Apache Lake Music Festival will celebrate its 10th year of presenting a stellar cross-section of the Valley's most popular artists with two days of music and camping on Oct. 18 and 19.

And the lineup is stacked, with sets by Kongos, Jared & the Mill, decker., Fairy Bones, Bear Ghost, Xtra Ticket, Banana Gun, Japhy's Descent, Sara Robinson Band, Las Chollas Peligrosas, Wyves and more.

Among the moments guaranteed to cause a buzz is the return of Mergence, making their first live appearance anywhere since June 21, 2014.

It's not all local talent. LA rockers American Mile and Denver's Sympathy F will also be on hand.

The formerly Flagstaff-based the Brothers Gow (who now call San Diego home) were supposed to be there, but chose to come in off the road instead, posting a message to fans Sept. 2 that said, "With heavy hearts and profound gratitude, we are announcing that Brothers Gow is retiring from the road."

That's sad news. They're great live. But by that point, Sugar Thieves had joined the lineup, so they're still at 30 bands, which was the target number all along.

Rounding out the weekend's homegrown talent will be sets by the Stakes, the Uncommon Good, the Deadbeat Cousins, Haley Green, the Woodworks, Greyhound Soul, Fat Gray Cat, Dr. Delicious, Strange Young Things, Future Exes, the Conveyors, Gelatinous Groove, the Real Fakes, Shawn Johnson and Lady Elaine.

A few of these acts are Apache Lake staples. Japhy's Descent have been there every year, and this is Banana Gun's ninth appearance at the festival.

How the festival started

Brannon Kleinlein, who also owns Last Exit Live, held the first Apache Lake Music Festival in 2010.

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"I had a relationship with the people that run the lake through one of my buddies, the Schuester family," he says. "I had been going out there since the late ‘90s. And sometime in the early 2000s, when I got into the music business, I was out there, talking to them. I said, 'This would be an amazing place for a music festival.’ And they said, ‘Really? You should do it.’ I was like, ‘You gotta be kidding me. Would you let me?’ They said, ‘Absolutely.'"

It stayed at the idea stage for several years.

"And then I think what happened," Kleinlein says, "is when I sold the original Last Exit in 2009, I had some free time on my hands. And I thought, ‘Hey, remember that idea about putting a festival on there? I think, now's the time to try it. Let's give it a shot.’ The thought was just “Let's throw a fun little party with some of our friends’ bands. It'll be a camping trip. And let's just see what happens.’ It's almost funny that we use the word festival when we named it."

That first year, he says, they had 16 bands lined up to play one outdoor stage — at least until the storm hit.

"On the second night I believe it was right before What Laura Says’ set, it started just downpouring, like, unbelievable," Kleinlein recalls. "It was obvious that the show could not go on. So we’re scrambling, covering everything up with plastic bags like, 'What are we gonna do?’ So we basically grabbed everyone we could — staff and even fans started helping us out — we grabbed the PA and we moved it inside to the restaurant area, just so we could continue the show. It probably delayed us about a half hour, 45 minutes."

Music on two stages

They've been operating on two stages ever since.

"That happening actually is what gave me the idea for the next year to do two stages —because we were able to pull that off and save the show and it ended up being a really fun vibe,'" Kleinlein says. "That gave us the idea of ‘Well, heck, next year, let's do two stages. We’ll do the outdoor stage and put a side stage on the inside."

The festival has "definitely" grown each year, he says.

"And it's definitely been a grassroots effort. We've a little bit more organized, adding a legitimate website. In the beginning, it was just a social media invites kind of thing. So as we've kind of stepped up our game as far as the production goes and getting the word out there from a promotion standpoint, it’s grown every year. But a lot of that growth is people that have been there telling their friends, saying, 'Man, you guys got to come out to this, we had such a great time.' Also bands telling other bands, ‘Hey, you should try to get on this thing. Come play this.’"

More than just music

One of the biggest draws through the years, Kleinlein says, has been the beauty of Apache Lake itself.

"It’s just amazing that they let us do this out there," he says. "It’s lakeside camping. The experience for people to be able to set up a tent right on the beach, along the water, and then have just this really close access to, the main stage area, to be able walk back and forth, come and go as you want to, to see great bands. And then, also to have the opportunity to rent some boats or go out in the water, play around, it really is just a great spot for a camping trip. And then when you just throw in that we have 30 bands and great local music, I think that's the overall experience. It takes some effort to get out there, driving on that dirt road for the last 10 miles or so. But once you get out there, it's gorgeous."

Tickets are on sale now at apachelakemusicfestival.com.

Apache Lake Music Festival

When: Friday, Oct. 18, and Saturday, Oct. 19.

Where: Apache Lake Resort and Marina, 229.5 Mile Marker, Roosevelt.

Admission: $60 for a weekend pass, includes camping.

Details: apachelakemusicfestival.com

Reach the reporter at ed.masley@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter @EdMasley.

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