A second Saturday in the Carbon Corridor can mean only one thing, a new rendition of Helper Saturday Vibes on Saturday, Sept. 14. To celebrate, Castle Country Radio sat down with lead singer Erika Sehestedt and lead guitarist Eric Sopanen from Bad Frances as well as Joelle Amaya to talk about all things vibes.
Bad Frances spoke first, with Sehestedt explaining what style of music attendees should expect. “ I love to talk about Bad Francis as a journey through the decades. We focus mostly on the 70s. We love classic rock, and being a female singer, I love celebrating other female artists, past and present.”
When asked about who her favorite artist to cover is, Sehestedt responded,” That’s always a really tough question. Covering female artists it’s like, how can you have a favorite? A big one for me is Janis Joplin. I joke on stage and say that she’s my spirit animal.”
We then shifted the Sopanen, asking what his favorite era to play is,” One of my favorite things about this band is the variety that I get to play. We get into not just rock, but we get into country and touch a little bit on the jazzy side and some blues and just whatever. And the styles of the different decades also vary in the guitar playing. The guitar approach from the ’60s varies as opposed to the ’90s, I get to stretch out. It’s not just focused on one particular style. I just love that.”
Sehestedt also touched on her local roots,” I went to high school down in Emery County, I have family down there. So one of my favorite things is I get quite the crowd of my family and friends showing up. They don’t always get to come up north and see our shows, so that’s my favorite part about it.”
Sopanen and Sehestedt shared why they think people should come and see them at Helper Vibes,” Every time we play there, it’s magical because it seems like the whole town shows up. It’s just such a fun time that, you know, don’t miss it. It’s just amazing.”
Bad Frances will be the event’s closing band, with the Bombshell Flowers providing the opening entertainment.
Amaya then delved into the details of vendors and activities for Saturday, starting with this week’s margarita,” This week’s margarita, I’m calling it the watermelon wrecking ball margarita. We’re going to use some fresh watermelon and it’s fun.” The watermelon for these margaritas will be locally sourced from Green River.
Moving onto the kids’ activities, Amaya explained,” We’re going to be doing some pressed salt dough discs. I believe we’re going to have some dinosaurs and some things that are going to be area-oriented as well. And we’re going to be using some repurposed items to build trains. They’re super cute.”
Amaya spoke about the variety of food trucks and vendors that will be in attendance,” we have quite a few vendors this week. And even with the food trucks, there are so many food trucks. I don’t even know how to touch on them all.” Because of this, she directed interested parties to the Helper Saturday Vibes Facebook page, which provides a full rundown of vendors.
Another aspect of the event Amaya wanted to explain was the fundraiser being hosted by Helper Rush cheer,” They’re going to be having some snow cones, popcorn, cotton candy … So I’m hoping that people are going to come out and support our local youth.”
Helper Saturday Vibes will be held on Saturday, Sept. 14, starting at 5 p.m. on historic Helper Main Street. For more information, you can visit both Helper Vibes Facebook page or website.