In 2010, Brian Cohen, a documentary filmmaker, founded LouFest, a small music festival in Forest Park with performers such as Broken Social Scene and Jeff Tweedy of Wilco. Six years later, the festival had expanded to feature names like Ludacris, Hozier...

Last year’s Loufest in Forest Park struck a near-perfect chord in terms of idyllic location, audience amenities, and terrific music. I’d say it was the coolest thing to happen on the St. Louis concert scene in 2010, but the scorching heat and humidity...