Local musicians kick off first day of PrairieFest in Oswego

When the members of Marlon & The Shakes took the stage at PrairieFest in Oswego Thursday night, they literally were playing to a hometown crowd.

Frontman Marlon Longid lives in Oswego. Joining him on stage was his wife, Kate, and their children.

Last year he performed an acoustic set at PrairieFest. That was the first time he had played at the festival.

“It was such a great experience doing it the first time and it was an even more amazing experience doing it today,” he said.

The couple has attended PrairieFest ever since they moved to Oswego 14 years ago.

“You can imagine the itch that I felt to play on this stage,” Longid said.

He formed the band about 10 years ago with bassist Adrian Morris, also an Oswego resident.

“I just wanted to make people dance,” Longid said, which is why they named the band Marlon & The Shakes.

It will be a busy weekend for Kate Longid. She also is the music instructor for the Oswego Firefighters Pipes and Drums Local 4773 and will play with the band as part of the PrairieFest Parade at 1 p.m. Sunday in downtown Oswego.

Oswego High School 2023 graduate Moira Longid, who is a student at University of Iowa, sang as part of the band’s set and her brother, Oswego High School student Conor Longid, played guitar during the show.

“It was an amazing opportunity,” Moira Longid said. “It’s kind of a full circle moment for us, being on stage with both my parents and my younger brother. It was super cool seeing faces that I knew from high school and people that I’ve known since elementary school.”

Marykate Mosher, who just graduated from Oswego High School, was playing her saxophone at PrairieFest on Thursday as part of the Oswego High School Jazz Combo.

This was her first time performing at PrairieFest.

“It was a good environment and it was nice to see the people walking around,” Mosher said. “It was nice to play with my friends.”

Playing the trombone alongside her in the combo was Lily McCann, who also recently graduated from Oswego High School. This was also her first time playing at PrairieFest.

“It was super fun,” she said. “I started playing trombone in middle school. I feel like it suits my playing style.”

PrairieFest continues through Sunday. More information is at prairiefest.com.