St. Louis Secret Sound Festival

The Cherokee District renaissance continues at a breathtaking pace, and now, with the St. Louis Secret Sound Festival, it has the diverse soundtrack it deserves. Spread across two days and six venues, the event features over twenty bands and is an indie-rock-crate-digger's dream. Performers scheduled include the obscure, heavy noise band Catacombz; Daytrotter piano-pop alum Idiot Glee; trippy, electronic futzer Birthdays (a.k.a. Sam Yager); and guitar-loop-and-drone experimenter Thankful Tree (a.k.a. Mario Martinez). A generous slice of the St. Louis indie scene is represented — from Theodore and Flaming Death Trap to Spelling Bee and Union Tree Review — as well as hip-hop from Scripts 'N Screws and Black Spade. (The latter is playing an after-party at 2720 Cherokee.) Yes, this festival is ambitious and all over the map; heck, we didn't even get to the visual artists. But what else would you expect from the urban pioneers making St. Louis a cooler place to live — one good rock show at a time?