LDB Fest just keeps getting better every single year. Fest runners Alex and Ryan always seem to manage to combine just the right amount of bands with hype, with just as many new faces.
This year, I got to interview Ryan about the process that went into booking. At the end of this post, there will be the usual full lineup with Bandcamp links for all the bands, ticket information, and finally, a playlist. Trust me - you’re going to want to check everyone out.
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AA: If my history is correct, this will be your 7th year doing the fest. What about the fest has changed since the first time you did it?
RS: A lot has changed for us since we started booking the first fest in 2013. Changed the name (for the better). We’ve moved around locations a few times as we kept outgrowing venues every other year. One of the biggest changes is we try not to do everything just ourselves anymore, and we’ve really been building a solid team with this fest. We’ve got Thommy Browne doing all of our online work for us like the website. Jacob Micheal Scott has done all of our artwork and flyers for us the last few years and just kills it on designs. We’ve really built a great relationship with Joey D’Amico and his group of guys that have done sound the last few years now and will continue to. We got a media team now with 197 Media shooting video - Noah Carter and Morgan Newell help with that. Errick Easterday has been doing photos for us for years now, and this year, Gabe Becerra and Krissy Marie will be doing photos as well. We have so many great workers during the fest as well that pull a lot of stress off our backs. This fest has really evolved into a great team, and because of that, we’ve been able to accomplish a lot more as a fest.
AA: It definitely seems like LDB Fest has become a bit more known across the country as of last year. How has it been to watch it grow?
RS: It’s been amazing to see the reactions LDB has been receiving since our most recent lineup in February. We really really wanted to step up as a fest for 2019 with the lineup, [as well as] just the overall feel of the fest. We wanted to create a really unique atmosphere having the fest at Riot Skatepark, and I really think we accomplished what we were going for. I feel we owe a decent amount of credit to 197 Media and all the videos they took of the fest. That really helped boost us as a fest this most recent year.
AA: What’s your favorite part about booking LDB Fest?
RS: The sense of community when everyone is finally in town for the fest. Most people arrive Thursday night and don’t leave till Sunday. For those 4ish days, we bring so many people together, and it’s just absolutely incredible that we have an opportunity every year to bring nearly 1,000 people together to celebrate music.
AA: What about your least favorite?
RS: The possibility of getting sick after the fest, and the post-fest depression of everyone heading back home and having to go back to work.
AA: How did you guys approach choosing the bands this year?
RS: We’ve kind of done the same thing every year since the fest started. We come up with headliner ideas, and then make a huge board with all the bands that we’d like to possibly see on the lineup. We usually start from about 150 bands and chop it down to about 45 bands. Then, we build the fest and preshow lineups. We don’t take submissions, we just build a lineup we want to see, but also what we feel everyone else would also want to see. To be honest, it is extremely difficult [to put] together a fest lineup, and we factor in a lot of different things when putting the lineup together.
AA: How did you guys choose Riot Skate Park as an LDB Fest venue? Do you see it staying as the official venue?
RS: After Cure Lounge shut down, we had to find a venue that was much bigger and would fit all of our needs as a fest. The Skatepark had been on our radar for a bit, but we just weren’t sure if it would work out the way we would want it to. After meeting with Floyd, the owner, we realized it was going to work out perfectly, and that it was going to be the new home for the fest until we outgrow it.
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Thursday (pre-show)
Kharma (IL) | Cross Me (WI) | Fortune’s Fool (CO) | Time and Pressure (MO) | Glass Killing Floor (KY) | Buggin’ Out (IL) | Gates to Hell (KY) | Remorse (IN)
Friday
Bitter End (MO) | Inclination (KY) | Bent Life (NE) | Sanction (NY) | Seeyouspacecowboy (CA) | Facewreck (PA) | Piece of Mind (OK) | Hangman (NY) | Treason (OH) | Foreign Hands (DE) | Fuming Mouth (MA) | Wristmeetrazor (US) | No Option (DE) | Life’s Question (IL) | Simulakra (DE) | Transgression (KY) | Rain of Salvation (NY) | Gadget (MN) | Spear (OH)
Saturday
Terror (CA) | Fiddlehead (MA) | Cruel Hand (MA) | Bracewar (VA) | Magnitude (NC) | Judiciary (TX) | Dare (CA) | Drain (CA) | Dead Heat (CA) | One Step Closer (PA) | Wicked Garden (KY) | Hands of God (CA) | Maniac (CA) | Low End (WI) | Reserving Dirtnaps (TN) | War By Other Means (NY) | Absence of Mine (CA) | Love & Trust (KY)
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Weekend passes can be purchased at http://www.ldbfest.com for $65. Pre-show tickets are $15. Move quick - you’re not going to want to miss this one!
-Angie
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