San Diego’s burgeoning music scene supports a lot of music festivals relative to its size. Beginning each spring, music fans can partake in a wide variety of options for their entertainment each weekend, from street fairs to Street Scene.
The newest and perhaps most fitting such event is the San Diego Indie Music Fest, taking place Saturday, March 3, at venues in North Park. Featuring non-major label acts in all genres, the fest aims to bring the spotlight to a class of artists who often float just under the radar. Mixing music with film and spoken word, 75 performers will take the stage in seven venues including Claire de Lune, Caffe Calabria and The North Park Theatre.
According to event organizers there is a dire need for a festival of this nature.
“The FM airwaves and major media systems are monopolized by big corporate agendas that have little or nothing to do with music and art,” explained Danielle Lo Presti, event organizer and musician. “They have to do with profit. Period.”
Lo Presti said hundreds of thousands of artists take risks and defy easy classifications are overlooked and forced to produce their own records. The answer to this problem, she said, is an effort such as the festival.
“We want to do something real and bold that creates a collective roar that simply cannot be ignored,” Lo Presti stated.
The festival sports an impressive roster of national acts, including ’80s ska/punk hybrid Fishbone, singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked and violin virtuoso Gingger Shankar. But the lineup really shines with its wide variety of local acts.
Two of the headliners, Vegitation and Al Howard & The K23 Orchestra, are acts based in Ocean Beach, both of which will perform on the main stage at the Stephen & Mary Birch North Park Theatre. Reggae-rock group Vegitation is first up at 2:15 p.m. The band is currently working on its fourth album, having built up a sizeable following through its celebratory live shows. The other OB band, Al Howard & The K23 Orchestra, will have the honor of closing the festival with a performance at 11 p.m. Though the group won San Diego Music Awards for “Best Hip-Hop” act from 2003 to 2005, that tag reflects just one facet of the group’s music. Also touching on jazz, funk and rock, Howard’s unique sound has made him one of the city’s fastest rising stars as well as a favorite at festivals around the country.
San Diego performer Lindsey Yung is thrilled to be included as part of such a major undertaking.
“I plan on wandering around from stage to stage to try to absorb as many artists as I can,” Yung said. For her, artist-driven festivals are the best way to expose new sounds to a large audience. “It creates interest in us,” she said. “With each event, more people are exposed and, hopefully, word travels fast about the amazing music sitting right under people’s radar.”
Country singer Carol Ames, who will also perform, likes the non-corporate side of Indiefest. “Grass roots events like these are important because the music is ‘real,’ not contrived by a businessman at a label trying to make money,” she explained.
Jazz saxophonist Chris Klich, who played at last year’s festival and will join this year’s, agrees.
“Corporate music is stale and promotes image over artistry,” Klich said. “Major labels only sign artists that reflect the kind of homogenized music they’re already putting out. By the time a new artist is focus-grouped, produced and image-tested, any unique qualities or artistic talent are removed.”
Klich intends to support artists at the show with more than just his attendance. “I’ll be bringing plenty of cash to purchase CDs,” he laughed. “I never listen to commercial radio anymore.”
Tickets for the San Diego Indie Music Fest are $23 for adults, $20 for students and seniors. They are available exclusively at the Stephen and Mary Birch North Park Theatre box office located at 2891 University Ave. For more information, visit www.sdindiemusicfest.com.