When: 4 – 9 March 2025
Where: New York City, United States of America.
New Colossus held its 6th edition of the festival earlier this month. In summary 195 bands played two or three times across 11 venues in the Lower East Side / East Village of Manhattan, New York. All venues were within walking distance of each other and the daily schedules fitted neatly on one page which I can assure you is a huge advantage when planning such multi-venue events. The curation was spot on with artists participating from across the Americas as well as overseas. Indeed, as this is held the week before SXSW a number of artists took advantage of playing in New York en route to Austin, Texas.
Curated by Steven Matrick and Lio Kanine, these two music obsessives were omnipresent throughout the six days, and appeared remarkably chilled for the ambition of what they were hosting. The majority of venues allowed for an up close and personal gig experience. The atmosphere positively oozed friendliness. What a joyous shared live music experience as gig goers were able to mingle with the artists, such was the intimate nature of the venues. Pianos was base camp for New Colossus and on the opening Tuesday held gigs in the upstairs and main room, thus no clashes on Day 1.
It’s the small touches that mean so much at these festivals. Day tickets were available as well as festival passes thus allowing the opportunity to pay and attend on individual days. The day ticket option meant that beloved local bands such as Talons and Panki Flower played to passionate packed-out rooms.
The delight on the faces of bands, especially those from UK and Ireland who had been invited and had never been to New York before, was pure joy. “Surreal” become a much-used word to describe the experience for the likes of Dictator, Shady Baby, Sterling Press and Test Plan. Ireland continues to produce quality artists aplenty. Bucket with their earth-shattering noise, the 7-piece (or is it 8?) Peer Pleasure creating havoc both on and off stage, Scattered Ashes performing as a duo for the first time and proving it works beautifully and Wynona Bleach with their own blend of shoegaze and alt-rock.
The festival also had a number of curated showcases including by The Planetary Group (artist development organisation based in Los Angeles), Dedstrange (independent record label based in New York) and The Spanish Wave (highlighting artists from Spanish-speaking countries including Chile and Mexico as well as Spain). What an opportunity to see Mexico’s Mengers and Las Petunias! from Spain in the quirky surroundings of Baker Falls.
The quality of the line-up was such that there are numerous bands to shout out. In terms of US artists, Consumables (indie guitar based bounce), Public Circuit (electrifying synth electronica) and Shitfire (hardcore punk) are bands I hope to see again.
Artists who were on their way to SXSW included Australia’s Delivery and New Zealand’s Bakers Eddy both of whom put on sets to remember, even more impressive when the miles travelled was taken into consideration. A personal highlight was seeing test plan three times in a week! Holland is another country that is currently on a roll with a number of quality bands. Personal Trainer and Cloudsurfers performed at New Colossus, both of whom I caught twice. I wager favourites of Iggy Pop the super-energized punk of Joe and the Shitboys from the Faroe Islands will never put on a boring show, and near-ish neighbours Canada representation included No Waves, Last Waltzon and Truck Violence. All three fizzed with exhilarating sets.
As mentioned it was easy to move between the venues, the majority are within ten minutes walk of each other. There were few queues and so the atmosphere was convivial. There was plenty of opportunity to talk to the bands, even while they were performing as happened with Dictator from my hometown of Edinburgh, Scotland!
In addition to the live music there was also the Colossal Conversations, a series of panel discussions on a range of subjects for both the artists and industry attendees. These provided an opportunity to mingle and with the current climate crisis making it increasingly challenging for artists, sharing information and making connections is invaluable.
Finally a particular personal highlight was seeing Sterling Press play live for the first time. My road to Music Writing began during lockdown and I reviewed their debut single ‘Very Fun Times’ in the spring of 2021. I could never have dreamt I would attend a festival in New York’s Lower East Side and see them play live four years later.
The big question. Will we back in 2026? Hell, Yeah!!
For more information on New Colossus Festival please check the website, facebook and instagram.
Photos Credit: Julia Mason
