Locally based rock band, The Bad Downs will be appearing at Rock Fest 2009 as part of their Summer Tour.

As part of their 2-day stint at Rock Fest 2009, they will open the weekend’s main stage festivities, where they will be followed on Thursday July 16th on the main stage in by national artists, Blackberry Smoke, Saving Able and The Steve Miller Band.

At the conclusion of their main stage appearance, they will move over to a beer tent where they will play the remainder of Thursday and all day Friday, July 17th. This will be the bands second visit to Rock Fest having performed there in 2006.

Based out of Wausau, The Bad Downs have been performing state-wide for the better part of seven years and have gained popularity everywhere as one of the state’s most popular party bands.

“We have been so lucky over the years to have built such large fan base all over Wisconsin” stated lead guitarist and founder Mike “Ozzy” Eckardt, “these people have become some of our closest friends and are truly a major reason for our continued success.”

Regular stops for the band include the annual Boondox Rock’s Festival, Packer home game weekends at Green Bay’s largest venues, Milwaukee, and Minocqua, as well as regular shows at The Bar in Rothschild. 

The band released their debut CD “Anti-Social” in 2007 and is currently writing for their second record. They plan on recording this fall with a late winter or spring release.

 “We are looking forward to going into the studio with this record,” said drummer Tom Coleman, “We have been bouncing things off each other for a while, and we can’t wait to see how it comes together.”

Band members in addition to Ozzy are; Eric Geiss – Lead Vocals, John Bahr – Bass, Dave Tetzlaff – Rhythm Guitar and Tom Coleman – Drums and Vocals.

 “We all share one common drive” said lead singer Eric Geiss, “The need to perform, make music, and above all else, make sure that our audience is having as much fun as we are.”