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.
Since its founding, the festival has quickly established itself as the first stop in New York and in the US for a growing number of emerging and buzz worthy for a growing number of emerging and buzz worthy international artists. Notable festival alumni include a number of JOVM mainstays including GIFT, Penelope Isles, The Orielles, Thus Love, as well as Pom Poko, Pom Pom Squad, Sid Simons, Sobs, Water From Your Eyes, Peel Dream Magazine, Kiwi Jr., and a growing list of others.
The festival’s fifth — er fourth? — edition took place back in March. But since then, the festival’s organizers have been extraordinarily busy: Along with Portuguese brewer Super Bock, The New Colossus Festival’s organizers have begun hosting a monthly showcase at The Knitting Factory at Baker Falls that will go on until November. And their third annual summer showcase series at Bushwick’s 18th Ward Brewing started back in May.
Saturday, I was back at 18th Ward Brewing for their weekly New Colossus Festival showcase. And as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, there are tons of fantastic pluses about the afternoon: Live music, great beer, good food and hanging out with music scene pals. Plus, if you’re an animal lover, many folks bring their dogs.
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