Parmalee, Maddie and Tae, more entertain during Alabaster CityFest 2025
Published 12:55 pm Tuesday, June 10, 2025
The 2025 edition of Alabaster CityFest took place on the front lawn of Thompson High School on Saturday, June 7 and featured a regional music lineup with a host of other attractions, including vendors, food trucks and more. (For the Reporter/Jeremy Raines)
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By NOAH WORTHAM | Managing Editor
ALABASTER – Despite a momentary burst of inclement weather, Alabaster CityFest 2025 pulled through with a large lineup of live music artists, food trucks and many activities for residents and visitors to enjoy.
The 2025 edition of Alabaster CityFest took place on the front lawn of Thompson High School on Saturday, June 7 and featured a regional music lineup with a host of other attractions, including vendors, food trucks and more.
“This was a really strong year. Diverse artists, great crowds and a fun time,” said Jamie Cole, city council member in Alabaster’s Ward 5 and Arts Council vice president.
Alabaster CityFest opened at 9 a.m. with vendors and regional music acts throughout the afternoon. After a brief period of weather in the afternoon, staff members were able to recover and clean up the grounds of THS. With only a couple of acts in between 3-5 p.m. having to back out, crowds returned to the festival to enjoy the evening’s major headliners.
“Like last year, when we also dealt with weather, it was almost like two separate crowds,” Cole said. “The morning had good foot traffic for our vendors, and after the storm, the crowds started pouring back in for the acts from 5 p.m. forward. At peak, we had a phenomenal crowd. We will have better estimates later as we pull together all the sources that help us track.”
Headliner Eric Essix hit the stage after 5 p.m. and delivered a jazz-infused performance that set the tone for the evening with colorful instrumentation and crowd-pleasing tracks.
“The lineup certainly did not disappoint,” Cole said. “Eric Essix is an absolute pro; he performed back in the Jazz in the Park days and we were thrilled to have him as a headliner.”
After 6 p.m., headliner Five for Fighting took to the stage to deliver punchy, rock-based songs featuring a prominent piano backing and vocals delivered by John Ondrasik.
“We have never had a true piano rock act and Five For Fighting combined excellent musicianship with some surprising and fun crowd engagement,” Cole said.
After opening with “The Riddle,” Ondrasik addressed the crowd and expressed his appreciation for the opportunity to perform back in the Birmingham area.
“It’s great to see you, it’s great to be back South,” he said. “It’s fun for me to come back down here. Birmingham was one of the cities that launched Five for Fighting 20-something years ago.”
After 7:15 p.m., Maddie and Tae took the stage in an exciting moment that marked a return for the award-winning duo to Alabaster CityFest.
“We knew Maddie and Tae were the best of Nashville pop because they headlined for us years ago,” Cole said. “They were back and better than ever.”
Hit country band Parmalee took the stage with numerous tracks such as “Take My Name” and covers of “Drops of Jupiter” by Train and Usher’s “Yeah!”
“Parmalee closed us out with a country flair,” Cole said.
Alabaster CityFest is made possible each year thanks to the dedication of the Alabaster Arts Council, an officially incorporated non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is comprised of a group of local volunteers whose mission is to advance and enrich the quality of life in the Alabaster community through the arts and art education. Organizing CityFest takes months of preparation and each of the council members volunteer their time for free.
With a busy day full of live music, attractions and a battle with the weather, Cole shared his biggest takeaway from this year’s installment of Alabaster CityFest.
“Our residents and the folks in central Alabama will turn out for a great, sophisticated music lineup,” Cole said. “And, the support for our sponsors and vendors in what could’ve been a difficult weather day was tremendous. We are grateful to the community for that.”
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