More than 180 bands and thousands of local music fans will take over the town during this weekend’s 17th annual Carrboro Music Festival, as the event’s longtime coordinator says farewell.

“I think it’s a cool opportunity to kind of see what other bands are doing, and just hang out with a lot of musicians, and kind of get to know people. So, it’s sort of like – it’s obviously not the same, but like a little mini-South By Southwest.”

That’s Lindsey Sprague, guitarist for the garage-pop-surf-punk band Daddy Issues. They’re from Greensboro.

Daddy Issues will play the Cat’s Cradle Backroom on Saturday night with The Love Language and Natural Causes. It’s one of two kickoff events for Sunday’s Carrboro Music Festival, which runs from 1 p.m. until around midnight.

The event began life as the Fete de la Musique in 1998. Spouses Gerry Williams and Janet Place were members of the founding committee.

In 2002, then-Mayor Mike Nelson asked Williams to take over full responsibility for the event.

Williams has done so, through the present, coordinating with a volunteer committee and the Recreation and Parks Department.

Place has continued to design graphics, T-shirts and posters for the event.

This is the last year Williams will run the Carrboro Music Festival. He and Place have moved to Columbia, S.C.

At the Sept. 16 meeting of the Carrboro Board of Aldermen, Mayor Lydia Lavelle proclaimed Sept. 28 as “Gerry Williams and Janet Place Day,” and they received a standing ovation for their enduring contributions to Carrboro.

Alderpersons even wore Carrboro Music festival T-shirts for the occasion.

“Thank you for this,” said Williams, accepting the honor. “We have already moved to Columbia, South Carolina for my wife’s job, and have been down there a couple of months. And it’s a nice town, a nice city. But it’s no Carrboro.”

Jim Dennis, co-owner and operator of The Music Loft of Carrboro, is shadowing Williams this year, in preparation for taking over his duties as coordinator next time.

“But I don’t know how to drive the golf cart,” jokes Dennis. “So that’s what I’m going to learn Sunday – how to drive the golf cart.”

As you can imagine, the job involves zipping from place to place quickly, to defuse whatever situations arise.

Dennis and his wife Katharine have owned the Music Loft at 116 West Main St. for 14 years. They’ve been involved in some way with the festival since then, whether it’s a stage set up in the parking lot, or a musical equipment loan to participating venues.

Dennis said the Loft will open at noon on Sunday, and offer discounts for musicians playing the festival.

He says the spirit of camaraderie around the local band scene is a big reason the festival keeps going, and growing.

“You know, it really says something about Carrboro that you have 180 bands playing for free,” says Dennis.

Not only that, he adds, but there really isn’t enough space, year after year, for all that bands that want to play.

“I would say it’s probably 35 percent bigger than it was 10 years ago,” he says.

Kirk Ross is the lead singer, rhythm guitarist and main songwriter for the veteran Carrboro rock band Lud.

This will be the band’s fourth appearance at the fest.

“It’s a lot of fun,” says Ross, “with all the folks moving around, and the energy, and just the sort of randomness of who you’re going to run into, and what bands you’re going to see.

“I mean, I know behind the scenes, it’s a heavily planned event. But when you’re kind of walking around downtown, it’s all about, you, know, music.”

You can view the festival schedule here.