According to Pitchfork, Don Giovanni Records has announced the New Alternative Music Festival. The show will kick off September 16 at the Convention Center in Asbury Park, NJ and conclude the 18. The event was announced as one-time only and one that will not be repeated in subsequent years. Performing at the festival will be Antibodies, Screaming Females, Tenement, Girlpool, Downtown Boys, P.S. Eliot, Trophy Wife, with more to be announced. While the artists represent a diversity in sound and influence, there is one constant: the lineup is made of musicians not attached to any major record label. See the complete lineup below.
Perhaps the biggest name in the lineup is Girlpool. The electric guitar and bass duo is known for their stark indie melodies, reminiscent of the Liz Phair era of indie rock. Their album Before the World Was Big and its title track faired well with critics and indie rock airwaves across the US in 2015.
Brunswick trio Screaming Females channel Sleater-Kinney to create a driving rock sound. The band fits the festival spirit perfectly: they are known to be heavily involved on the business side of their career, booking their own shows and self-release their own work.
With no sponsors, the festival aims to be a purist indie event, against the concepts of commercialism. In a press release the label discussed their direct opposition the prospect of persuing sponsors, content marketing, and other opportunities to monetize off show-goers:
“This is a pro-weirdo event held in direct opposition to the apolitical sludge that has come to pass as ‘indie’ and that has nothing to do with operating independently… Where many festival bills are structured to reflect critical acclaim, the NAMF lineup is meant to reflect a community. In addition to making great music, many of these artists are involved because they are peers, tourmates, and friends.”
Efforts on behalf of the label to make the festival affordable and accessible to all fans can easily be spotted through even the most cursory research, mainly through the label’s austere measures. In lieu of corporate monetary support, the label uses a simplistic webpage, and invested little to money into promotion. Tickets are available for purchase via Ticketfly (a non-corporate ticket distributor) starting at $28. 3-day passes are available for $75.
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