BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – The Schaeffer Eye Center CityFest will be held on Saturday, August 1 at Railroad Park and feature a phenomenal music lineup including the Grammy Award winning hip hop band, The Roots. Opening for The Roots will be hip hop artist, artist and poet, Common. Additionally, local favorite Taylor Hicks will return to perform that evening.
The Roots are an American hip hop/neo soul band, formed in 1987 by Tariq "Black Thought" Trotter and Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. The Roots are known for a jazzy and eclectic approach to hip-hop featuring live musical instruments. Malik B., Leonard "Hub", and Josh Abrams were added to the band (formerly named "The Square Roots").
The new addition in 2015 is Common who recently won both the 2015 Golden Globe Award and 2015 Academy Award for Best Original Song for “Glory” in the 2014 film Selma.
Taylor Reuben Hicks is an American singer who won the fifth season of American Idol. Hicks got his start as a professional musician in his late teens and performed around the Southeastern United States. From the start, Hicks’ material on the mega-hit show set him apart, with a unique take on Southern soul, R & B, country and blues. Sixty-four million votes were cast and nearly 37 million American viewers and more than 200 million viewers worldwide tuned in to crown Hicks the Season 5 winner of AMERICAN IDOL, making it one of the most-watched TV events of the last decade.
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The festival is working with area attractions to provide activities for children of all ages. Participants will include Birmingham Zoo, McWane Center, Birmingham’s Museum of Art and more.
Birmingham is nationally recognized as a city of “foodies,” and has fostered an incredible amount of talent and entrepreneurs in the food industry. Schaeffer Eye Center CityFest will highlight our food culture by inviting out the Birmingham Food Truck Coalition and other local vendors.
AlaBev, founded in 1907 in Birmingham, AL, is the largest craft beer distributor in Alabama delivering beer throughout the state. Their products include domestic beer, domestic craft & specialty beer, imported beer, organic beer, draught beer, flavored malt beverages & coolers, cider, wine, alcohol free beverages, as well as specialty foods. AlaBev's Beer Garden, a craft beer tent at Schaeffer Eye Center CityFest, will feature brews from Coors Light, Corona, Abita, Lagunitas, Oskar Blues and more.
Address: 1600 1st Ave S, Birmingham, AL 35233
Hours: Open today · 7:00 am – 11:00 pm
Phone: (205) 521-9933
The festival will return to award winning Railroad Park, making use of this large green space in the heart of Birmingham’s revitalization. Tethered balloon rides will be offered for a minimal charge, allowing participants to see the park and surrounding area from a bird’s eye view. One hundred percent of proceeds for this activity will be donated to Camp Smile-A-Mile.