As the weather warms up, so does the social calendar- especially for those of us who have a love of Renaissance Festivals (such as yours truly). For instance, this weekend starts an 8+ weekend run of public events involving Faire for me with the Spring Smackdown event at the Voodoo Lounge in North Kansas City, Missouri. This 21+ event is the season opener, so to speak, for the pirate band the Musical Blades- who will be starting their own extended run featuring appearances in Wichita, Kansas and Muskogee and Tulsa, Oklahoma in the Spring alone.

For those who may be unfamiliar with the Blades, perhaps this will help.

To summarize, these guys are winners of multiple Renaissance Festival Podcast awards and fan favorites at many festivals across the Midwest.

Also appearing at the event will be Lauren Anderson, 2015’s Female Vocalist of the Year at the Midwest Music Awards, and Chance the Arm, Kansas City’s own Irish rock band. I’m still not sure how the guys got such talented openers, but that should give you some idea of the caliber of this show.

This will also be the first chance to pick up the Live at the Voodoo CD, which was recorded at their last appearance at the club back in October (which was, incidentally, their last appearance of the 2015 season).

Even if you’ve never been to an event like this before, I would highly recommend it as a way to properly enjoy a Saturday night. Aside from excellent music, it’s a great chance to meet many of the pirates of the Kansas City area and beyond (some fans drive from as far away as Minnesota!).

The show, which is strictly 21+, is at the Voodoo Lounge at Harrah’s Casino which is located at 1 Riverboat Drive In North Kansas City, Missouri. Doors open at 8 p and the show begins at 9 pm. Tickets are available at the door and at Ticketmaster and will run you about $15. Costumes are highly encouraged, but be respectful of the weapons policy of the casino (which means no knives or chains, and it’s best to leave all replicas at home).

Drinks and memorabilia will be available, including the aforementioned CD and a limited edition 2016 tour t-shirt in addition to past CDs and other goodies. For more information and updates, you can check out the Facebook event page. I would also suggest checking out MusicalBlades.com and The Official Musical Blades Fan Club on Facebook.

If you’re looking for more events, be sure to check out the Upcoming Events page, which will be updated with articles regarding the events as well as pertinent links.