South Star Music Fest: Tickets now on sale for Alabama’s newest music festival

South Star Music Festival will be held at John Hunt Park and will feature Gwen Stefani, blink-182, Ludacris, Goo-Goo Dolls, Shinedown and more.

Tickets are now on sale for the festival to be held Sept. 28-29.

How to find tickets

Tickets are expected to sell quickly but you can find some on secondary markets including: Vivid Seats, TicketCity | Event Ticket Center.

READ MORE: South Star lineup: New Huntsville music festival headliners Gwen Stefani, blink-182

The event will feature 20 acts across two days, according to Make Wake on AL.com. Additional acts include Jane’s Addiction, Jimmy Eat World, TLC, Juvenile, Gin Blossoms, Candlebox, Dexter and the Moonrocks, Winona Fighter, Beck, Sublime, Big Boi, Pete Yorn, Vanessa Carlton, Bully, and Billy Allen and the Pollies.

South Star is produced by C3 Presents of Austin, Texas, whose other festival productions have included Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Atlanta’s Shaky Knees and New Orleans’ Voodoo Music + Arts Experience.

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Meet Executive Music Producer Francesca Fraites: Take Risks To Succeed

Francesca and Jeremiah Fraites working in Gregory’s studio, Colorado.

The music industry is still competing for gender equality within the recording studios. Even half a century ago, it was uncommon for women to take the lead at the mixing board. Just recently, more women have been credited as executive producers.

According to a study on representation and equality in the music industry by Statista, only 3.4% of producers were female, while approximately 96.6% were male. While the share of female music producers doubled between 2018 and 2019, this trend reversed in 2020, leaving a significant gap in terms of proportionate representation.

Meet debut executive music producer Francesca Lazzarin Fraites. She took the lead on her husband’s, Jeremiah, cofounder of the Grammy-nominated band The Lumineers, second solo album Piano Piano 2. She’s trailblazing in the instrumental sector; for her, it’s about speaking up, building trust and taking risks.

“You need to show people that you feel comfortable and love what you’re doing,” Francesca states. “We are in an era where social media, streaming and all the platform numbers are very important. We acknowledge that numbers are important because playing in a sold-out venue is amazing. But to play or create for numbers, if numbers is the only purpose, I think you can feel detached from the art. It’s very important to know that when you build something, it’s not going to be perfect. One of my favorite lyrics from this Italian guy I worked for says, ‘Building means to give up this idea of perfection.’ It’s one of my favorite quotes because that applies to anything in this life.”

Francesca grew up in Italy. While studying at university, she worked in the music industry on the live events side. While touring, she met the Lumineers’ Italian promoter. He started a festival, which The Lumineers headlined. He asked Francesca if she wanted to work on it.

She and Jeremiah met and started dating. Moving to the States ten years ago became the most significant pivot of her personal and professional life; she had to build her life again from scratch.

“I had to reshape my identity as a person because everything was new,” she shares. “I had to learn a different language. I had to try to fit into this new culture. I had to study to get my driver’s license again. So, it felt like I was reborn.”

Jeremiah and Francesca Fraites virtually recording the orchestra for the Piano Piano album.

Once she passed the driving test, she began working for AEG Worldwide, a sports and live entertainment company. Since her English wasn’t up to par yet, they offered her a runner position, which meant she would assist with any of the driving needs of touring and events. Additionally, she taught Italian on the side. Once Francesca became pregnant, she took time off to raise their kids.

During that transitional moment between her two pregnancies, Francesca recorded a podcast called in giro con Fra for Lemonada media, where she told her personal story of how she managed her life between family and tour life with The Lumineers. She interviewed guests from all over the world with similar lifestyles, and in 2022, she won two awards for it: a Lovie award for Best Talk Show and a Gracie award for Best Non-English Podcast.

Meanwhile, Jeremiah worked on his first solo album, Piano Piano, during the pandemic. Francesca explains, “I came up with the title Piano Piano because the piano is the instrument, but in Italian piano piano together, it means little by little, step by step. It took ten years for Jer to collect all these ideas. And I said, ‘It’s probably the best way to describe the whole process.’”

While recording the first album, Francesca mentioned to Jeremiah that drums should be added to one of the tracks. He became a little hesitant. A week passed, and he and record producer David Baron finally added the drums to one of the songs.

“Fast forward to the second album,” Jeremiah comments. “It wasn’t even something we talked about. It was just assumed she was going to work on it. This time, it felt right to give credit where credit was due, not because she’s my wife, but because she has great creative ideas that I actually use. I always think it’s important to credit people where credit’s due. In hindsight, I wish I had bestowed that upon her on the first one because that’s what she earned and deserved. But this time, I wanted to make it official.”

As Francesca continues to evolve in her new profession, she focuses on the following essential steps:

“Everything started because we are often on the same page, not only on the music taste but also on the goal and what we wanted to communicate,” Francesca concludes. “I say to Jer, ‘When you present something to the world, you need to present yourself because it’s like a self-portrait. You need to show people that you feel comfortable and love what you’re doing.’”

Trueline Greenville breaks ground for 1,700-person capacity music venue, opening in 2025

An official groundbreaking event took place on Thursday, April 25, announcing a partnership between the upcoming Trueline Greenville entertainment venue and Clayton Construction Company of Spartanburg, which anticipates an opening and full development completion by the first quarter of 2025.

Trueline Greenville, a proposed 1,700-person capacity music and event amphitheater at 401 E. Rhett St., plans to draw pop, hip-hop, and country artists to town while also being a local artist incubator in a 30,000-square-foot space at the former location of D&B Glass. Trueline plans to curate a space that attracts large-level artists such as Lil Wayne, The Struts, and Brett Young to appear in Greenville.

Sam Blumin, chief of staff at Trueline breaks ground on the new music venue using a jackhammer in the West End in Greenville, S.C., on Thursday, April 25, 2024.

On Thursday morning, with the support of Mayor Knox White, blues musician Mac Arnold, and various other city leaders in attendance, Trueline's announcement marked the beginning of household-named artists, live music, and entertainment heading to the West End of Greenville's downtown.

"We're excited in how quickly things are developing and our timeline seems to be holding true," said Michael Grozier, CEO of Trueline Brands to The Greenville News. "I want really to thank the people who have invested in this project already. This experience has been a journey."

Grozier, a co-founder of House of Blues, has opened nearly 25 music venues and managed over 100 music and entertainment venues in the Southeast, including The Tabernacle, The Coca-Cola Roxy, and Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, as well as The Fillmore and The Underground in Charlotte, North Carolina.

"To see all of the acts that they're going to bring, the diversity of music and entertainment... that will allow us to reach new audiences and visitors to enjoy this," said Heath Dillard of VisitGreenvilleSC, a non-profit marketing organization for the city and county.

"Thank you for thinking of Greenville as this type of venue; we're excited to be partners in doing this," Dillard added.

What's Coming to the West End, 2025: How new Trueline entertainment venue will complement growing music scene in Greenville

Attendees mingle in the Trueline venue during a groundbreaking event for the new music venue in the West End in Greenville, S.C., on Thursday, April 25, 2024.

As of mid-December 2023, Trueline had gathered nearly half of their $10 million in equity financing needed, as 60% of that funding had come directly from Greenville area investors and the other portion from investors across 13 other states, according to Sam Blumin, chief of staff at Trueline.

At that time, local Greenville investors had contributed an estimated $2.5 million to the project.

According to Grozier, as of April 2024, Trueline had locally sourced $5 million in around 90 days, making their previous goal of $8 million by the end of January 2024 a success. There are currently 120 total investors in the project, 80 of which are from the Upstate area, he confirmed.

"The importance of (local funding) is that this is a regional operation," Grozier said. "The fact that the vicinity and the people of the Upstate rallied behind us and really wanted to see this club happen is so appreciative."

Development on Hold: Wyche Pavilion structural, site changes deferred by Greenville city Design Review Board

Streamers fly around Michael Grozier, founder and CEO of Trueline and co-founder of House of Blues, during a groundbreaking event for the new music venue in the West End in Greenville, S.C., on Thursday, April 25, 2024.

The upcoming venue will comprise four entertainment spaces and will double as a place for visitors to eat and hang out when concerts and shows aren't on stage. The four spaces are known as The Concert Hall, The Handlebar (John Jeter), The Clubhouse, and The Green Room—all will have separate functionality and style.

A few details about the 2025 Trueline entertainment venue project include:

Renderings of Trueline, an potential upcoming music and entertainment venue, expected to be in full operation by Spring of 2025 at 401 E. Rhett St in the West End of downtown Greenville.

Owner Mike Grozier estimates Trueline to sell 180,000 total tickets within the first year, and by 2030, that total to increase to 230,000 tickets sold. "If we do what we're supposed to do, this market will become very attractive in the live music scene," he said.

For more information visit truelinegvl.com.

– A.J. Jackson covers the food & dining scene, along with arts, entertainment and downtown culture for The Greenville News. Contact him by email at ajackson@gannett.com, and follow him on X (formally Twitter) @ajhappened. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers. Sign up today for a digital subscription.

This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Trueline to have four entertainment spaces in new West End venue

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