Houston Press BestFest, Coming Up (And Voting’s Now Underway)

Meant to post something about this earlier on, but hell, the {Houston Press} was doing a good enough job of covering/promoting it that there didn’t seem much point, y’know?

Still, though, it seems like it’s definitely worth mentioning that the Press will be throwing their first-ever BestFest, especially since the news that’s come out about it has been pretty great so far. The festival’s being billed as a “music, arts, & food festival,” showcasing the absolute best of H-town as oh-so-scientifically determined by you, the citizenry of our sweaty city.

The fest’s scheduled for the end of next month, Septemer 24th & 25th, and it’s being held at the Midtown Superblock at Travis & Main in downtown — no clue why it’s a “superblock,” honestly, but that’s apparently what it’s called. There’ll be tons of food, lots of neat artsy stuff, and obviously, quite a bit of music, from Houston and elsewhere.

On the bill so far are big-namers Cake (against whom I still hold a grudge for “The Distance,” which I hated immediately, but I’m warming to their latest, Showroom of Compassion), oddball rockers Deer Tick (who are practically honorary Houstonians anyway), hip-hop icon {Bun B}, cool, cool, primed-for-the-big-leagues country-tinged indie-rockers {Buxton}, psych-soul explosion {The Tontons}, and — most recently — beloved rapper {Chamillionaire}. There’s more to be added to the lineup, the Press folks say, so keep an eye on the Rocks Off blog…

Now, the whole thing’s pretty much a prelude to this year’s actual Best of Houston Awards, the voting (online, that is) for which is open ’til September 14th. The “Best of Houston 2011” issue of the Press will be out September 29th, so keep an eye out for that, too, to see who the winners are.

(FYI, no, I’m not angling for votes for SCR to win again this year; I don’t even know if we’re on the ballot — haven’t cast my votes yet. I just think the festival & awards are pretty damn neat.)