Although Mother’s actual birthday was July 16, co-owner Kevin Loftis waited in respect to the Summer Arts Festival, which was going on at that time. He said things have been going great recently in light of the pandemic restrictions being lifted.
“It feels good,” Loftis said of reaching five years. “Every day still has some chaos but we get there.”
Mother’s hit its stride in 2019 and continued that way into the beginning of 2020. The pandemic stalled the momentum as restrictions affected gathering places, but it’s picked back up again. While in the beginning it was about beer and with other breweries out there, offering other attractions such as the winter version of the Farmers Market and Mustard Fest, a space for other organizations to have their events and live music and entertainment have been added reasons to come.
Loftis is always gratified to find people traveling in from other cities and even out of state.
“We’ve found our groove between events and music. The beer was not enough, it was more about new experiences,” Loftis said. “Our brewery acts as a de facto community space. We give people a reason to keep coming back again and again.”
Food trucks are another fixture and this weekend will include Tortilla Street Food and Christian Bros. Meat Co. today and Christian Bros., EAT, Hunger Paynes and Ol’ School BBQ on Saturday. They’ll also tap some barrel-aged beers they’ve had for a while in addition to favorites including Disco Dancer, Pool Shark and Witbier.
Mother’s new outdoor stage has been an added attraction, with crowds and musicians giving positive feedback and it’s another reason to get people back. It will get plenty of use this weekend.
Music begins at 7:30 p.m. today with Grateful Dead tribute band Terrapin Moon. Saturday’s lineup will include Dayton-based Americana, folk and bluegrass group The Repeating Arms at 6 p.m. followed at 8:30 by the Mother’s debut of headliner Tall Tall Trees, a singer-songwriter who plays banjo but uses musical influences as diverse as Pink Floyd, Cat Stevens and Earl Scruggs.
Loftis is excited to have Too Tall Trees, which he said is a big act and has been contacted by people from Illinois and Indiana interested in seeing him. It’s a trend to continue in 2022 with bigger musical names to take Mother’s up a notch to be recognized as a venue to catch such acts.
The outdoor stage and entertainment are booked through the end of 2021. Mother’s is also looking at introducing some limited food options for on-sight next year.
“Our priority is on-sight. I think we’re backtracking to where we need to be,” Loftis said.
Credit: Tom Gilliam
Credit: Tom Gilliam
While Mother’s has made its mark here and continues building its reputation outside Springfield, Loftis is still surprised hearing community members haven’t been there, especially when it’s people he went to school with. He extends an open invitation.
“We want to thank and show our appreciation of the community. If you haven’t been here, give us a chance and come on out,” he said.
HOW TO GO
What: Mother Stewart’s Fifth Anniversary Bash
Where: Mother Stewart’s Brewing Co., 102 W. Columbia St., Springfield
When: 6 p.m. today, July 31 and Saturday, July 31
Admission: Free
More info: www.facebook.com/MotherStewarts/
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