2008 Woodie Awards
Dewey Popfest: 'great atmosphere'
Bands from up and down East Coast perform at festival
by Caitlin Birch
Issue date: 4/24/07 Section: Mosaic
At least once per year since 2004, Jake Crawford and his fellow band members pack their equipment into their van, say goodbye to friends and family in Hershey, Pa., and drive south to Dewey Beach.
They know they can look forward to another weekend of cheesesteaks at Nick's, breakfast at Sharky's Grill, dozens of live shows at Dewey's beachside venues and maybe a few late-night drinks.
"For a guy in his 30s," Crawford says, "this is as close as I'm ever going to get to senior week again."
Crawford, singer and guitarist for The April Skies - an alternative indie fivesome born in the early '90s - says although the band usually travels the same tour circuit of larger cities, including New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., it wouldn't miss a Dewey appearance for anything.
"My band said, 'If we play just one show a year, it's one of the Dewey conferences,' " he says.
Vikki Walls, president of Dewey Beach concerts and festivals, says some bands that performed at last weekend's Dewey Beach Popfest were alumni performers. In the 45-band pop showcase, most bands are quick to become regulars.
"Everyone usually has such a great experience that they all want to come back," Walls says.
Chaucer Hwang, lead guitarist for the Washington, D.C. rock pop band Crash Boom Bang, says last weekend's Popfest was the band's second. He says Dewey events are unique because they attract bands from all over the East Coast, making them important for networking.
"It's an opportunity to meet a lot of people that are doing the same thing that you're doing," Hwang says. "It's not a competitive atmosphere at all. It's pretty supportive. We really enjoy it."
Crawford says Popfest is about seeing other bands.
"We come to be fans just as much as we come to be performers," he says.
Walls says Popfest started five years ago to showcase pop, power pop, Brit pop and punk pop bands in the area. For one weekend, 45 bands share six stages in the Ruddertowne complex - composed of Rusty Rudder, The Light House and Booksandcoffee - to provide local music fans with the ultimate cover-free show.
They know they can look forward to another weekend of cheesesteaks at Nick's, breakfast at Sharky's Grill, dozens of live shows at Dewey's beachside venues and maybe a few late-night drinks.
"For a guy in his 30s," Crawford says, "this is as close as I'm ever going to get to senior week again."
Crawford, singer and guitarist for The April Skies - an alternative indie fivesome born in the early '90s - says although the band usually travels the same tour circuit of larger cities, including New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., it wouldn't miss a Dewey appearance for anything.
"My band said, 'If we play just one show a year, it's one of the Dewey conferences,' " he says.
Vikki Walls, president of Dewey Beach concerts and festivals, says some bands that performed at last weekend's Dewey Beach Popfest were alumni performers. In the 45-band pop showcase, most bands are quick to become regulars.
"Everyone usually has such a great experience that they all want to come back," Walls says.
Chaucer Hwang, lead guitarist for the Washington, D.C. rock pop band Crash Boom Bang, says last weekend's Popfest was the band's second. He says Dewey events are unique because they attract bands from all over the East Coast, making them important for networking.
"It's an opportunity to meet a lot of people that are doing the same thing that you're doing," Hwang says. "It's not a competitive atmosphere at all. It's pretty supportive. We really enjoy it."
Crawford says Popfest is about seeing other bands.
"We come to be fans just as much as we come to be performers," he says.
Walls says Popfest started five years ago to showcase pop, power pop, Brit pop and punk pop bands in the area. For one weekend, 45 bands share six stages in the Ruddertowne complex - composed of Rusty Rudder, The Light House and Booksandcoffee - to provide local music fans with the ultimate cover-free show.
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