THE SOUNDSIDE MUSIC FESTIVAL – SEASIDE PARK – SEPT. 28TH – 29TH

By Ralph Beauchamp

So, the Sound On Sound Music Festival is being rebranded as Soundside due to the partnership of Founders Entertainment (the original promoters) and C3 Presents which is the festival arm of Live Nation. C3 Presents is also the producers of Lollapalooza and Austin City Limits amongst others. This year’s festival will once again be held at Seaside Park in Bridgeport on Sept. 28th-29th. And the lineup is amazing.

Saturday night brings an eclectic group of artists together. Headlined by Noah Kahan, the entire day features a diverse representation of top notch talent. Also performing are the Goo Goo Dolls, Fleet Foxes, Boyz II Men and Grace Potter. The underbill is just as impressive. I am looking forward to catching Thee Sacred Souls (who we have featured in the past) and the bluesy Christone “Kingfish” Ingram. Rounding out Saturday is Lisa Loeb, Madi Diaz and Rijah. As you can see, there is a groove for every genre of music.

Sunday is just as dramatic with Dave Grohl and the Foo Fighters on top of the bill. Queens of the Stone Age were scheduled to play but due to external circumstances had to drop out. In their place, Soundside was able to pick up Bleachers, Jack Antonoff’s incredible band. I was looking forward to QOTSA but Bleachers is definitely a great replacement. Sunday also gravitates to the unique with Noah Jones and the soulful Teddy Swims hitting the stage.

In addition, Sunday brings out The War And Treaty, Gregory Alan Isakov, Drew Holcomb And The Neighbors, Hurray For The Riff Raff and Ireland’s Darren Kiely. As you can see, an extremely singular blend of distinct talent. Sunday’s lineup is total fire. I’m surely looking forward to all of the dynamic acts.

As we have covered the first two Sound On Sound Festivals (see related below), my only wish is for Mother Nature to grace Soundside with wonderful weather. The first year was kind of chaotic with Founders finding their feet with a new entity. Last year was hampered by a monsoon the evening before the festival which the promoters handled with dignity and grace but it was still a muddy mess

So, hopefully, the third time is a charm and everything goes as planned. I hope the gods hear my prayers and offer a climate that is conducive to two days of extremely enjoyable music. Founders and C3 Presents have truly created an event that is both edgy and groove laden. I personally can’t wait.

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