Great Falls Flopeye Fish Festival opens Friday with two days of music and fun

Two days of live music, frolic, food and fun is ready to go once again for The Flopeye Fish Festival, Great Falls’ annual salute to veterans combined with a community wide homecoming event on Friday and Saturday.

No flopeye fish will be harmed; they simply don’t exist. The event title relates to a misunderstood reference. However, the name stuck and was popular enough to be attached to what is now the 34th edition of the event filled with arts, crafts, food, a 5K run, a car show, street dance, live concerts, fireworks plus plenty of Southern hospitality. The down home feel is real, making this an all-ages family-friendly event and Chester County’s longest running festival.

It opens to the public at 3 p.m. on Friday. Then listen for the hard rocking sounds of local favorites Khaos Kings at 5 p.m. Based in the area, the band spotlights in-your-face, guitar-driven hard rock from the 80s-90s delivered by Bryan Dover, lead vocals; Chad Hare, lead/rhythm guitar; Robert Baker, bass/backing vocals and Sam Kennington, drums/backing vocals. Together they are dedicated to making sure hard rock/hair metal lives on by covering the best of that era.

Khaos Kings front man Bryan Dover says the band is ready to rock. “We are extremely excited to play the festival,” he said. “We look forward to the atmosphere, and we’ve put together our song list with lots of crowd-friendly, have-a-good-time-style.”

“It’s a family-friendly gathering and we are putting that at the forefront,” Dover said.” We’re also looking forward to the outside stage environment. It gives us and the crowd a chance to open up a little more,” adding, “We’re going to give Flopeye a great show with music perfect for good times with friends!”

On Saturday, the festival opens at 9 a.m. The schedule includes: Color and Welcome at 9:30 a.m.; followed by Ruthie’s Rockers; Show Tyme Band, 10:30 a.m; veterans appreciation and ​meet the Congressional District 5 candidates, noon ; Sustaining Point Band, 1 p.m. and Confederate Railroad, 3 p.m.

Honky-tonk rockers Confederate Railroad bring a high-energy combination that also features ballads and offbeat humor. With five million albums sold, a few of their hits include: “Queen of Memphis,” “Trashy Women,” and “Daddy Never Was The Cadillac Kind.” They picked up an Academy of Country Music’s Best New Group award in 1993 plus a Grammy nomination, along with other nominations from the Country Music Association and the British Country Music Foundation.

Confederate Railroad features Danny Shirley, lead vocals; Mark Dufresne, drums; Wayne Secrest, bass; Rusty Hendrix, lead guitar and Bobby Randall, steel guitar/fiddle/vocals. Performing is just as much fun for them as it is for their audience to watch them. So, expect to see the band stay around to meet fans, give autographs, and pose for photos.

Family fun for everyone with free parking and free admission. Donate a toy for either a girl or a boy to support the stocking fund. Bring your lawn chair to sit under the tent to enjoy all the fun Friday and Saturday at The Flopeye Fish Festival, 2534 James Baker Blvd. Details: 803-209-4267 or flopeyefishfestival.com. For more on the music, check Facebook.com/khaoskingsSC; and confederaterailroad.com.

Coming up

Friday: House of Pain at Empire Pizza-Newport, Rock Hill; Joseph Gallo at Songwriter Showcase/Open Mic hosted by Michael Wayne Avery at Ledo Pizza, Rock Hill; Eddy’s Song Luke’s Sports Bar & Grill, Rock Hill; Chase Killough at McHale’s On Main, Rock Hill; The Shay at Sandbar Grill, Rock Hill; Gigi Band at The Lodge-Ballantyne, Charlotte.

Saturday: Foraker Harbison at The Pump House, Rock Hill; Heads Up Penny at Hickory Tavern, Rock Hill; Kartown at Sandbar Grill, Rock Hill; Troll Dolls at Ledo Pizza, Rock Hill; Sticks & Stones at Hartland’s, Rock Hill; Shannon Lee at Original Empire Pizza, Rock Hill; Static Pool at T-Bones on the Lake, Lake Wylie; Whit’s End at Revolution’s at the Galleria, Rock Hill; Catawba River Monster at 21 Roadhouse, Fort Lawn; Parker & Company at Back Porch, Chester; Little Johnny Trailer Trash Acoustic at Hobo’s, Fort Mill; The Oneppo Brothers Band at John’s Place Fort Mill; Jamie King& Doug Thompson at Olio’s, Gastonia; Vadim Kolpakov at The Lodge-Ballantyne, Charlotte; Bellavida at Wild Wing Café-Ayrsley, S. Charlotte; Spiral Eyes at Eaglespeak Coffee House & Bar, Charlotte.

Sunday: David Williams at Handle Bar Tavern, Catawba; Cadence Duo at T-Bones on the Lake, Lake Wylie; Dover & The Big Love at Olio’s, Gastonia; Acoustic Saints at Handle Bar Tavern, Catawba; Moses Jones Band at T-Bones on the Lake, Lake Wylie; David Williams at 21 Roadhouse, Fort Lawn; Sticks & Stones at Madison’s on The Corner, Tega Cay/ Fort Mill; Analog Daze at Beef ‘O’ Brady’s, Fort Mill; Jim Tierney at Brew’s Tavern, Fort Mill; Josh Burch at Dreamchaser’s Brewery, Waxhaw; Jeff Shows at Pineville Tavern, Pineville; Spaceship Days at Wild Wing Café-Ayrsley, Charlotte.

This story was originally published May 25, 2017 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Great Falls Flopeye Fish Festival opens Friday with two days of music and fun."