The Double Decker Festival to return in Spring 2022
Published 10:47 am Wednesday, January 19, 2022
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Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit headline the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 27, 2019. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
Courtney Craven, left, and Morgan Blythe cheer as Houndmouth performs at the 23td Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 28, 2018. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
Rev. John Wilkins plays Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Friday, April 24, 2015.
Don Bryant performs at the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 28, 2018. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
The festival's headliners, Cold War Kids, make the final performance of the 2018 Double Decker Arts Festival held on the Square in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, April 28, 2018. (Chi Kalu, Oxford Eagle)
Courtney Craven, left, and Morgan Blythe cheer as Houndmouth performs at the 23td Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 28, 2018. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
Houndmouth bassist Zak Appleby performs at the 23td Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 28, 2018. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
Sharde Thomas and the Rising Star Fife & Drum Band perform at the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 28, 2018. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
Jerri Anne Davis plays with her dog Fancy during the Best Dressed Pet Contest at the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 28, 2018. (Bruce Newman, Oxford Eagle via AP)
Writer Aminatta Forna reads from her recently published novel, Happiness, during the Thacker Mountain Radio Hour on the evening of the first of the two-day Double Decker Arts Festival held on the Square in Oxford, Miss., Friday, April 27, 2018. (Chi Kalu, Oxford Eagle)
Liz Brasher plays guitar on the evening of the first of the two-day Double Decker Arts Festival held on the Square in Oxford, Miss. on Friday, April 27, 2018. (Chi Kalu, Oxford Eagle)
Sarah Kathryn Bridgers unveils her art which will be used on the 2018 Double Decker Arts Festival poster during a press conference at Visit Oxford in Oxford, Miss. on Thursday, February 8, 2018.
Sharde Thomas plays the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 29, 2017.
Nathaniel Rateliff and The Night Sweats plays the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo/Bruce Newman)
Dr. John plays the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 29, 2017. (Photo/Bruce Newman)
August Fields walks her dog Daisy Dickey during the Best Dressed Pet Contest at the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 29, 2017.
Donald Golden works his booth of photos at the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 29, 2017. Golden's work focuses on buildings in decay.
Amelia Eisenhauer and the Peruvian Farm Girls play the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 29, 2017.
The 25th anniversary of the Double Decker Arts Festival will take place April 24-25, 2020. (Bruce Newman)
Ellen Langford works on a painting at her booth at The Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 27, 2013.
Indie rock band Muddy Magnolias out of Nashville, Tenn. are set for high-octane show as the Double Decker headliner Friday night at 8 p.m. after Thacker Mountain Radio Hour on April 28, 2017 in Oxford, Miss.
Double Decker 5K Run in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 23, 2016. (Photo/Bruce Newman)
Arguably one of the most iconic and representative photos ever taken at the Double Decker Arts Festival, Luther Dickinson and the North Mississippi Allstars rocked the main stage in 2011. Luther returns this year as a solo artist scheduled for 5:30 Saturday afternoon.
Audrey Mercier (from l.), Josi Johnson, and Alexis Dunaway show off their mustaches they had painted at the Square Fair at the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 27, 2013.
Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 25, 2015. (Photo/Bruce Newman)
Amelia Eisenhauer and the Peruvian Farm Girls are set to play Double Decker at 11:30 a.m. in Oxford, Miss. Eisenhauer was among the Top 24 during the final season of “American Idol.”
The Double Decker Arts Festival, on the Square in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 23, 2016. (Photo/Bruce Newman)
Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings play the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 24, 2010. Jones died Friday of pancreatic cancer at the age of 60.
The annual Double Decker Arts Festival is one place the Yoknapatawpha Arts Council handed out surveys as a part of a community outreach effort. After a round table discussion with community leaders on Monday, YAC is talking more about the 10-question survey that will help evaluate cultural opportunities locally and how they compare with other cities.
Michael Franti plays guitar on a small platform set in the middle of the crowd, during the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 22, 2016.
Ryan Hardrider sings as the The Nightowls play the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Friday, April 22, 2016.
A Double Decker bus carries passengers through the Square at the Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford on April 23, 2016.
The crowd watches St. Paul and the Broken Bones plays Double Decker Arts Festival in Oxford, Miss. on Saturday, April 25, 2015.
The cost for renting a double decker bus will be going up to help pay for increasing repairs of the iconic buses.
The 25th Annual Double Decker Festival will be held April 22-23, 2022.
After a two-year absence due the COVID-19 pandemic, Oxford’s featured festival will be making a comeback despite the prevalence of the omicron variant.
Originally inspired by the Double Decker bus that Oxford imported from England in 1994, the festival showcases Oxford as a town that supports the arts and has grown to be one of the champion events in the region.
Double Decker started with the bed of an old pickup truck serving as the stage for music, and only hosted a handful art and food vendors. Today, the event is centered around the historic Courthouse Square, and boasts a crowd of more than 60,000 people.
Now in a two-day format, Double Decker will kick-off on Friday, April 22 with art demonstrations around the Square and the evening with Thacker Mountain Radio hosting a live broadcast complete with music.
Saturday, April 23 will be an all-day affair featuring over 100 art and 20+ local food vendors while a generous mix of touring musicians take to the stage. The Double Decker Festival is still taking applicants for art vendors here and food venders here. Applications are due January 24, 2022 and January 31, 2022, respectively.
According to Double Decker Coordinator Lee Ann Stubbs, about 140 art vendors have already applied to be featured at the festival and the organization anticipates more to come.
“I expect to have about 200 [applicants] at the end of the sign up period,” said Stubbs.
The festival will also feature a communal stage to display local dance acts, martial arts and other performances by local artists and entertainers.
The 2022 Double Decker Arts Festival music lineup will be announced Thursday, February 3 at a 10 AM press conference at the Oxford Conference Center.
For more information about the lodging, directions, or general information about the festival contact Visit Oxford at 662-232-2477 or leeann@visitoxfordms.com.