Motown tribute band playing at Elgin's Art & Soul fest

Elgin's Art & Soul on the Fox festival is getting a makeover with a lot more soul, some salsa, and a new spot along the Fox River.

The free festival, now in its 9th year, takes place 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Aug. 5 and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Aug. 6 along Riverside Drive Promenade, where more than 75 artists and artisans will showcase their work in the traditional juried art show.

The new "Soul and Salsa" concert, which will charge $5 admission, begins at 5 p.m. Aug. 5 at Festival Park. It will feature three bands: Alpha Omega Funk Brotherz, which covers funk, disco, R&B, pop and dance; Luis Palermo & Orquesta Brasa All Stars, which will perform salsa music; and headliner Krunchtime Productions' Motown Review, which will play songs by The Temptations, The Supremes, The Commodores, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson, Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder.

During the festival, there will be food trucks in the parking lot near the north end of the promenade, and children's activities on the south end of the promenade, near the Festival Park splash pad.

Art & Soul on the Fox is organized by the nonprofit Art for All in collaboration with the city.

"Moving the event came from the desire to try something new," city spokeswoman Molly Center said. "It really makes a lot of sense to use our beautiful riverside promenade for many reasons: it provides an aesthetically pleasing setting, it can draw additional attendees from the Fox River Trail, and it reduces the amount of road closures in downtown. Plus, "on the Fox" is in the name of the event."

Councilwoman Tish Powell said she's happy the festival is getting revamped. Earlier this year, she convinced her colleagues on the city council that the $30,000 they city had budgeted for the festival iFest - which isn't being held this year - should be used to spruce up Art & Soul on the Fox.

"The thing I hear from people is they really miss a festival that brings together different ethnicities," Powell said. "I think it's going to be a great event. It will have a lot of appeal to a lot of different groups - a lot of different age groups, ethnic and racial backgrounds."

Krunchtime Productions President Tom Hayes, who sings and plays bass in the Chicago-based Motown tribute band, said the band includes friends who've known each other for decades.

"We just found this niche, and we just rolled with it," he said. "The music we play is still good today, you still hear it on the radio stations. Our act is (for people) from 70 years old down to the kids."

iFest was put on hold to reinvigorate it in partnership with Gail Borden Public Library. It is tentatively scheduled for April 21.