WORCESTER - Somewhere along the way, music at stART on the Street changed. Once, really not that long ago, it felt like the music was more of a sideshow at the festival, which returns 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at its usual location on Park Avenue between Highland and Pleasant streets. There were street buskers, of course, a lot of talented, family-friendly fair acts and a few local bands, but it always felt more like background music for the visual arts and crafts stands.

But somewhere along the way, that changed, and music at stART on the Street became an attraction all on its own, with diverse lineups and exciting acts that reflect a lot of what’s vibrant both locally and across the region.

There are a lot of possible reasons as to what’s made music at stART up its game — changes to how they book acts, the inauguration of the Scott Ricciuti Memorial Stage as a sort of community-unifying force, or just plain getting better at doing it over time — but one reason is probably that performance director Gabe Rollins and the volunteers he works with know what they want from a musical act at stART: They want someone who can make a visitor pay attention.

“If you've been to stART before,” says Rollins, “you know it’s a walking festival. (Visitors) stop and buy things, stop and eat things. I'm looking for something that will make people stop in their tracks. Things like that.”













This year’s mix of artists, spread across four stages, in addition to buskers and street performers, are definitely capable of that. For example, the Ricciuti stage features a mix of rock bands such as Thinner to fringier acts such as the Federation of Belligerent Writers.

Neil Lucey of Thinner says that stART is an “opportunity to play for a large and varied audience, many of whom may not be aware of all the great music the local scene has to offer. Tony Brown, of the poetry-music combo the Duende Project, which is also playing the Ricciuti stage, agrees, adding, “For us, it is an opportunity to bring the slightly off-kilter and hard-to-categorize thing we do to people we wouldn't normally see out at a club.”

Rollins loves the mix, expressing excitement for some of the bands performing, pointing particularly to the Worcester- and Boston-based Happy Little Clouds, which he said he knew he wanted to book as soon as he saw one of their recent music videos. “It was like, they’re playing stART,” he says.

The diversity and enthusiasm spread to the other music areas — the World Music Stage, which hosts everything from belly dancing to reggae to hip-hop, including perennial favorites such as Crocodile River and regional cult favorites such as the Boston Typewriter Orchestra; the Park Grill Stage, which centers mostly on singer-songwriters; and the brand-new Youth Stage, which includes a number of noteworthy local acts, including Color Killer, which recently played the Vans’ Warped Tour, rising punk rock favorites Evil Felipe, singer-songwriter Lauren Ann Baker and Circus Trees, which Rollins describes as “completely underground.”

Rollins is particular excited about the new Youth Stage. "It's really important for a number of reasons," he says, "To get the kids that taste for playing live and just like our youth market, to show them there is a value in what they do and that they should get paid to do it. To foster a future for live music in Worcester. To show other kids that they could maybe play stART on the Street next year."



For the young members of Evil Felipe, the opportunity is extremely exciting.



"It gives us an opportunity for exposure to a lot of people who otherwise may not have the ability to see us play and perform," they said in a collectively signed email. "We get to be part of something that shows the good in this city."

Guitarist and composer Carlos Odria, who will be performing on the World Stage, says that he finds playing stART “a fulfilling experience. I love being surrounded by people while playing. When your audience is close to you, you can feel their energy, their excitement, and you feed your own music with that amazing vibe. As a musician, I see part of my job as being able to establish this connection with the listener … stART on the Street is a wonderful event because it provides that ideal environment for this magic to happen.”

For singer-songwriter Matt York, who is playing the Park Grill Stage, playing stART has an added bonus beyond being rewarding as a performer.

“Normally,” he says, “I spend most of my time playing in small clubs and listening rooms. It’s a fun and different experience to be outdoors with such a wide-ranging collection of musical and artistic talent. I enjoyed playing my set (last year) and meeting new people but, honestly, I enjoyed walking around and seeing all the different performances and artwork even more.”

Email Victor D. Infante at Victor.Infante@Telegram.com and follow him on Twitter @ocvictor.