Northside Festival has come a long way since its founding almost a decade ago, L Magazine’s sub-CMJ (or sub-sub-SXSW) music fest taking place in venues in Williamsburg & Greenpoint (QRO recap of inaugural year). L Magazine and CMJ are no more, but Northside has since expanded significantly with its Innovation portion, featuring talks on the music industry, tech, and much more.
However, Innovation has come to overshadow Music more & more (such as a music badge costing around $70 – Innovation around $1,000). This year also didn’t see any of the big outdoor McCarren Park shows of years past, either free or ticketed, a major loss on the big-name front. But the festival was still a chance to scour the streets of Brooklyn (and stops on the L train) for new music in small places.
Noise Love showcase @ Two Boots Pizza
Terry Edelman
Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase
Saturday had a full afternoon schedule of mostly free events. Headed to the Williamsburg location of Two Boots Pizza (the hipster one with pie names like ‘V is for Vegan’) for the pizza, but also some acoustic music in the backyard. After navigating through the families with kids (though the place does also serve beer), got the acoustic emotion of Terry Edelman and Jordyn Blakely in the brick ruins of the backyard.
Jordyn Blakely
Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase
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Unit J showcase @ Gold Sounds
Unit J is a massive loft in Bushwick that was converted into an arts space, and organizes periodic shows, like at Northside. With that kind of backstory, I was kind of expecting hipster avant-garde at Gold Sounds Bar (which apparently is named after the classic Pavement song – QRO video – though without the “z” at the end of “Soundz”…).
Instead, it was a relief to find some honest-to-god authentic twenty-first century country/folk in Brooklyn. It was so authentic one couldn’t get a phone signal – thankfully the bartender shared the Wi-Fi.
Kate Vargas
Click image for full gallery – Ted Chase
The event, which featured over twenty acts, started in the bar with country twang girls Kate Vargas and Martina San Diego.
Martina San Diego
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DOUGMORE
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The concert extended into the back stage area for the full bands, beginning with DOUGMORE. He had strong country-folk sounds with his banjo – and guitar for his new, jokingly described “edgier” material. Definite bonus points for humorous on stage presence, he felt reminiscent of Paul Simon.
Olivia George
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The bar stage became more and more limited as more and more people showed up, literally walking past the performer when entering, and talking with their drinks. That hurt the sweet songstress folk of Olivia George and the grittier, Joan Jett-esque rock of Meghan Rose.
Meghan Rose
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Pale Ramon
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Back in the main stage area was Pale Ramon, actual indie-rock, including a keyboard singer (who was a bit in the dark in terms of lighting), energetic guitarist, and a pressing sound. Meanwhile, Marcus Jade brought his solo bluesman to the bar stage.
Marcus Jade
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Dru Cutler
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The co-founder of Unit J & the whole event was Dru Cutler, who actually opened it solo in the bar area (where he mentioned making it through three callbacks to play Johnny Cash role on Broadway, when not knowing anything about him), and then his full band later on. Much more mainstream and polished country-rock than expected from a Brooklyn art collective – and way more enjoyable & certainly less self-important than most Brooklyn art collectives.
[also bonus points for introducing himself, unprompted, to your correspondent later on]
Belle-Skinner
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Belle-Skinner was a jazzy singer, including upright bass, but it was too late in the evening for people in the bar not to be talking over (or playing pool).
Megg Farrell
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“Let’s play a Gram Parsons song!” Outright country lives in Brooklyn with Megg Farrell and her band, which is refreshing amid all the synth hipsters. Meanwhile, Bryan Dunn played to the bar with his piece where, “I was gonna write you a love song,” but got alcohol instead.
Bryan Dunn
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Pete Lanctot & The Stray Dogs
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There was country honky-tonk in Pete Lanctot & The Stray Dogs, without going over-tonk. Meanwhile, it was country-twang authenticity with Taylor Plas.
Taylor Plas
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MAMA JUKE
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Even more unexpected than what came before was MAMA JUKE, fronted by Unit J co-founder Eli Bridges, who brought Louisiana country-zydeco (and do a weekly residency at East Village Social). Closing the bar stage was Conor Grant, who had more a performance at the bar stage than had a right to expect.
Conor Grant
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Olu Bliss
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And closing out the whole event was Olu Bliss, with easy listening writ large.
