Jackson Free Press

Guactoberfest, a spinoff of last May’s Babalooza, is slinging avocados and bringing live music to Fondren this weekend. The festival, hosted by Ardenland and Babalu Tacos and Tapas and featuring food and drink from the restaurant, will start at Duling Green at 3 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 20. Music starts at 4 p.m.

The festival focuses heavily on the bands performing. Todd Snider, a gifted singer-songwriter who’s gaining critical acclaim for his original sound, will headline the show. He shares the bill with Jessica Lea Mayfield, metro area rockers Grayson Capps, Amanda Shires, Otis Lotus, and Nashville-based Wild Feathers.

“Jessica Lea Mayfield is just so phenomenally great, it’s not even funny. I thought she would be a perfect fit. Not a lot of people have seen her and they need to,” says Arden Barnett, who booked the bands.

“Otis Lotus, our local boys, they do Grateful Dead cover tunes. They are actually going to do an acoustic cover, and that’s going to be really special.”

For those looking to come out who can’t afford the admission fee, Barnett set up something called “pay it forward.” This is how it works: send an email to [email protected] and Ardenland will take care of the ticket. In return, that person must pay it forward somewhere down the line by doing a good deed for someone else.

“We know times are tough, and all we ask is that they do a good dead for someone in return, you know mow someone’s grass, take their garbage can in, just random acts of kindness,” Barnett says.

Guactoberfest is Oct. 20 at Duling Green (622 Duling Ave., 601-292-7121). Admission is $10 in advance and $15 at the gate. Tickets are free for kids under 12. Purchase tickets for the festival at Babalu Tacos and Tapas (622 Duling Ave., 601-366-5757), ardenland.net, Morningbell Records & Studios (622 Duling Ave., Suite 212, 769-233-7468) or the Mississippi Coliseum box office. Visit facebook.com/ardenland/events for more info.