Summit Indie Fest is an inaugural event happening at Book and Bar in Portsmouth, NH on Saturday, May 19th. The ideals behind the fest are two fold, to present great bands within the greater New England music community and also to foster a spirit of philanthropy and giving back.
The bill is a wide spanning cross section of what could be considered (on broader terms) “roots” music in and around the New England area. In the course of one evening you will get hot bluegrass licks and harmonies alongside punk infused folk. Soul and funk rhythms dovetailing with lyrically driven folk rock. We decided to catch up with the bands leading up to the event, one by one, to highlight their distinct sounds, what makes them excited for an evening that is focused on these themes and of course: just what they are up to in general.
I remember first seeing singer-songwriter Joe Young at Club Passim and being completely blown away by his voice. It wasn’t until about a year later that I realized he had started a new band “Young Frontier” that filled out the sound a bit more and made those songs and that voice even more exciting. We then premiered one of the videos from the band in summer of 2016 and I was floored by their sound. Young’s voice “A bit Ray Lamontagne, a smidge of Joe Purdy, perhaps even David Gray with a bit more twang, there is a graveled nature to his voice, but a glimmer of polish and sheen that flickers bright in the occasional grim stories of his songs” and the song hitting me as “Part rambling folk romp and other part sweet balladry soirée”, there is just a vibe that they cast that is undeniable.
This is the final band performing at Summit Indie and the final of the four performing that evening. Read on folks. Read on…and listen to their music.
RLR: For those who have never heard your group before, how would you sum up your sound in a sentence long phrase?
YF: Folk rock with touches of Bluegrass and Americana
RLR: I think what is pretty cool about this particular event is that it is really highlighting how different folk or roots music really is and the sonic breadth that it spans from punk influenced folk to bluegrass and indie singer-songwriter vibes. I mean “Indie” really means independent at the core, but perhaps has come to represent a certain sound in modern times. What are you most excited about in regards to the Indie Music Fest?
YF: The best part about music is the community that it fosters, we love hearing new music and making friends with the people making it and supporting it. And when that can happen while simultaneously supporting a good cause, who wouldn’t be excited?
RLR: Festival can have a certain connotation about “huge event”, outdoors, sun, so on. But this particular show is really focusing on the intimacy of catching a show in a great setting with highly curated and high quality music. In the life of your group do you find you can take a moment and appreciate that intimacy of a show where every one is zeroed in on the performance? Do you find you strive in that atmosphere?
YF: In this particular band that moment happens at some point in every show, where the band is smiling at each other and trading new musical thoughts, jokes and challenges back and forth before there’s time to put words to any of it. In quiet venues more of that gets noticed by the audience, but if we’re lucky that happens wherever we play.
RLR: Two questions: the event is at the Book & Bar in Portsmouth. So, A) what are you reading right now? and What is your beverage of choice when on stage (or off)?
Dan: Testimony – Robbie Robertson, Bourbon on, Dirty Chai off
Bethany: Sadly, how long a peanut butter sandwich is ok unrefrigerated. Cider! All of them.
Joe: You Shall Know Our Velocity! Dave Eggers and Bourbon on, Americano off, water all the time.
RLR: The mission of the show is really to celebrate philanthropy and the spirit of community through music. Being a part of it, I would assume that is also important for you all. What does community support and that philanthropic ideal mean to you as artists?
YF: We don’t have a platform to sing and play our songs without support from the community. We feel blessed to come up in a scene that recognizes and values local art and music. And when both artist and supporter alike come together to help those in need that’s just the cherry on top. Or the music is the cherry on top of the philanthropy. Either way we’re eating a sundae and sundaes are delicious.
RLR: Anything you really want to plug coming up?
YF: We’ve got a new EP coming out this year!