An invasion of local music

GBUFO Invasion Fest, put on by Green Bay UFO Museum, Gift Shop and Records, will return to Green Bay with its third annual weekend packed with live music this Friday, July 25, and Saturday, July 26.

“Our main goal of this is just to have a marathon of great music all day long,” said Tom Smith, an organizer of the event. “ We’ve picked out 32 bands over the two days that we’re quite confident that even if you’re not familiar with them, you’re going to walk away going, ‘Oh man, that was really good.’ It’s inspired by my going to GonerFest. We’re trying to bring that energy and magic from that here.”

And much like he has experienced at GonerFest, Smith said he hopes people walk away from GBUFO Invasion Fest as a new fan of a band they may not have been familiar with.

“I want them walking away thinking, ‘I’ve never heard of [that band] before, but boy was I blown away,’” he said.

And with more than 30 bands on the line-up, the odds are good that attendees discovering a band they love with several genres represented.

“I could go on forever about all these bands,” Smith said. “The bottom line is we’ve got a whole bunch of different flavors of the underground of indie and rock. Some of it’s dancing, some of it’s more velvet-undergroundy and some of it’s in-your-face punk rock.

Day One of the festival will take place at Badger State Brewing Company and feature Boris the Sprinkler, Star Jelly, Giants Chair, Castle Black, Whippets, German Art Students, Devils Teeth, Modern Haunting, Conan Neutron and the Secret Friends, Combusot, Shanty Sleaze, Ditch the Hubcap, Dr. EW and Associates, Sinking Lessons and Hostile,

Day Two of the festival will take place at Riverside Ballroom and feature Smart Shoppers, Pet Mosquito, The Statics, Holly and the Nice Lions, Heather the Jerk, The DUIs, Lavish Waste, The Present Age, VomBom, Thick Needles, Hue Blanc’s Joyless Ones, Florida Brothers Band, Sex Scenes, Celebrity Sighting, Future Trash and The Coves.

Both days will also feature comedy performances curated by Kristin Lytie.

And in addition to the music, Smith said he hopes people can enjoy the social aspect of the festival as well.

“We want this festival to be like-minded people and different shades of weirdos meeting up and realizing they all have a passion for live music,” he said. “We want it to be a social event, too. We want people to realize there’s a lot of people in Green Bay who like music that maybe isn’t super famous yet but is super good.”

To learn more about GBUFO Invasion Fest, visit the Green Bay UFO Museum, Gift Shop and Records’ Facebook page.