Article - Other Sound fest takes over L5P

Other Sound festival got quite a nudge this year when New York indie-rock darlings Yo La Tengo announced its plans to play an in-store at Criminal Records the same day as the annual local music festival. It’s a happy accident. But the real genius of the fortuitous pairing lies in the design of this year’s fest — which puts the music where the people are.

Over the last four years, Other Sound has served as a showcase for the many indie-rock and outsider musical acts in Atlanta. Rather than relegate the festival to a handful of 21-and-up bars, organizers Kat Colohan, Justin Sias and Eric Holder have descended upon Little Five Points for a day-long event that utilizes the neighborhood’s infrastructure in some inventive ways. The higher profile should result in a stronger fest. “We’ve gained momentum because it’s all ages and it’s free,” explains Holder. “We wanted to open this thing up and bring the community in instead of closing it off and telling people they can’t come unless they pay. Little Five Points is the cultural center of Atlanta, so it felt at home.”

Sias adds that Criminal’s larger location helped them decide to move to Little Five. “When bands play there people get excited, and we want to build off of that,” he says.

Twenty bands will be spread out among Criminal, an outdoor stage in Findley Plaza (aka the L5P square) and the Star Bar, including Untied States, the Selmanaires and Futureshock. “It’s going to be a beautiful day and there’s going to be a lot of pedestrian traffic,” Holder says. “We expect to see a lot of networking and camaraderie and having fun with a lot of local music.”