has been such a wet spring, too. This move makes a lot of sense."

Champs

The Utah State Instrument Championships comes to the festival this year, with the contest preceding the festival performers each day. The contest does not affect the number of artists or the amount of music presented, Tanner said.

"These championships have been going on about 15 years at different locations, most recently at Snowbird," said Tanner. "We thought it would fit nicely."

The contest includes both novice and advanced contests on various traditional instruments, including banjo, mandolin and fiddle.

Music and honors

Tanner worked to make this year's lineup contain something for everyone.

"The lineup is still a little over half bluegrass, but there is a lot of other stuff. We have Corky Siegel with his chamber blues and then Anna Wilson, who is essentially a jazz singer. But then Kenny and Amanda Smith are the real deal, very traditional music. Amanda has a beautiful singing voice."

The Clumsy Lovers, out of Toronto, will close things out both Saturday and Sunday.

"They are very high-energy," Tanner said. "I saw them at the Gallivan (Center in Salt Lake City) last summer, and everyone from the 2-year-olds to 75-year-olds were dancing. That is why we put them at the close of Saturday and Sunday, to let everyone get up and dance."

The annual Don Baker Award, named for the late journalist/music store owner/musician, goes this year to Richie and Roby Kap. The award goes each year to someone who has influenced music in Ogden and Northern Utah.

As the Kap Brothers Band, the brothers have been playing for 40-plus years. In that time, they have also mentored many area musicians. Radio personality and musician Bad Brad Wheeler will present the award.

"With them, it is not about the money, it is bringing out the music for a really good time," Tanner said of the Kaps. "And they learned their mentoring ways from Don Baker himself, who Brad Wheeler calls the musician's best friend. We thought they would be perfect ones to honor."