Photos from day one of Elsewhere Conference’s programming at Nortons Brewing, Wichita, KS 6/21/24.
Photos from day one of Elsewhere Conference’s programming at Nortons Brewing, Wichita, KS 6/21/24.
JOVM’s William Ruben Helms chats with Midtopia and Elsewhere Fest’s Jessie Hartke.

Happy May Day! And with Spring fully upon us, that means more festival announcements, y’all! So let’s get to it.
Richmond, VA-based music festival Iron Blossom Festival is presented in collaboration with:
Starr Hill Presents, an independently owned and operated concert promoter based in Charlottesville, VA that promotes over 300 events each year, ranging from small club shows to multi-day festivals. The company operates multiple local venues and have partnered in festivals across the country, including Bonnaroo, Outside Lands, SXSW, Pilgrimage and more.
IMGoing Events, a full-service, independent entertainment company providing first-class live experiences and an innovative leader in the production, booking and marketing of live entertainment events including festivals, concerts and all types of special events. The company creates creates premier concerts and event experiences by offering the most intimate engagements.
Haymaker Productions, a production and promotion company that has been producing and promoting concerts in the Richmond area since 2002. The Haymaker Productions team also provides production support for events such as the Olympics, Burning Man, World Cup and Formula One racing while continuing to curate the area’s favorite outdoor concerts at Maymount.
Grand Rising Curations, an independent concert and festival promoter producing shows and providing talent buying, marketing, ticketing and production services throughout the United States.
Iron Blossom Music Festival will return to Richmond, VA for the second year. Taking place September 21, 2024 – September 22, 2024, the festival will be an end of summer celebration with two days of incredible music, food, art and fun at the Training Center on Leigh (formerly Bon Secours Training Center).
The festival draws from its host city’s vibrant and diverse community to bring fans a unique musical experience, with local artists sharing the stage with regional acts and national headliners. This year’s headliners include indie folk-leaning indie rock outfit Mt. Joy; CAAMP, who will be playing their only Southeast show this year; Americana group Turnpike Troubadours and Grammy-nominated soul outfit Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats. The festival’s lineup also includes Trampled by Turtles, Hippo Campus, Joy Oladokun, Indigo De Souza, The California Honeydrops, Royel Otis, Sumbuck, Chance Peña, Say She She, River Whyless, Susto, SG Goodman, Julia Pratt, Sarah Shook & The Disarmers, Victoria Canal, Dogpark, Jack Wharff & The Tobacco Flatts, and Kenneka Cook.
Iron Blossom Music Festival’s second edition will be expanding this year’s footprint to include a larger food court an artisan bazaar, a GA+ Lounge and additional free water stations and shade structures while still offering the best of Central Virginia’s food, beverage and maker communities. Fans will continue to enjoy farm to table and delicious street foods, craft beats and cocktails, and wears from dozens of artisan vendors. A VIP experience is also being offered, giving fans up-close views, an exclusive lounge with cash bars, vendors, and more.
Fans can guarantee themselves Tier 1 ticket pricing by signing up for the exclusive email/text presale at IronBlossomFestival.com. Tickets will be on sale to the general public tomorrow at noon at IronBlossomFestival.com.
“Last year’s event truly was a celebration of the vibrant community here in Richmond. We can’t wait to bring everyone together again for another amazing weekend of music,” IMGoing Events’ Ken MacDonald says.
“The city of Richmond continues to grow and thrive and the success of Iron Blossom is because of the people who live here and their enthusiasm for art and culture, especially live music. From the top notch lineup to the incredible food and beverage programming, Iron Blossom will again be one for the books” Haymaker Productions’ Tom Beals says.
Iron Blossom Lineup

It’s spring and y’all know what that means! Summer festival announcement time! So let’s get to it.
Woodsist Festival is a collaboration between:
Started back in 2009, the inaugural Woodsist Festival took place in Brooklyn and featured a lineup of Thee Oh Sees, alongside acts like Beach Fossils, Real Estate, and Kurt Vile. Since then, the festival has taken place in several different locations including Big Sur, Point Reyes National Seashore and Pioneertown, CA. The festival has been presented at its current home of Arrowood Farms since 2019 in partnership with Ground Control Touring and Hudson Valley-based concert promoters Impact Concerts. The festival has played there annually since 2021.
Woodsist Festival returns to Accord, NY‘s Arrowood Farms. Taking place September 21, 2024 – September 22, 2024, this year’s lineup, which was curated by Woods’ Jeremy Earl, features headliners Yo La Tengo, Real Estate and Jessica Pratt, along with Woods, Haliu Mergia, the acclaimed Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Jeff Parker, Ethan de L’Aïr, The Messthetics, 75 Dollar Bill Big Band, Rosali, Mystic 100s, Florry and Sylvia on two alternating stages.
Arrowood Farms will also feature food from local Hudson Valley-based vendors and craft beer brewed directly on site. Tickets go on sale April 26, 2024 at 10:00AM ET and are available via www.woodsistfestival.com.

If you were frequenting this site over the course of the past few months, you might recall that last month I announced that I was selected as an inaugural member of the Asian Arts Initiative’s Sound Type Music Writers Workshop in Philadelphia.
Sound Type is Asian Arts Initiative’s Music Festival and Writers Residency designed to support and uplift new, experimental and courageous music from the Asian Diaspora and beyond. The Asian Art Initiative will also provide a series of workshops, gatherings and mentorships to primarily BIPOC musicians, journalists and critics to help build a sustainable ecosystem for them.
As a member of the workshop. I’ll be attending and writing about the showcases of the Sound Type Musical Festival, as well as other music-related programs at the festival. The commentary, articles, interviews and reviews will be published after the 2024 season.
The first show of the series will feature Victoria Shen with Qiujiang Levi Lu on March 23, 2024. Shen’s work eschews conventions in harmony and rhythm in favor of extreme and abrasive textures and gestural tones built around analog modular synthesizers, vinyl/resin record and self-built electronics. My understanding is that tickets are still available for the show. So, Philadelphia friends, come on through to check out a night of boundary-pushing music — and hang out with your boy. Maybe we can stop at Bar or Tattooed Mom after.
https://asianartsinitiative.org/programs/victoria-shen-live-in-concert
Before the show, AAI will be hosting two events:
Friday, March 22, 2024: A Conversation with Victoria Shen. Moderated by Joyce Chung, Curator at Asian Arts Initiative, the pair will delve into the creative practice behind Shen’s current exhibition at AAI and how Shen experiments with making instruments and spatial relationship of sound. This event is free but you need to sign up for tickets. Information can be found here: https://asianartsinitiative.org/programs/victoria-shen-artist-talk
Saturday, March 23, 2024: Sound Type Seminar with Victoria Shen and writer and designer Mindy Seu, moderated by AAI’s Anne Ishii. The pair will discuss their boundary-pushing work and its relation to Sound Type’s mission: uplifting new, experimental, courageous music from the Asian diaspora and beyond!
https://asianartsinitiative.org/programs/sound-type-seminar-victoria-shen-and-mindy-seu
Check out the bios and information on me and the rest of the fascinating and extremely talented members of the Music Writers cohort, check out the following link:
https://asianartsinitiative.org/news/meet-our-writers-2024-sound-type-music-writers-workshop

With Spring just around the corner, that means Summer Festival announcement season is upon us. So let’s get to it.
Founded back in 2006, Pitchfork Music Festival has proven to be one of the most welcoming, accessible and rewarding festival experiences in the global festival circuit, hosting 60,000 music fans of all ages from across the globe in Chicago, one of my favorite cities in the world. Each year, the festival prides itself on a distinct blend of discovery and tradition through showcasing the best up-and-coming acts, touring stalwarts and legends like.
Through a collection of its varied vendors and an annual specialty record fair, the festival works to support local businesses, while promoting Chicago arts and food communities as a whole.
The 18th edition of the Pitchfork Music Festival returns to Chicago’s Union Park, and will take place Friday, July 19, 2024 through Sunday, July 21, 2024. Yesterday, festival organizers announced the festival’s headliners and its full lineup.
Pitchfork Music Festival’s first day will feature headliner Black Pumas, along with sets from Jai Paul, 100 gecs, Jeff Rosenstock, Yaeji, Sudan Archives, Amen Dunes, billy woods & Kenny Segal, Tkay Maidza, Doss, ML Buch, Rosali, Angry Blackmen, and Black Duck.
The festival’s second day will be headlined by Jamie xx and will feature sets from Carly Rae Jepsen, Jessie Ware, De La Soul, UNWOUND, Bratmobile, Wednesday, Water From Your Eyes, Sweeping Promises, feeble little horse, Hotline TNT, Kara Jackson, L’Rain, and Lifeguard.
The festival’s last day will be headlined by Alanis Moriseette and will feature sets from Brittany Howard, MUNA, the legendary Grandmaster Flash, Les Savy Fav, Crumb, Jessica Pratt, Mannequin Pussy, Hailu Mergia, Model/Actriz, Nala Sinephro, Maxo, Joanna Sternberg, and Kenya.
The full lineup is below:
Full lineup:
FRIDAY
Black Pumas
Jai Paul
100 gecs
Jeff Rosenstock
Yaeji
Sudan Archives
Amen Dunes
billy woods & Kenny Segal
Tkay Maidza
Doss
ML Buch
Rosali
Angry Blackmen
Black Duck
SATURDAY
Jamie xx
Carly Rae Jepsen
Jessie Ware
De La Soul
UNWOUND
Bratmobile
Wednesday
Water From Your Eyes
Sweeping Promises
feeble little horse
Hotline TNT
Kara Jackson
L’Rain
Lifeguard
SUNDAY
Alanis Morissette
Brittany Howard
MUNA
Grandmaster Flash
Les Savy Fav
Crumb
Jessica Pratt
Mannequin Pussy
Hailu Mergia
Model/Actriz
Nala Sinephro
Maxo
Joanna Sternberg
Akenya
Tickets are on sale right now, and they include single and three-day passes in three tiers — General Admission, PLUS and VIP:
General Admission tickets are $109 for a single day pass and $219 for a three-day pass.
The Pitchfork PLUS upgrade, which includes a range of exclusive amenities is $199 for a single-day pass and $399 for a three-day pass.
The Pitchfork VIP upgrade, which includes offerings such as side-stage or front of stage viewing at the two main stages, unlimited access to backstage lounges, complimentary beverages, daily catered meals, mobile charing stations, tarot readings, massages, access to reserved parking and more. The Pitchfork VIP upgrade is $379 one a one-day pass and $699 for a three-day pass.
Payment plans are available for all ticket types. More details are available here.