Evolution Festival will draw thousands to Forest Park for music, food and bourbon

The walls of Steve Schankman’s office in Clayton are decorated with memorabilia that tell the story of his decades booking concerts in the Midwest.

There are ticket stubs, photos and a typewritten contract for a U2 performance in 1981 that reveals the fee the Irish upstarts commanded for an hourlong set at Washington University: $750.

It’s a long and colorful history. But none of it ensures that his latest venture, this weekend’s Evolution Festival, will succeed.

The Forest Park event features headliners the Black Keys and Brandi Carlisle, with an offstage focus on bourbon and barbecue. The Black Crowes, Brittany Howard, Ben Harper & the Innocent Criminals, Nikki Lane and Ice Cube also will perform.

Organizers expect upward of 20,000 fans a day on Saturday and Sunday.

“We feel we have one chance to get it right, out of the gates this year,” Joe Litvag, the festival’s co-executive producer. “We’re trying to be creative. We’re trying to be thoughtful. But we’re not planning on going too far down any rabbit holes year one, because then you lose sight of the basics. And we have to nail the basics this year.”