Thousands turn out for Vexfest 7 in downtown Youngstown

By GRACE WYLER

gwyler@vindy.com

youngstown

Despite Sunday afternoon showers that threatened to keep people away from this year’s Vexfest, the wet weather did not deter thousands of local music fans from coming out to enjoy downtown’s annual rock festival.

Event organizers were surprised by the number of people who braved the rain to come out early for Vexfest 7, the seventh installment of Youngstown’s outdoor summer music festival.

“We were really excited to see more people here earlier in the day,” said John “Jonesy” Jones. “I think because there is so much talent here, people stuck through the rain.”

Jones, who has been organizing the event since its inception, said the festival has grown in popularity since it was resurrected in 2007. Vexfest debuted in 2001, but was on hiatus for a few years, he said.

The festival got more than 160 submissions this year, which allowed the organizers to feature talented bands throughout the day, Jones said. The festival — which began at noon Sunday and carried on until about 2 a.m. this morning — featured 46 bands on four stages.

The Vexfest continues until 2 a.m. Monday. Read the full story Monday in The Vindicator and on Vindy.com