Conmoto festival is back. Did you just say, “What’s that?” Conmoto Art and Music Festival Friday and Saturday in downtown Jacksonville

The Conmoto Art and Music Festival is back.

Some of you may ask: “Was it ever here?”

Yes, it was. It’s been around for 15 years but used to be called the Conmoto Trench Festival. In fact, the festival this weekend is the 10th of its kind.

The music starts at the Florida Theatre Friday and continues from 7 p.m. to midnight (or later) Saturday at multiple downtown venues, where dozens of local artists will have their works on display.

Friday night’s show features the funk/blues band kLoB, indie rockers Shangrala, electro-rock from Lazerstar and Rob Roy, a rapper/singer getting national attention. Roy recently played during the CMJ Music Marathon in New York.

Some of you may also ask: “What the heck does 'conmoto’ mean?” In classical musical terms, “con moto” means to play with movement.

Back in 1994, local music enthusiast Jon Bosworth took the space out of “con moto” and organized the first Conmoto festival. The most recent was in 2006.

It was put on hold back in the late ’90s, when Bosworth started a family, and the Jacksonville music scene was lacking in a few of the other non-festival years, Bosworth said.

“There’s an ebb and a flow to the music scene in Jacksonville,” he said. “I’ve always focused it on when there’s a lot of great bands and a good feeling all around.”

This year, the time is right. And it’s not just the name that’s changed.

For the first time, hip-hop acts are on the schedule. They’ve been added to a lineup featuring mostly indie rock, punk and singer/songwriters.

And shedding some of the underground vibe, a family-friendly stage with free shows at the Burrito Gallery on Adams Street has also been added.

A testament to the enthusiasm flowing through the Jacksonville music scene, none of the bands has “asked for a dime,” Bosworth said.

“Every band donates their performance for the cause,” Bosworth said, referring to proceeds benefitting HabiJax, Americans for the Arts, and the Got Your Back Movement.

Mellow Mushroom and other businesses have stepped in to help this time, and Bosworth envisions Conmoto growing in the coming years. Eventually, he hopes it will be an event like AthFest in Athens, Ga., which draws crowds from cities around the Southeast.

He sounds decidedly optimistic, and said he’s also been talking with local promoter Tim Hall about possibly creating Jacksonville Music Awards to coincide with Conmoto.

Members of Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and Black Kids, who have far surpassed the local level, have played at previous Conmoto festivals, he said.

So folks who head out to the festival this weekend could have a story to tell later on. It might start with: “I saw them when …”
IF YOU GO: CONMOTO ART & MUSIC FESTIVAL

All access both days, $20; opening night only, $10; all venues Saturday (except parties), $10; single venue Saturday, $5; free shows at Burrito Gallery. This schedule is subject to change. For more information, visit www.conmotofest.com.


TONIGHT (FRIDAY)

Florida Theatre, 128 E. Forsyth St.
7 p.m. to midnight: kLoB, Shangrala, Lazerstar and Rob Roy.

SATURDAY
Burrito Gallery, 21 E. Adams St.
7 p.m. Jameyal
7:45 p.m. Strange Fires
8:30 p.m. Fountain
9:15 p.m. AC Deathstrike
10 p.m. Manatella
10:45 p.m. Thumbnail Sketch
11:30 p.m. Rusholme Ruffians
12:15 a.m. Airport Factory

TSI, 333 E. Bay St.
7 p.m. Business Casualties
7:45 p.m. Single White Herpe
8:30 p.m. Sephiroth Chorus
9:15 p.m. Rich and Mindy
10 p.m. Crash the Satellites
10:45 p.m. Lazerstar
11:30 p.m. After the Bomb, Baby

The Sinclair, 521 W. Forsyth St.
7 p.m. Scared Rabbits
7:45 p.m. When Tides Collide
8:30 p.m. Eugene
9:15 p.m. Tuffy
10 p.m. Rails
10:45 p.m. Pine and Bone
11:30 p.m. Lackawanna Carriage Works

Cafe 331, 331 W. Forsyth St.,
10 p.m. Hip-Hop Hell with Mas Appeal, Al Pete and Daryl.

Dive Bar, 331 E. Bay St.
7 p.m. I Hope You’re a Doctor
7:45 p.m. Pilar A revalo
8:30 p.m. East China Sea
9:15 p.m. The Heyday
10 p.m. Christina Wagner

London Bridge, 100 E. Adams St.
7 p.m. Grabbag
7:45 p.m. National Dairy
8:30 p.m. Locust Grove
9:15 p.m. Dig Dog
10 p.m. Chicken and Whisky
10:45 p.m. X Sister Z
11:30 p.m. Status Faux
12:15 a.m. Skatterbrain