Local music venues were popping off this past week for the return of the Noise Pop Festival.
Beloved venues were crowded with music enthusiasts to see their favorite artists and discover new independent bands. This year’s festival runs from Feb. 19 to March.1 and has 160 bands at over 25 venues such as Bottom of the Hill in Potrero Hill, Kilowatt in the Mission District and the Swedish American Music Hall in the Tenderloin.
Starting in 1993, Noise Pop has a history of showcasing emerging artists and partnering with these iconic local venues. There is a wide range of genres with artists ranging from Steven Malkmus’s alternative rock to Hudson Freeman’s indie folk and Grooblen’s dreamy psychedelic tunes.
“They blend a lot of different elements and I think what they bring to it is something that is so inclusive,” said concert goer Angela Vincent. Latin bands like Valley Wolf, Flanco el Jandro and Tropo Magica performed on Feb. 20 at Kilowatt. The headliner, Tropo Magica featured two brothers who blend 60’s Peruvian Cumbias and 90’s grunge, giving it a psychedelic flare. “I’m Mexican-American and this makes me feel really connected, because they do it in such a way that embraces everybody,” Vincent said. “They bring an energy to it that I think is incredible, just contagious, and it’s also really needed in a time like this.”
While Tropo Magica and Valley Wolf rocked their psychedelic tunes, indie folk artist Hudson Freeman slowed things down over at the Bottom of the Hill, featuring his original songs “If You Know Me” and “Mommy Jesus.” Bottom of the Hill is set to close at the end of this year after more than 30 years of live music. The venue has participated in Noise Pop since the festival’s creation. “I love this venue. It’s so cute. Divey, but, like, cozy and sweet. I feel like all the good things in San Francisco keep closing. It’s sad to lose another,” attendee Ryan Anderson said. During his set Freeman played a new, unreleased song and announced to the crowd that he signed a record deal the previous day.
Opening for Freeman was Pillow Prince, an Oakland and Los Angeles-based band that plays indie grunge. Their songs feature themes of queer love, joy and pain paired with heavy shoegaze guitar. “It’s so much fun and incredible and like such a cool way to discover new music,” attendee Lilah Perez said. “They do a really good job of matching bands that make sense, but also mixing genres.”
Kilowatt featured psychedelic rock and punk on Feb. 21 with bands Grooblen, 40 Feet Tall and Death Valley Girls. Opener Grooblen is Bay Area based and describes their music as cabaret dream-psych. Singer and guitarist Ellie Stokes called their group an “amoeba” of the several forms they have gone through to become the Grooblen we see today. For a few of the band members, this is the second time they have played Noise Pop, but for all, this set brought out a surprising crowd. “There’s so many people here today. We’ve played, like, pretty dead Kilowatt shows. We got on stage and I was like, ‘Oh my God, there’s so many people here,’” bass player Alejandro Lara-Agraz. said. “There was a certain point where I looked up and I did like a movie double take,” guitarist Spencer Lay said.
Noise Pop is unique in a sense where it creates a valuable experience for concert goers and those who work the events, as it collaborates with local venues rather than having one set outdoor space, like festivals Outside Lands and Coachella.
“Venues like this mean so much to the music world. We play some of the same venues, like, pretty regularly and you get to know the door people, you get to know the sound tech, you get to know the bartenders and it’s really cool just to see everybody come out just be together like that. It’s really special,” singer Eva Alejandra said. Noise Pop embraces these adored spaces across the city, making a more accessible, personal festival, embracing the local economy and allowing attendees spaces to celebrate music.
“Noise Pop is incredible every single year. I’ve been to Noise Pop shows in the past, and they always have really incredible music that they’re featuring and highlighting,” Anderson said.
