The New Colossus: An Indie Triumph in a Corporate Age
It’s been a couple of weeks since The New Colossus Festival in New York City, and the tinnitus is finally wearing off. The New Colossus is a showcase festival that happens the first week of March at a myriad of independent music venues across the Lower East Side and East Village. It’s a great way to see up and coming bands from across the globe, many of whom come to the states for the very first time and stop off on their way to South by Southwest (SXSW) in Austin.
I find it a bit strange how SXSW has been able to hold on to its relevance given it’s been years since the tides turned and it became more of a conference for big tech. While music is moving closer towards tech (e.g. AI music, MIDI, DAWs, and electronic dance music being in the limelight), as far as showcase festivals go, The New Colossus Festival is more in alignment with most artists’ outlook on capitalism, the music industry, etc. I think in the next few years New Colossus has the potential to overtake SXSW as the premier showcase festival. Basically half of the music industry exists in New York, and like they say, “if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere.”
2025 was my first year working the festival, and I was a venue representative overseeing hospitality and run-of-show at the Sour Mouse venue. I worked with bands from Brooklyn all the way to Melbourne, Australia, and took part in the Born Losers Records/Anniversary Group showcase, which was awesome since they’re companies I admire for uplifting independent/niche artists I care deeply about by putting out their records and booking their tours.
This year I was a venue representative again, and was stationed at The Parkside Lounge off Houston Street. I had never been there prior, but it’s a great spot with a bar and pool table up front, and a small music hall in the back. The venue staff was great, and I especially enjoyed working with the sound engineer and in-house promoter, Kipp, who’s worked in the NYC music scene for over 50 years.
On Friday night I worked the Crafted Sounds showcase. They’re a Pittsburgh-based record label, and the showcase was a celebration of their 10-year anniversary. My personal favorite acts were Shunk, from Montreal, and Silver Car Crash, from Pittsburgh. Shunk has a DIY indie vibe that bounces between genres like shoegaze and punk (hence their name) in a really fun way. Silver Car Crash on the other hand, has more of a raw indie rock sound with post-punk influence. The members are also in other Pittsburgh bands like Speed Plans, Alamoans, and God Plutonium, which are more hardcore sounding, so this project seems like an outlet for their mellower sensibilities while still keeping an edge.
On Saturday night the Born Losers Records/Anniversary Group showcase featured one of my favorite artists coming out of Australia in the past few years, Winter McQuinn. He brought his ‘70s soft rock/folk sound to America for the very first time and I was really grateful to have been able to film the set on my LoFi camcorder (video coming soon). I also really enjoyed the Chicago-based band, Ira Glass, and Providence, Rhode Island’s babybaby_explores. Ira Glass’ post-hardcore sound kindled black midi’s absurdist-themed, calculated cacophony, and use of saxophone, while babybaby_explores has a noisy DIY art rock/synth-y sound that gives me a Y2K feel.
At the end of each night in the front of the bar, I hung around to play some pool, and got to meet other artists who were playing the festival, including guys from the bands The K’s and Adult Leisure from the UK. I’m grateful for the opportunity to contribute to Mike, Leo, and Steven’s mission with The New Colossus, for all of the connections I made, and the amazing bands I got to see perform. I’m already looking forward to next year.
