The 10th annual FRYfest will take place on FRYday, August 31, 2018. All events listed take place at 300 E 9th Street in Coralville, Iowa
6:00pm – Pianopalooza opens High Porch Block Party Concert, presented by Brown Deer Place
7:00pm – Pep Rally, presented by The Eastern Iowa Airport on the Tigerhawk Stage
8:00pm – The Pork Tornadoes, presented by Brown Deer Place
High Porch Block Party Concert
The Pork Tornadoes will be the concert headliner at FRYfest’s 2018 High Porch Block Party. Pianopalooza will open the show, and an impressive fireworks display managed by the Coralville Fire Department will conclude the day’s activities. The concert grounds are located in the parking lot south of the Coralville Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, right outside of the Worlds Largest Hawkeye Tradeshow. This open area is ideal for families and friends to enjoy food and music together. The beverage garden is located inside the concert grounds and serves patrons marked 21 years and older.
The Pork Tornadoes
The Pork Tornadoes are a powerful party band that has played all around the Midwest at the best and biggest bars, festivals and weddings. Having played more than 400+ shows in the last 7 years, this band has perfected their live show into an experience you won’t find anywhere else. With more than 15 years of live performance, studio recording and nationwide touring per member, the musical talent is off the charts, rivaled only by their attention to detail on sound quality and gear. The band is led by singer Mason Greve, whose is arguably one of the best vocalists in the state and was one of 100 finalists on NBC’s The Voice in 2014. Putting their own spin on an eclectic mix of songs from Justin Timberlake, One Direction, Katy Perry and Taylor Swift to Kings of Leon, The Killers, Third Eye Blind and Sublime, they are truly one of the most versatile bands around. Regularly helping bars and events sell out of alcohol, this band is a force like no other, creating a party wherever they go for their ravenous fan base, who sings along and begs for more.
Pianopalooza
To say Tony Bohnenkamp and Jerry Lorenson are star-crossed dueling piano partners would be the understatement of our generation. Don’t believe me? Well then sit tight reader, warm up your Keurig, and get ready to have your mind blown as you read—“The Ballad of Pianopalooza.” At just 4 years of age, a classmate jerked Tony’s swim trunks down to his ankles at the Auralia City Pool in front of EVERYONE. In an eerily similar event, when Jerry was 4 years old, his mother accidentally HIT HIM WITH THE CAR in a grocery store parking lot. Determined to overcome early adversity, these lone wolves began to awaken their inner piano-beast with lessons from kind, elderly piano teachers that wore very strong perfume. Fast forward to adolescence—at 15, while front row for The Smashing Pumpkins, lead singer Billy Corgan spit on Jerry during the show. For Jerry, this was transformative. He emerged from the concert anointed and reborn—like one half of a full Phoenix. Meanwhile—at The Outfield/Starship concert the summer before his freshman year, Tony recalls “the lights went up, and The Outfield started playing. I felt like I was floating above the crowd, and The Outfield was playing a private-but-not-in-a-weird-way show just for me.” These early encounters with rock & roll royalty put Tony and Jerry on a collision course trajectory—destined to crash into each other like a cosmic Dave Matthews song 20 years in the making. Fate would finally unite them when Jerry moved to Des Moines and needed a place to stay. A thundering voice in his head told Tony to offer him a spare room— and they haven’t looked back since. They have forged an unbreakable friendship built on fundamental elements like MarioKart and cigarettes. Although each has had success as solo artists and with other bands, Jerry sums it up nicely saying “I just pray each day that Tony and I die at the exact same time, like the end of The Notebook.” So do yourself a favor. Hold your loved ones close, and go see Pianopalooza every chance you get.