FRIDAY the 23rd, SATURDAY the 24th and SUNDAY the 25th of February @ Dorchester Art Project

Once upon a time, Lowell, MA chose the tried & true tactic of increasingly inviting big name acts to their annual folk festival, in an attempt to draw larger crowds. A tipping point came when local musicians, seeing the word “folk” used so generously, realized that the term no longer applied to anyone actually from Lowell.

In 2007, Walter Wright of 119 Gallery opened his doors to the folks he knew represented the local scene; welcoming other musics and underage can’t-play-in-bars types to play in the Chelmsford street venue while the safe stuff contented the masses. The next February, XFest began.

Walter has always appreciated the challenge of spontaneity, and created XFest to mingle disparate performers together outside of their individual traditions. By some crazed alchemy, musicians were matched in separate groups, meeting their temporary bandmates during setup in a dense, steamy room. The cacophony was enlightening, enriching, hilarious; drone following noise following jazz. It was like seeing class clowns compete, or realizing you’ve just heard the most beautiful composition unimaginable.

This year, it’s in Brain Arts’ new space, where we’re eager to fill the space and take advantage of these separate areas. The layout of the venue provides space to talk between or during sets without disruption; having a green room for costume changes is a remarkable luxury; and a space to set up food and swag without having to walk between the audience and the performers? O yass.

http://xfestma.com

http://xfestma.com/videos/

Youtube search: xfest zebu