Duquette is a seemingly soft-spoken guy with a hectic schedule and even more crazy background. But that’s what bios & MySpace pages are for.
What Duquette and I talked about yesterday was Birmingham and the endless possibilities that come from finally utilizing an (up until now) recently under-used venue: Avondale Park and specifically, it’s amphitheater.
“I hear guys all the time talk about the amphitheater but I can’t think of any of us that have played there,” he says. “I remember seeing pictures from the ’30s when people would be all decked out and bands playing…” Duquette played the first incarnation of an Alabama roots music type festival last year, at a farm in Hoover. This year, when time came for booking, he was one of the first on board. “I see myself in more of a rock and roll type deal, but this festival runs the spectrum from bluegrass to indie and even indie bluegrass.” He waits a minute, and reminiscent of a proud parent he says, “This is a good way to handle a festival”.