Double Decker Arts Festival is here

Published 10:12 am Friday, April 26, 2024

Oxford’s annual Double Decker Arts Festival, a renowned celebration of food, music and the arts, kicks off tonight at 6 p.m. with three musical acts on the North Lamar stage.

The red double-decker bus, imported from England in 1994, serves as the inspiration and centerpiece of the two-day extravaganza held in the historic downtown square.

With more than 25 awards, including the 2023 Best Large Festival by the Mississippi Tourism Association, Best Festival by Mississippi Magazine and a Top 20 event by the Southeast Tourism Society, Double Decker brings more than 75,000 attendees for a weekend celebrating food, music and the arts.

Highlights of this year’s event include:

A Southern showcase – from tempting tasty bites to inspiring one-of-a-kind art: The festival preserves its original charm while expanding, offering diverse Southern culinary delights and more than 140 art vendor booths. The artist showcase is open on Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., with a preview by the Oxford Artist Guild on Friday in the Boles Wiley Alley on the Square.

Kid Zone and Blues Alley: On Saturday, April 27, The Kid Zone will be in the Lafayette County Chancery Building parking lot from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. For $20, kids get unlimited playtime on several rides and bouncehouses. The Blue Delta Jeans Company will host the “Blue Delta Blues Alley” beside The Lyric from 12:00 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Music Lineup: The music kicks off on Friday, April 26 at 6 p.m. with Grace Bowers, followed by Conner Smith and Flatland Calvary. On Saturday, local blues legend Kenny Brown starts the day at 10:00 a.m., leading to a diverse lineup featuring Billy Allen + The Pollies, Jaime Wyatt, Bass Drum of Death, Charlie Mars, Neal Francis, Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, and the final performance by Alabama native Brittany Howard.

Friday, April 26, 2024:

6 p.m. – Grace Bowers

7:30 p.m. – Conner Smith

9 p.m. – Flatland Cavalry

Saturday, April 27, 2024:

10 a.m. – Kenny Brown

11:30 a.m. – Billy Allen + The Pollies

1  p.m. – Jaime Wyatt

2:30 p.m. – Bass Drum of Death

4 p.m. – Charlie Mars

5:30 p.m. – Neal Francis

7 p.m. – Christone “Kingfish” Ingram

8:30 p.m. – Brittany Howard

Mobile App: The festival will have a mobile app available in March 2024 that will include all relevant festival information, an interactive map and musical performers schedules. Users will be able to customize their preferred schedule, look up art vendor booth numbers and get real-time updates from organizers. Once available, the app will be free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play.

The festival’s 2024 Presenting Sponsor is The University of Mississippi Museum gifted to them by Ole Miss Athletics. Nicholas Air is the stage sponsor and premier sponsors include Specialty Orthopedic Group, NE Sparc and Hybrid.

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