Maybe I need to broaden my go-to discussion topics, but when that magical time of the year rolls around, it’s difficult for me to talk about anything other than the upcoming festival season. Often I get asked what festival is a summer must. Every time my eyes broaden with my answer: Beardfest.
Located in the beautiful New Jersey Pine Barrens, Beard gives attendees a festival care package: providing a party balanced with wellness-based activities and plenty of opportunities to learn, create, befriend, and inspire. Rage until the sun comes up, drink a beer while you float stage-side in the lake, attend a theory workshop led by a musician playing that weekend, take a tour of the area’s ecology, paint on the canvases tarped along the trees, paint your friends, throw some [biodegradable] glitter on them. It is your toolbox to customize.
This October 12th, Beardfam is bringing all that beauty to Philadelphia’s Ukie Club for the first-ever Citybeard. Founders hope the accessibility of the city will bring out some people who may not find the idea of partying four days in the sand as appealing as the rest of us. If you’re one of those people, this outdoor day-festival will give you a spoonful of what one of my personal favorites is all about.
The Lineup:
Let’s get right into it. Citybeard has invited Beardfest regulars Moon Hooch to headline the night. Founders Out of the Beardspace will rage both daytime and indoor late-night set and invited their Philadelphia family to fill the rest of the bill: Nik Greely, Johnny Showcase & the Mystic Ticket, iNFiNiEN, Taylor Kelly, Edenspore, and Northeast Corners. Worldtown Soundsystem will close out the night. Founder Zach LoPresti mentioned they’re the perfect closer because, “they bring a perfect blend of infectious energy and music to every show they play. Their sound blends EDM/House music with R&B/Funk/Afrobeat/Soul through a group of amazing singers, instrumentalists, and a DJ. Worldtown turns it up!”
Workshops:
Beardfest is known for promoting its workshop schedule with just as much significance as the music lineup. With the variety of their classes, you’re bound to find something that appeals to you: crafts, movement, self-defense, permaculture, and music, all led by both local and global masters of their niche.
Crunching its known variety into the matter of one day, Citybeard offers discussions on how to bring more sustainability into your every day with Environmental Engineer John-Paul Anderson, explore music theory with musician and famous YouTuber Adam Neely, and move your body with a collection of workshops including circus arts, yoga, drum circles, and ecstatic dance. You can read more about CityBeard’s workshops here.
Art:
The live-art collective ROMPUS will be in full force at Citybeard. At Beardfest they are known for creating landscapes behind headlining acts on a canvas that stretches across the entire stage. Lights project behind the painters so that their shadows show every paint stroke and dance move to the onlooking crowd. Tamed Flame will be lighting up the headlining acts in a different way with fire flow performance. And of course, there will be a variety of local artists and vendors for you to discover and support.
Family:
“You can talk about the tangible things that make Beardfest different,” LoPresti said, “but more than anything it’s the community. There is a group of organizers including myself and the Beardspace, ROMPUS, and Edespore crew who bring big ideas to this thing, but it’s the larger community who actually manifest it all.”
Beardfest is bringing the magic of their festival to the city, and there is only one thing we need to bring in return: the community. Show up and rage. Share smiles and participate in workshops. Dance with a friend. Dance with a stranger. That’s on us to deliver.
Catch the music, join the movement, and grab your ticket now.
NEPAudio 