Co-founded back in 2018 by three New York music industry vets and longtime friends, former Lorimer Beacon founder and head Mike Bell, Kanine Records‘ founder and label head Lio Kanine and Kepler Events‘ and Dedstrange Records co-founder Steven Matrick, The New Colossus Festival over the course of the past couple of years has featured several hundred handpicked, emerging indie bands and artists from Canada, the UK, the European Union, Singapore, Hong Kong and of course, the US.
By design the festival has taken place about a week or so before SXSW with the idea that New Colossus would be a pre-SXSW stopover that will give the acts in each year’s lineup an opportunity to organically gain exposure while filling a critical void in the city’s festival calendar.
New Colossus Festival’s third edition will take place March 8, 2023-March 12, 2023 and will take place in some of the Lower East Side’s best and renowned independent venues including Mercury Lounge, Berlin Under A, Arlene’s Grocery, Bowery Ballroom, The Bowery Electric, Heaven Can Wait, Pianos, and more. The festival’s organizers announced the first wave of artists that will be playing at next year’s festival, a highly curated collection of artists and bands from across the world — and the first wave bands and artists are below:
36? (CA)
802 (CA)
Adwaith (UK)
Anthony OKS (CA)
Arverne (US)
Astronomies (NO)
Ava Vegas (DE)
BIG SEA (IT)
Bloomsday (US)
Blushing (US)
Bonnie Trash (CA)
Boy With Apple (SE)
boy wonder (CA)
Buff Ginger (US)
Bummer Camp (US)
CHARMAINE (CA)
Claudia Bouvette (CA)
Clea Anaïs (CA)
Colatura (US)
church crush (US)
Data Animal (DE)
Day & Dream (US)
Dead Tooth (US)
Deep Sea Peach Tree (US)
Diary (US)
Dirty Freud (UK)
Father Koi (US)
Fears (UK)
French Cassettes (US)
Gäy (DK)
GIUNGLA (IT)
Hang Him to the Scales (US)
Heaven For Real (CA)
Helen Ganya (UK)
Her Dark Heaven (US)
Her Skin (IT)
High. (US)
His His (CA)
Hoorsees (FR)
Hope (DE)
InCircles (US)
J. Pastel (US)
Jane Inc. (CA)
Jeanines (US)
Jolé (UK)
Julia Logan (SE)
Kali Horse (CA)
Keegan Powell (CA)
Keeper E. (CA)
knitting (CA)
KOKO (IT)
Lahnah (US)
Lauren Lakis (US)
Laveda (US)
Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys (DE)
Lukka (US)
LUNACY (US)
MANE (AU)
Marci (CA)
Mary Shelley (US)
Monsoon (US)
My Son The Doctor (US)
Nat Vazer (AU)
Naya Ali (CA)
NEVVA (US)
O. Wake (US)
Oh Imanuela (UK)
Pale Dīan (US)
Phillip Jon Taylor (UK)
Picture Show (US)
Plàsi (SE)
Pons (US)
Poster Paints (US)
Public Body (UK)
Pulsr (US)
Punchlove (US)
Ringing (US)
Robber Robber (US)
Roost.World (US)
Saloon Dion (UK)
Secret American (US)
Shallow Waves (CA)
Shanghai Qiutian (CN)
Shred Flintstone (US)
Sid Simons (US)
Silverbacks (IE)
Slow Fiction (US)
Slut Magic (US)
Snotty Nose Rez Kids (CA)
Sobs (SG)
Spirits of Leo (US)
stranger waves (US)
Teenage Halloween (US)
Ten Minute Detour (CA)
The After Hours (US)
The Garrys (CA)
The Pleasure Majenta (DE)
The Tarrys (US)
The Vices (NL)
THUS LOVE (US)
Two-Man Giant Squid (US)
Web Hex (US)
Windier (US)
Work Wife (US)
Wynona Bleach (UK)
New Colossus also shared a curated playlist of the first wave artists and bands below. It’s 98 songs and over 5 hours — but it features some incredibly buzz-worthy acts, some emerging artists and bands that might break out next year, JOVM mainstays, and more, including Thus Love, Blushing, Dead Tooth, Shallow Waves, Spirits of Leo, Shred Flintstone, Pale Dian, Monsoon and more.
The full lineup will drop sometime in February but I’m looking forward to catching another edition of New Colossus.
Festival badges are on sale right now. You can purchase yours here https://dice.fm/event/ee7n6-new-colossus-festival-2023-8th-mar-various-venues-nyc-new-york-tickets
