Reverb Fest grows into 3rd year

Charlotte’s music scene has long struggled to escape the shadow of the city’s corporate image and the Triangle area’s hipper, college-centered scene.

In recent years, the arts and music scenes have made headway in carving out their own identity outside of what goes on downtown – from the Back Alley Film Series to pop-up performance art. And a few spirited young musicians have assembled small annual and biannual festivals that focus on underground music from the region and attract established national indie-rock bands.

One of those – Reverb Fest – returns for its third year on Saturday at Neighborhood Theatre. The lineup includes locals Aggrocragg, Mineral Girls, Shell and Yardwork (a once-popular Charlotte band that is reuniting for one night only).

Other acts include Brooklyn’s Beach Fossils – whose frontman, Dustin Payseur, is a Charlotte native – as well as Wilmington’s Family Bike, and Asheville’s Elvis Depressedly and Jackson Scott.

If you’re wondering what kinds of music to expect, the hint is in the “reverb.”

Charlotte musician Phil Pucci (Serfs, Melt) decided to assemble the one-day festival on a whim last year.

“I know all these great bands in town, and since I’m a musician, I’m in a unique position where I have good relationships with other bands,” he says. “I feel like it gives me a head start in putting something together.”

The May 2014 Reverb Fest touted 13 local acts, but in January, Pucci expanded his scope with Nashville-based headliner Diarrhea Planet.

“For the first one, there was no budget,” he says. “It was much more focused on being a charity fundraiser. Last time, I was a little more ambitious.”

He also made sure there were no age restrictions the second time around.

“The first show was 18 and up,” he says. “The second, we did all-ages and it was teenagers. My band Serfs played, and they were all at the front of the stage going nuts. We’d never seen that before.”

While Pucci’s motivation is expanding the scene, he also wanted to bring the charity aspect to it. The concert benefits the Humane Farming Association, which promotes small family farming and animal welfare.

“I do it because I want to make our music scene better and contribute to it, at least,” he says, “but at the same time it’s nice to know the work is going toward something bigger than yourself.”

Pucci isn’t the only young promoter chipping away at Charlotte’s corporate image with a small, homegrown indie festival.

“There’s a couple festivals that I love,” he says. “Recess Fest that Zach Reader puts on and Josh Robbins’ Treasure Fest.”

“I would love for Charlotte to be known as another place you can see the most exciting and fresh, good indie rock ... for one big weekend,” says Pucci, alluding to Raleigh’s much larger Hopscotch and Asheville’s Moogfest in the distance. “We’re not quite there, but there’s major potential.”

This story was originally published May 14, 2015 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Reverb Fest grows into 3rd year."