Two to Lou raises money for collegiate football and music industry hopefuls
By Katelyn Sahagian
ksahagian@hipppopress.com
Live music for a good cause and to remember a good man; that’s the mission of Two to Lou, an all-day music festival in Sandown on Saturday, July 16.
The festival, which honors Louis “Lou” Festo, who died from liver cancer in 2012, is put on every year, rain or shine, by his fiancée, Karen Jortberg, and his former bandmates. Proceeds from the concert are given as scholarships to students from Newburyport High School and Timberlane Regional High School.
Festo was a professional musician, Jortberg said. He played in many cover and original bands across New Hampshire. The last band he played with, Perciphist, even cut an album. When he was diagnosed with cancer, Jortberg said, he continued playing music — his final show in 2012 was a fundraiser to help pay his medical bills.
“He got up and performed,” Jortberg said. “The place was packed because he knows so many people. He was an influence on so many.”
When the bills were paid, Jortberg said that she still had a lot of money left over from the first fundraiser that she didn’t know what to do with. Festo told her to take the money and go to Hawaii. Jortberg said she told him it wasn’t her money to spend.
“I said what should be done is we should make it into a scholarship for Newburyport High School, where he graduated from,” Jortberg said.
The festival has awarded more than $24,000 in scholarships since its creation in 2014, she added. Jortberg would soon expand the scholarship to Timberlane students after the first few years, saying that New Hampshire was just as much a part of Festo’s home as Newburyport was.
Students applying for the scholarship must either be pursuing a college degree in the music industry or planning on playing college-level football. This year, the two recipients from Timberlane will pursue a music degree and the two from Newburyport High will go on to play collegiate football.
The scholarships are usually given out in $1,000 increments to two graduating seniors from both high schools, but Jortberg admitted to giving smaller scholarship awards to applicants who didn’t fully meet the requirements. She said if they took the time to apply even without meeting all the qualifications, she felt that the students deserved something for their effort.
“Every little bit helps,” she said. “We know we’re doing the right thing. We get thank you notes from these kids; they are so appreciative.”
The show will be headlined by Whammer Jammer, a J. Geils Band tribute band from Massachusetts. All of the artists playing will be from northern Massachusetts or New Hampshire.
Recent scholarship recipient Galen Walton is coming back to Two to Lou to play the drums in his band, Whoever’s Around.
Jortberg said that there will be food trucks and beer and wine for sale. ReMax is going to be having tethered hot air balloon rides, and lawn games like cornhole will be set up.
Jortberg said that the festival is more than just a celebration of Festo’s life now. It’s a celebration of local musicians, new musicians, sports, and everything Festo had held dear. She said that encouraging people to play music professionally is one of the best ways to honor Festo’s life.
“Music is a big part of everyone’s life,” Jortberg said. “You always have to have music in the background. It helps along whatever mood you’re in.”
Two to Lou Music Festival
When: Saturday, July 16, noon to 10 p.m., doors open at 11 a.m.
Where: Sandlot Sports and Entertainment, 8 Sandlot Way, Sandown
Tickets: $20 in advance, $25 at the door; $12 for seniors between 11 a.m. and 12:30 p.m.
Visit eventbrite.com/e/two-to-lou-music-festival-tickets-261402500917.
More info: twotolou.com
Local bands playing:
Baby Girl Aden
Diamond Edge
Quills
Souled Out Showband
Stumpy Joe Band
deep
Damaged Goods
The Experiment
The Moonlighters
Hot Pasta
Dave Amato
Casey Clark
Whoever’s Around featuring last year’s scholarship winner, Galen Walton
Preciphist, Louis Festo’s last band
Whammer Jammer
Shot of Poison
Featured photo: Lou Festo’s band, Preciphist. Courtesy of Karen Jortberg.