Topia Co-owners Nana Simopoulos and Caryn Heilman said that the festival will include local rock bands Camphora, Sifer, Sunday Girl and With A Vengeance, with a portion of the proceeds going toward the arts center.
All kinds of music
While the theme of the benefit may surprise many people expecting world music and jazz, Simopoulos said that the festival is part of Topia's mission to be open to all kinds of music. "We want to keep people surprised," Simopoulos said. "We're trying to keep it diverse, because we figure that Topia is not exclusive to any kind of music. We want to include all different styles and tastes, and we want to give something to the community. These bands are apparently very popular in Adams."
A similar festival, the Adams Aggressive Music Festival, was held last month at Saints Hall. Because of the success of the festival, Sifer lead singer Aimee Gelinas suggested a music festival to Simopoulos. "I thought it would be great to get younger people interested in what's happening with Topia," Gelinas said. "It will put Topia on the map for a different type of crowd, and it will get more people interested in Ad-ams."
Gelinas said that Topia is one of the only local venues in the area to allow heavy music bands to play. "We're really rooting for this kind of music in this area, and it's up to venues like Topia to not be afraid to step into the unknown," she said. "The shared problem with our scene is that a lot of venues in the area only allow bands playing hippie jazz music over and over again, and many of them don't allow local bands to play. We're really thankful to have these kinds of venues that allow us to play."
Both Simopoulos and Heilman are currently focused on the construction of the Topia Inn at 10 Pleasant St,, which is set to open in August. The 10-room inn will feature rooms designed by individual artists. "Each room will have an individual theme: a Zen room, a peacock room, some Indian and African themes," Simopoulos said. "We wanted the inn to have a nice variety, and in a sense bring in a more creative influence that's memorable. Something artistic that will uplift your spirits."
The inn will be mostly powered by renewable energy, including a 4-kilowatt solar roof power system, as well as a bio-diesel fuel for heat. "We had a limitation on the amount of power that we could get into the building, so we took that as a challenge to not only be very efficient with our energy, but also as a challenge to be environmentally responsible as well," Heil-man said. "The electric meter actually rolls back when the panel operates because it gives the energy back during peak time."
Heilman said that Cafe Topia has been closed since late May in order to prepare for a planned facade renovation, funded through the town's downtown signage and facade improvement program. She said that the renovation would give the cafe a glass facade to add visibility. However, she said that Topia is waiting for the town to give a timeline of when construction can start. "We never thought it would take so long," she said. "The town wants it to happen quickly, but they haven't set a date yet. We'll open up the cafe again after we figure out what to do about the facade."
The Berkshire Heavy Music Festival will be held on Saturday, Aug. 5 at 8 p.m. at Topia Theater. Tickets are $10 and will be available at the door and venues yet to be determined.
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