Soundside Music Festival is set to return to transform Bridgeport’s waterfront into an immersive experience of music and food this month! Taking place from Saturday, September 28th to Sunday September 29th, Connecticut’s biggest music festival returns with a new name and management company to rock Long Island Sound.
Previously called Sound on Sound, Soundside is now fully organized by C3 Presents. C3 Presents had partial ownership to the festival last year, but has taken full ownership this year. C3 Presents is known for running big festival events such as ACL, Sea Hear Now, Boston Calling, among many others. This bodes well for the success of Soundside this year, as when it was previously called Sound on Sound, it tended to have a run of bad luck with their two years running.
This festival will feature an array of talents from small to larger artists. Their Headliners this year include Noah Kahan, Foo Fighters, and Bleachers. Fans of the festival may remember that during its debut year in 2022, Noah Kahan performed mid-day, much before any of the headliners. It is a testament to his talented songwriting and growing popularity that he now returns, only two years later, to headline it on the first day of the festival. Along with the smaller acts, such as Darren Kielry, Hurray for Riff Raff, Rijah, Madie Diaz, and the like, this festival repeatedly aims to cater to a wide variety of musical tastes with their blend of genres taking the stage. From indie rock, hip hop, and folk, there is surely something for everyone at this festival.
Luckily, my favorite aspect of the festival didn’t change along with the new ownership. For their food and beverage options, they continually commit to incorporating local eateries and breweries for the food truck. Although this year I have noticed more of a combination of Connecticut and NYC businesses, I think it is a great opportunity for the surrounding towns of Bridgeport to have their businesses involved. With over 50 vendors this year, many of them reside in CT, whether it be through a chain or where they were founded. Also coming back this year are the Craft Beer Hall and the Wine Grove. They will be joined by a Craft Beer Lounge, White Claw Shore Club, Mamitas Tequila Soda Bar, Skrewball Tent, and a Fishers Island Lemonade Tasting Bar. There are also more immersive experiences and pop-up shops on the festival grounds, such as the Sports Hall Presented by Jersey Mike and a Walmart Style Tour. Though some of these experiences are exclusive to certain ticket packages, each section has their own special feature!
As far as ticket packages go, they haven’t changed much. They range from two types of GA tickets, to regular VIP tickets, VIP tickets with a special viewing deck and “club feel”, and even a special viewing suite booking for the weekend. But new this year, VIP tickets now have access to a special VIP Beach Lounge. Just like a standard music festival, tickets are deemed certain sitting areas, bathroom areas, complimentary Wi-Fi, and in some cases, complimentary drinks and re-entry privileges.
Although the past two years of this festival have proven to have their setbacks, I am hopeful that the organizers have learned from those previous years and created plans to combat any issues. Also knowing that they help organize and facilitate a festival as big as Austin City Limits helps to ease any other worries. The only downside I foresee right now is that they have downsized to one main entrance for the festival, which doesn’t open until 15 minutes before the first act. This could result in an issue they had last year that cause many people to miss the first act due to gates opening later than the posted time. This continues to be an ideal location for a music festival in Connecticut; being located right on the water and within walking distance from the train – allowing people to commute by train from as far as DC – I hope it sees a fully successful third year running. Especially because this festival wasn’t supposed to happen this year, I’m looking forward to a somewhat new festival experience this year!
Preview by Brittany Whitham | Exclusively for Music, Why Not!