While most of the District flips for Sweetlife Fest (next weekend, by the way) and the brand-new Landmark Fest, some residents have been holding out for something even bigger—well, smaller.
Last year saw the first inaugural In It Together Fest, a small-scale, locally-focused festival featuring independent music and culture. After a rousing and wildly successful first year, the organizers have cooked up an even better iteration for 2015. And today, the details were unveiled.
Mark your calendars: July 30th-August 2nd, In It Together Fest is InFesting the city. So far, the lineup boasts Philadelphia’s Cayetana and Hurry, power-pop slackers Rozwell Kid, North Carolina rockers Late Bloomer and Alright, Ohio’s Meridian and The Public, doom/sludge-metal overlords Thou, New York’s Soda Bomb, and of course plenty of locals: Two Inch Astronaut, Makeshift Shelters, The Black Sparks, Jail Solidarity, and many more still to come (you heard many of these artists on the InFestDC mixtape released by DZ Tapes last month).
So, imagine your typical music festival: sprawling a field/parking lot combo, you strap on comfy shoes, armed with a map and a bottle of water (or whatever) to guide you from one energy-drink sponsored stage to another. But your path resembles a circle, cycling from stage to stage. IITF puts that idea through a kaleidescope, sending festivalgoers to a variety of individual venues throughout the city to interact with different charitable organizations, activist-minded individuals, and underground bands that are so accessible to the audience, you’re likely to bump into them along the way.
This year’s fest also features even more locations than last year. There’s familiar and new venues aplenty: St. Stephen’s Church (considered the main stage of the fest), The Beehive, Hole in the Sky, Paperhaus, The Dougout, Above the Bayou, The Commune, Crack Rock Creek Church, Ezra Mae’s, The (Sea) Lab, and Space Lab-A. There are still even more venues that haven’t been announced yet.
Moreover, IITF has also announced this year’s charities—much of the fest’s proceeds will be donated to Positive Force, Collective Action for Safe Spaces, and the D.C. Abortion Fund.
Lovingly known as InFestDC, In It Together Fest embodies the spirit of a city with complex and sometimes esoteric roots. The vibe is more like collective action than a three-day party, as residents and small venues open their doors and hearts (yeah, it got sappy) to hundreds of folks for a weekend.
The InFest organization will be representing at the Radio CPR Record Fair and Flea Market next Saturday, May 30th. Get in the spirit—do something nice and listen to fantastic music surrounded by people who give a shit.
Necessary full disclosure: DCist Editor-in-Chief Matt Cohen helps organize In It Together Fest.
