Split Lip Rayfield and thousands of their Lawrence fans gathered on Mass Street late Saturday to celebrate 30 years of the band.
The band formed after Wichita and Lawrence musicians met at the Walnut Valley Festival in Winfield three decades ago.
The Kansas Music Hall of Famers are “credited with helping to shape a new genre by blending elements of bluegrass, punk rock, hard rock, and country music into a unique and powerful sound,” according to their 2018 inductee bio.
They performed the show as part of the Kaw River Roots Festival’s Live on Mass event.
They had even more to celebrate this year as Wayne Gottstine, who plays guitar and mandolin and takes the lead on vocals on most songs, is recently in remission from a second bout with lung cancer. Joining him are Jeff Eaton, who plays “The Stitchgiver” — the band’s iconic homemade gas tank bass — and Eric Mardis, who plays banjo and guitar.
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August Rudisell (he/him) has been a photographer and videographer for The Lawrence Times since March 2021. He is a former dispatcher, he avidly consumes and creates local news, and he would love to meet your dog when out and about at a community event.
See more of his work for the Times here.
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