To understand today’s sudden glut of music festivals, you only need follow simple economics: Step one: Book one or two high-profile bands (and fill in the gaps with upstarts willing to play for cheap); step two, rent a field; and step three, charge top dollar for entry, food and drink.
ܳٱԱ’s has never seemed concerned with capitalizing on the apparent jackpot that the swell of newborn festivals are after. In fact, despite a solid inaugural showing at the Hi-Dive in 2011, the festival was forced to downscale in their second year because of its concept-forward spirit.
“We moved into the Deer Pile, which is a way smaller venue,” said Goldrush Music Festival co-founder Crawford Philleo. “You can fit like 100 people in that room.”
The idea was conceived in 2011, when Ryan Pjesky, a friend of Philleo’s and fellow music blogger, approached him and Jake Martin, another writer, about collaborating on an off-kilter music event. Using their combined esoteric music knowledge, the idea was to connect deserving Denver acts with a bigger audience and introduce bands from abroad to the town’s music scene.
Now in its fourth year, Goldrush isn’t any bigger than it was during its first — it actually has a few less bands than in 2011. But thanks to some experience, there’s a greater sense of organization and identity than before. The festival will spread across a total of three stages at the Larimer Lounge and Meadowlark Lounge. For the first time, showtimes have been staggered, so attendees can catch the majority of the bands on display if they’re so inclined. And, having learned from their mistakes, the budget is rarely out of mind.
“I look at it every night before I go to bed,” Philleo said.
As for the bands themselves, discovery trumps bankable mainstays. , and are the ostensible headliners, but don’t panic if you’ve never heard of them: Philleo and Co. have concocted a bill that would give even the most studied music nerds pause.
“We’re trying to challenge the audience, and make them think about music in a different way,” he said. “That doesn’t mean it isn’t accessible—a lot of this music you can enjoy on face value. But we’ve definitely got some weirdos coming.”
According to Philleo, the esoteric selections aren’t a necessity of the budget, that if he had the resources to put on his dream festival, it’d look the same. The lineup is a carryover of the thread that the founders shared in the beginning: music blogging. Bands were sifted from the boxes and boxes of promos and demos Philleo received over the years. In this sense, Goldrush is pure passion, the experience of your musically obsessed friend talking your ears off about his favorite bands taken to the nth degree.
“Itap not about making famous,” Philleo said. “Itap that they make beautiful music and we want to share it. If we can all come and experience it together, itap worth it.”
Check out Goldrush Music Festival this Saturday and Sunday at the Larimer Lounge and Meadowlark Lounge. Tickets are $25 for both nights. To find out more about the festival, go to Goldrush’s website here.
Follow our news and updates on , our relationship status on and our search history on . Or send us a telegram.
Dylan Owens is Reverb’s all-purpose news blogger and album reviewer. You can read more from him in Relix magazine and the comment sections of WORLDSTARHIPHOP.
