POCATELLO — Meadowlark Music Fest is set to bring over 50 bands from across the region to Historic Downtown Pocatello this week for a four-day music festival.

From Wednesday through Saturday at Lookout Point, music aficionados of all ages can enjoy acts like Tylor & the Train Robbers, Aaron Golay & The Original Sin, Muzzie Braun and countless others performing at Meadowlark.

Tickets are $110 for the entire festival or $39 per day and are available at meadowlarkmusic.org.

This is the second year that Meadowlark has graced the Gate City, offering an eclectic mix of acoustic soulful tunes, raucous shredding guitars, rapid-fire lyricism and sweeping ballads.

Conceptualized by Dan Simms, who also plays in the band American Druid, the festival was created as a way to share his love of music and showcase the incredible talents of area musicians.

“Music definitely is the inspiration,” Simms said. “Music is the universal language of love and we need more of it in this world. We need less divide. We wanted to have a music camp similar to Shady Grove Music Camp and somewhat inspired by that and other festivals that I’ve played as a musician in the past.”

Simms continued, “We’re trying to support our local musicians and we’re trying to bring in some regional talent. We’ve got four bands that played at Treefort (Music Fest in Boise). We’ve got bands that have played in a lot of the festivals, Shady Grove for sure, Sawtooth Valley Gathering (in Stanley) and a number more.”

The idea for Meadowlark started last year when Simms desired to put on a live music event at his ranch outside of Aberdeen, known as Meadowlark Ranch, that would involve musicians who had performed during open mic nights at Station Square in downtown Pocatello.

Due to unforeseen circumstances, including inclement weather, the event was relocated to downtown Pocatello. Thankfully, with the support of the city and the growing excitement around the festival, the first Meadowlark Music Fest was a success.

Now, with plenty of time to plan and with the participation of a number of area bands, Meadowlark is set to become an integral part of the summer music scene in Pocatello.

“We’re going to incorporate several venues, which in this case we’re calling nests, since the Meadowlark is our mascot,” Simms said. “There’ll be some late-night things happening at the nests and some things during the day, but the majority of the bands will be playing on the (stage at Lookout).”

Meadowlark will be a family friendly, all-ages affair with plenty of artistic and creative booths, refreshing cold drinks and mouth-watering food truck dishes.

Off the Rails Brewing, 228 S. Main St., will be providing additional cuisine and beverages for those interested in a little after-hours indulgence.

Partnering with the Bannock Civitans, Meadowlark will kick off on Wednesday in conjunction with Revive @ 5 at 4 p.m. at Lookout Point, with musical acts proceeding to venues like The First National Bar, 232 W. Center St., and The Yellowstone restaurant, 230 W. Bonneville St., in the evening.

Meadowlark will continue at 11 a.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Lookout Point. Downtown Pocatello’s First Friday Art Walk will also coincide with the music festival.

On Thursday, the regular open mic night held at Station Square, 200 S. Main St., will be integrated into the Meadowlark Music Fest for a special event. Interested musicians can sign up at 6 p.m. with 20 minutes allotted for their musical act at open mic night. Factoring in originality, performance and the quality of the music, one of the acts will be selected as a crowd favorite and will be invited to perform on Friday at Lookout Point’s main stage around 1:15 p.m.

On Friday from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Idaho State University’s City Creek Records will host a variety of bands at Station Square as part of Meadowlark Music Fest.

Surprise events will also be popping up in downtown Pocatello during the festival and Simms is excited for Meadowlark’s involvement with the local farmers market on Saturday at Lookout Point, which will feature a few musical performances.

Recently announced by Simms is a new non-profit organization called the Meadowlark Music Foundation.

“We’re going to kick that off and there’ll be a lot of details about that at the festival,” Simms said about the foundation. “We are excited to have it be something that involves education, community outreach and development of musical arts, specifically in our community and in our region.”

Simms continued, “We’re asking that people bring an instrument that they have lying around the house that they might be willing to donate that could go to youths who are wanting to focus on music. We’re going to have this new foundation that helps our community have another way to reach out to those who want to be involved with music and learn music. There’ll be training opportunities and there’ll be a lot of really exciting things happening with that.”

Simms expressed gratitude for the help of sponsors, donors, nonprofit organizations and altruistic souls that contributed to the Meadowlark cause. Thanks to the help of Historic Downtown Pocatello Inc., The Glen Allen Project, Idaho State University, KISU Radio and countless others like CJ Morrison, Rebecca Radenz and Mike Engle, the second annual Meadowlark Music Fest has become a reality, Simms said.

“The arts are such an important thing in our lives and music is a wonderful thing,” Simms said. “Again, it’s a universal language of love. There’s so much divide in our world and we’re trying to bring people together in a positive way. Most people have a common interest in music and a common understanding of that language and that’s a beautiful thing.”

Simms continued, “We want to do good things for downtown, which has got a growing art scene. There’s a music scene in Pocatello that’s even bigger than you would expect for a town that is our size. We love that and we want to keep encouraging that. We want to help the businesses in downtown. There’s a lot of beautiful change and growth that’s happening there and it’s happening in a positive way.”

For more information on the Meadowlark Music Fest, including its updated lineup and the times associated with each of the musical acts, you can check out the website at meadowlarkmusic.org.