It may not be an Aquarian exposition in Bethel, N.Y., but for one night Charleston’s Kiwanis Park Amphitheater will become an unabashed celebration of relaxation, music and solidarity with this year’s Chuckstock, an annual musical extravaganza celebrating everything Charleston.

Although the festival began innocuously enough as a simple concert celebrating Jim Davis’ lethargic, Monday fearing, lasagna-loving feline Garfield, Chuckstock quickly grew into an annual musical event aimed at celebrating “Chucktown.”

The birth of a festival

Created by Charleston resident Shane Reichart and Eastern graduate Matt Rennels, Chuckstock was originally celebrated on June 19 as Garfieldfest, a celebration of the aforementioned cartoon cat, and was designed as an excuse to throw a bonafide rock show in bucolic Charleston.

When Garfieldfest began six years ago, however, neither Reichart nor Rennels saw the event growing into what it has become but rather as a musical goof.

“The show was originally for our neighborhood friends in high school,” Reichart said. “We knew we were terrible and the show started off as a big joke… but we had a lot of fun.”

Reichart’s former band, Cellophane, headlined the event and what the band lacked in experience or talent, it more than made up for with enthusiasm. With the initial success of Garfieldfest, the event began to grow as local bands like The Last Resorts and others played in subsequent years.

Little did Reichart or Rennels know that their little concert, started for kicks and a show of solidarity in the Charleston music scene, would attract the attention of the Charleston Parks and Recreation Department.

“(Garfieldfest) ended up being such a success the city was impressed and committed to getting involved and expanding the show,” Reichart said.

From Garfieldfest to Chuckstock

It was another chance encounter that steered the course of the future Chuckstock, as former Last Resorts member and Eastern senior music composition major Ryan Groff met with Reichart, and a plan was devised between the pair to expand the show.

After a few years as Garfieldfest, the concert was rechristened as Chuckstock with Groff and the Recreation Department safely in tow. Since then, the show has become a fall staple for Charleston with a rotating cache of bands playing the festival each year while audiences grow larger and the concert’s profile rises.

This year’s Chuckstock has grown even larger with Chicago’s country roots-rock outfit Siderunners headlining the event alongside Groff’s Green Jenkins and Greenville rockers Stump Clark.

Groff extends a hand with Green Jenkins

The first band signed to this year’s Chuckstock was Green Jenkins, as Groff has become somewhat synonymous with the event after years as both a performer and organizer.

Green Jenkins-comprised of Groff on acoustic guitar and vocals, Jim Standerfer on drums, Waylon Schroeder on alto/tenor/baritone saxophones, electric guitar and vocals and Dave Christensen on bass, harmonica and vocals-started in 2001 as Groff and Standerfer had an initial jam session and began courting the other members who would soon become part of the band.

Since then, Green Jenkins has been in the process of pressing and distributing a five-song album of new material, but the group’s members can claim a mixed musical history going back for years.

Groff has played in the Last Resorts as well as Turtle Triumph and also has released a record of solo material titled “Songs From a Small College Town.” Likewise, Standerfer was a founding member of Charleston’s own Swampass, while Christensen has played in a slew of punk, ska and jam bands, and Schroeder has played jazz for more than a decade.

As for this year’s Chuckstock, the band is excited about the idea of playing alongside friends The Siderunners and being able to bring Chuckstock to the masses for another year. And while the concert’s name is taken from a more famous and mercurial New York counterpart, Groff found parallels between both events.

“Any concert that’s intentions are to bring people together in a stress-free music environment is automatically similar to what Woodstock was all about,” he said. “Granted, we can’t pull in the likes of Sha-Na-Na or CSNY, but we try to get a diverse band line-up and make it one hell of a day for everyone who makes the trek to Kiwanis Park for an evening of music, lemon shake-ups, and old ladies with sunglasses.”

Siderunners sign to headline

Headlining the event this year will be Siderunners, who have previously played Friends & Co. as well as playing for last year’s Sue Pope Breast Cancer Awareness Concert.

The group- composed of Pat Buckley on drums and vocals, Todd Hill on upright bass, Sappy on vocals and guitar, Jason Loveall on fiddle and vocals and Nate VanAllen on guitar and vocals- released “Ain’t Inventin’ the Wheel” last year and is currently in the process of recording a follow-up record.

Although the group has garnered attention and a following in its native Chicago, the members of Siderunners are excited to be playing Chuckstock.

“We love to play in Charleston. The people have been really supportive and seem to really get what we are doing,” VanAllen said. “(Charleston fans) have been awesome, far better than we could have hoped for.We have been excited for a few months about this one.”

Siderunners also share the same respect for Green Jenkins expressed by Groff. And although Siderunners have previously played Charleston on a handful of occasions, VanAllen said he relishes any opportunity to play with friends he’s made south of Interstate 80.

“It is more fun to play with friends; you just have to watch having too good of a time before you play,” VanAllen said of playing with Jenkins. “We would go see their show anytime, so it’s a bonus to get to share the bill.”

And while country may not be standard musical fare in Charleston, Siderunners are more than the cookie-cutter country music heard across the nation on corporate radio stations. Eschewing a pristinely polished sound, VanAllen and company take on country with a bit of old school attitude and Johnny Cash aplomb.

“We really want to make country mean something again and not be a bad word because of all that plastic stuff that is out there right now,” VanAllen said.”So many people are turned off to it and rightfully so, but it really is American music, and it doesn’t have to be one big, vapid cliche.”

Rockers Stump Clark round out the bill

Rounding out the bill is Stump Clark. The group- comprised of Charlie Truhlar on guitars and vocals, Jedidiah Adam on bass and vocals, Jeremy Adam on drums and Jamey Poulter on guitars- has made a name for itself playing throughout Central Illinois and competing in a number of battle of the bands competitions. Stump Clark formed in 2000 and played a string of Christian coffee house gigs under the moniker Serva Station and cut a record titled “No Apparent Reason” before changing its name to Stump Clark.

The members of Stump Clark refused to comment for this story.

Chuckstock will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Kiwanis Park Amphitheater and is free to the public. Stump Clark’s set begins at 6:15 and ends at 7:15 with Green Jenkins starting at 7:30 and playing until 8:30. Siderunners will close the show from 8:45 and play until 10 p.m. Then, Siderunners and Green Jenkins will hit up Friends and Co. for a concert beginning at 11 p.m.

Fair Trade Coffee will be sponsoring a student shuttle bus service to Kiwanis Park through the Newman Catholic Center. The shuttle service will begin at 6 p.m. and run throughout the show.

Turning hopes into success

The hopes of both the bands and the Recreation Department are high for the show, as a large turnout is expected.

“We are hoping for a very big turnout,” Diane Ratliff, recreation superintendent of the Charleston Parks and Recreation Department, said. “We have the Siderunners playing and they’re big down here so we’re hoping they can draw a pretty big audience.”

These expectations are slightly different, however, for the show’s promoters who simply want to see a bigger portion of Charleston coming out for a night of free music.

“My idea of success is a little different from the city’s,” Reichart said. “(My idea of success is) an event where anyone who wants to come and hang out can, and the city is looking to turn a profit from things like food and T-shirt sales. I think we can meet both objectives this year.”