Sponsored By
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Sioux Falls hip-hop artists Soulcrate Music will perform live for the first time in seven years at this year’s That Sounds Decent concert.
The June 28 show also marks a change in venue to the Levitt stage in downtown Sioux Falls as part of the organization’s summer series of 50 free concerts.
ADVERTISEMENT
The lineup also will feature Hot Freaks, Juke the Tiger, Thought Patrol, Elsa Rae and Mr. Wobbles. Music runs from 3 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Soulcrate Frontman Wes Eisenhauer said the group has hosted That Sounds Decent for over a decade, typically in the parking lot of Eighth Street and Railroad in downtown Sioux Falls. But this year, for the 12th edition, they’re partnering with the Levitt to bring the festival to a larger stage.
“This is the first year that we’re collaborating with the Levitt to use their infrastructure, stage and platform to throw the festival there,” said Eisenhauer. “We thought it was appropriate for Soulcrate to kind of come out of hibernation for a while and headline this festival.”
Soulcrate is a musical collaboration between Eisenhauer, his brother Dan and Corey Gerlach. They started playing in Sioux Falls coffee shops for friends in the early 2000s, eventually touring the country as a self-contained music operation and business.
The do-it-yourself ethos was a fundamental element of the band’s success and has served the members well in their post-music life. Wes Eisenhauer developed his love of photography out of necessity, taking pictures for the band. Today, he’s a well-known professional photographer working for local and national clients.
This marks Soulcrate’s first performance since 2018.
Rose Ann Hofland, the vice president of programming at the Levitt, said that they have worked with Soulcrate Music before, when they collaborated in 2022 with the Smithsonian Institution and USA Skateboarding for the Innoskate Festival, a skateboarding festival.
ADVERTISEMENT
This year, Soulcrate approached the Levitt team to ask if they would want to partner for That Sounds Decent, and they said yes.
“I love that [the] That Sounds Decent Festival has a real key to the pulse of the music scene, locally, and they’ve been lifting up local and regional artists with local ties for a decade,” Hofland said. “To be able to feature those up-and-coming bands and those bands that they have collaborated with in other capacities is really neat.”
Eisenhauer said supporting the local arts is important to ensure that it continues.
“If it’s not us here doing it, if it’s not people creating here in Sioux Falls, then who?” Eisenhauer said. “It’s really important to us to always expose our town to all the fantastic music that is here and make sure that people come out and see it, and it’s free.”
Hot Freaks, an indie-pop Minneapolis-based band, is one of the supporting artists for the event. They performed in That Sounds Decent in 2023 and in Sioux Falls multiple times.
Sarah Alfano, the bassist in the band, is looking forward to playing as well, along with the lead singer of Hot Freaks, Leo Vondracek.
“I’m excited, it’ll be peak summertime and at this outdoor venue, there was a lot of people for us last time,” Vondracek said. “I think it will be fun.”
ADVERTISEMENT
“I’m just excited to get everyone back together because it’s been since December [since we’ve played a show,]” Alfano added.
Vondracek said that they may perform a new song at the venue as well.
The event will also have food vendors and activities for all ages. There will even be a ‘special demonstration’ from the American Jump Rope Federation.
“I hope people come out,” said Eisenhauer. “I’m really excited about this collaboration with the Levitt.”
Concerts start for the Levitt on Friday with Divinity Roxx, a two-time GRAMMY-nominated bassist and performer. Concerts are scheduled each Thursday, Friday and Saturday through Aug. 30.
For more information about upcoming concerts and the That Sounds Decent festival, visit levittsiouxfalls.org.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT