The worst thing that could ever happen to you is being asked to help move a couch but attending the 7th annual Old Couch Fest is likely the best thing that happened all week to the hundreds (if not thousands) who came out Saturday night. The sounds of Eric Pettit Lion, Rock Steady, Van and the Movers, and Dave Zollo bounced back and forth between the Capitol Theater (who hosts the yearly event) and the buildings all up and down the 200 block of North 3rd Street and the rest of the downtown, and there was much fun to be had. “When Old Couch (Fest) originally got started it was more Americana (music), blue grass, and it’s sort of evolved,” said Jeff Poulter, a Capitol Theater board member and volunteer who helps organize the festival every year.
“Really, we have all genres of music. And we always try to highlight local bands and bring in a regional or national (act)..
.It’s become one of Burlington’s more popular summer events.” The all-ages crowd (which even included some doggos on leashes) had plenty of good food to scarf down courtesy of Smokey Blue Bar-B-Q and Coal Haus 337 along with popcorn, candy, and Mississippi Moon monster cookie ice cream sandwiches.
The beer and booze flowed like wine; some took the opportunity to get down and dance it up, and the good vibes seemed to be infectious all throughout the crowd. Iowa band Eric Pettit Lion, who have played the festival every year since its beginning, opened the night off with their alt-country style which als.