ONE DAY ONLY: Apply for Northside Festival by 11:59 p.m. EST on February 11, 2014 to get $5 off your submission fee! The fee will increase from $10 to $15 at midnight.
Now entering its sixth year, the annual Northside Festival will once again bring eight days of music and film discovery to North Brooklyn from June 12-19, 2014. Attracting over 90,000 attendees and dozens of influential media outlets (including Pitchfork and BrooklynVegan), Northside will select 350 bands – including at least 15 Sonicbids bands – that capture the essence of Brooklyn's indie music scene.
Unlike “destination” festivals that require trekking to the middle of a desert or a mud-soaked field, Northside has a more organic, laidback and distinctly Brooklyn vibe. Nearly every venue of every size across Williamsburg and Greenpoint takes part in the festival, giving attendees the ability to discover something new no matter where they end up.
Northside tends to draw 18- to 35-year-old Brooklynites who are excited to see the year's buzziest bands play the local venues they know and love... in a concentrated, curated format of four days of nonstop music.
While the 2014 lineup hasn’t been announced just yet, artists who have played Northside in the past span the gamut from Solange to Guided by Voices, Beirut, Black Flag, Of Montreal, St. Lucia, and The Walkmen. The selected Sonicbids acts will be announced in late April/early May, and the rest of the lineup will be gradually revealed from March through the end of May.
We chatted with Jennifer Mills, Northside Festival’s Sales and Event Coordinator, to find more out about the festival's history, why bands love to play it, and how Sonicbids has helped along the way.
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Why was Northside Festival created?
Northside Media has always focused on Brooklyn as the central location for “what’s next” in culture. Our flagship publication, The L Magazine, has been reporting on this scene for years; we like to think that it had a role in cementing the cultural importance of Brooklyn within New York. So putting together a festival celebrating all of that culture that we all feel personally invested in – from film to innovation to (of course) music – seemed like a natural next step in putting Brooklyn on the map! It’s also great to highlight not only the nationally recognized headliners, but to pack our lineups with local talent that may be harder to track down for the average New Yorker. We like to think of Northside as a discovery festival.
What makes Northside unique?
I think it’s a more fan-friendly alternative to some other big-name festivals – a lot more indie-minded. We’re not trying to put branding above music. We’re really committed to a community experience, so all of our venues are within a walkable radius, and we love to highlight the bands that have really come up through a Brooklyn audience. It’s celebrating the music community as a whole, not just the artists.
What do you look for in bands that apply to play the festival?
We really look for a band that wants to expand their presence in the local scene and build themselves up from their bootstraps. It’s good for someone eager to start from that beginning stage, but who wants to capitalize on what the Brooklyn scene can offer. In the end, though, it’s really on the band’s shoulders to figure out what the festival can be to them and can do for them.
Why is this a good festival for bands to play?
Bands will be promoted within the umbrella of Northside, right alongside its bigger names. And our lineups are put together in a way where the acts really complement one another, so we hope that the more up-and-coming bands get some new fans out of it!
What’s the number one perk of playing Northside?
The biggest perk is probably gaining promotion within the local scene, and within this cultural hub where press and media are turning more and more of their attention.
What’s the key for bands to get the most out of the experience?
The best advice we can give to a band is to take the promotion we can give you and roll with it. We really love to see bands promote the show themselves via their own social media avenues. Since we’re so community-based, it’s such a great boost for the fest in general when bands can get some extra buzz going for their showcase.
What role has Sonicbids played in the festival?
We've been working with Sonicbids for years now to help round out our lineups with amazing local talent that might not have been brought to our attention without their help. Our Sonicbids bands are always extra-enthusiastic to meet other bands, expand their fanbase, and soak up every opportunity we can offer. Even for bands that don’t make it into the festival, it lets us know to keep an eye on them as they mature their sound and get more festival-ready.
And finally, describe one of your favorite memories from Northside.
In 2011, Beirut played to a sold out McCarren Park while the sun was setting on Brooklyn. It was a great feeling to see a band so tied to Brooklyn play their adoptive hometown before the new album came out.
