A local Gainesville band could be playing at one of the largest annual music festivals in Tennessee this summer.
Far Away Planes, a band that describes itself as indie rock with a “dancy” feel, is currently in a contest for the chance to play the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tenn., June 7 to June 10.
Bonnaroo takes place on 700 acres in Manchester, Tenn., and includes 150 performances on more than 10 stages.
The Bonnaroo: Road to Roo contest voting began on April 2 and will end April 16. The contest includes more than 200 bands and Gainesville’s Far Away Planes is at the number 12 spot as of Thursday.
“Basically, the contest is based on votes,” said Luke Sipka, keyboard player for Far Away Planes and junior telecommunication student at UF. “They take the top 10 with the most votes, and then those 10 are submitted to the ‘Bonnaroo music panel.’ Then they pick the two bands that will actually get to play at the festival.”
Even with four days still left in the contest, the band is already seeing positive results.
“The biggest goal is always to get as many people as possible to hear your music,” Sipka said. “It’s exciting to go on the website and check the rankings every day. Seeing that we’ve been in the top 10 nationwide at one point is kind of crazy.”
For Sipka, being a part of Far Away Planes has been a positive experience unlike some past ones.
“I’ve been in other bands where people are selfish, but everybody in this band is very close, and it’s a very organic writing process,” Sipka said. “It’s nice and relaxing to be a part of something like that compared to past experiences.
In addition to Sipka, the band consists of bassist Tim Anderson, singer and guitarist John Ketcham and drummer Kevin Biegler, who all attend UF. Guitarist John Stoltz attends Santa Fe College.
The band, officially formed in February 2011, mostly plays shows in Gainesville, but hopes Bonnaroo will give the band the big stage it desires.
“I’ve been to Bonnaroo twice, and it’s like my dream show,” Sipka said. “It would be the greatest thing I’d ever do.”
For Sipka and Far Away Planes, a lot of things can come from this contest. Even if the band does not win, it has been able to generate buzz and get new people listening. According to Sipka, the band members have also been able to talk to other musicians around the country because of the contest.
“We at least get to say we tried and put ourselves out there instead of sitting at home and just wishing someone would come knocking on our door,” Sipka said. “Hopefully more fans will come of this and it will create a more loyal following. If we win, everyone will be able to feel like they contributed and that’d be cool to share something like that with the fans. It’s just about increasing our voice.”
