Looking to see some live music this weekend and check out some new artists? Then look no further than Small Town Music Festival, a free festival in Danielson, Connecticut happening on Saturday, Oct. 12.
The festival will feature 13 artists hailing from Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and even West Virginia in one of the biggest lineups assembled in recent years in eastern Connecticut. Music is set to start at 11:45 a.m. and will continue until nearly 10 p.m. in a 10-hour marathon of sound. The show will take place in the parking lot next to Chubby Dog Coffee Company, located on Main Street.
The lineup features a great variety of genres, including alternative rock, pop punk, hardcore punk, metalcore, rap and folk, creating a diverse mix of music where there’s something for everybody.
Among the artists performing on Saturday are Ruby Leftstep and Wavy McGrady, two bands who have performed frequently at the University of Connecticut and are some of the biggest names in the Storrs scene. Ruby Leftstep goes on at 12:20 p.m., while Wavy McGrady performs at 7 p.m. In addition to the performers, the festival will feature vendors, food trucks and a beer garden with local breweries.
The festival was organized by John Nelson, who said that this is the first time he’s been in charge of putting together a show, especially not one of this caliber.
“I’ve always participated and helped people [with shows], especially in a lot of hardcore scenes,” he said. “But putting an event together of this magnitude was my first time and I’ve been nothing short of grateful. The people we’ve brought on to help us with it have been amazing.”
Among those people who have helped Nelson is Austin Hainey, who plays guitar in Cinema Stare, one of the bands in the lineup, and runs Knowhere, a recording studio and venue in Tolland, Conn. Hainey will be running sound at the festival and he’s someone that Nelson said he’s been grateful to have had help.
Nelson said that he took a “go big or go home” approach in organizing the festival and getting the lineup together. It was this approach that led to him getting 13 acts on the bill, more than he ever thought he would get. He also said that organizing the festival allowed him to discover more bands and be more aware of local music scenes.
“The biggest thing was getting to know and get more familiar with what’s going on around me and around us music-wise,” he said. “And all [of the artists] are on my playlist now.”
Nelson also said that he loves that the festival features a diverse array of music with artists from different places and music scenes that may not get much attention.
“The diversity is what we’re really excited for,” he said. “It’s really cool to be able to show and share multiple genres and multiple facets of music scenes around Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island or all these places that maybe aren’t as connected or might get overlooked. So to be able to bring this to more people, as well as provide a space for people already in it is fantastic.”
And if it goes well this weekend, Nelson said that he hopes to make the festival an annual event.