Independent filmmaker Bill Streeter joined “Cityscape” guest host Don Marsh to discuss “Lo-Fi Cherokee,” an outgrowth of his award winning music and culture web video series, “Lo-Fi Saint Louis.”

“Lo-Fi Cherokee” is a yearly celebration of the St. Louis music scene featuring 18 live performance videos all produced in a single day in 18 different locations on Cherokee Street. The bands range from veteran national acts to up-and-coming local musical groups.

Streeter explained that “Lo-Fi Cherokee” started as an experiment. About five years ago, he set out to network with local musicians with a plan to promote local musical acts. One particular music group Streeter met asked for his assistance with putting together multiple promotional videos in a single day. From that experience, “Lo-Fi Cherokee” was born.

“The first year we did it, we didn’t really tell anybody we were doing it because didn’t know if it was going to work,” Streeter explained. “So if we failed, hardly anybody would know. But, it worked out and we did it.”

One of the rules in creating the music videos and choosing artists is that there can be no repeat acts. To prevent repeats, Streeter keeps a small list of music groups to feature as well as searches through social media to find new acts. The goal is to have a cross-section of genres.

“It’s a one-and-done kind of thing, so we come up with all new acts every year,” Streeter said. “We try to make slightly different rules and approaches every year.”

This year’s “Lo-Fi Cherokee” took place on April 11. The 18 videos will be premiered at a party on Friday, May 29 at St. Matthews Church on South Jefferson. The individual videos will be released on line, two each week, beginning in June. 

Related Events:

Lo-Fi Cherokee Premier Party

• When: Friday, May 29, 8 p.m.
• Where: St. Matthews Church, 3457 S. Jefferson Ave
• More information

Lo-Fi Cherokee Screening

• When: Friday, July 3, 8:30 p.m.
• Where: Public Media Commons, 3655 Olive St.
• More information

“Cityscape” is produced by Mary Edwards and Alex Heuer and sponsored in part by the Missouri Arts Council, the Regional Arts Commission, and the Arts and Education Council of Greater St. Louis.

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