FMP: WEIRDO Fest curated by Alex Smith

WEIRDO Fest - The Next Weird

Line up selected by Alex Smith/Alexoteric. 

2:30 PM Rope Trick:The Philadephia-based psych rock duo is comprised of Indrayudh Shome (guitar, vocals) and Nathanael Totushek (drums), members of Queen Elephantine who are described by Rolling Stone India as “mind-expanding” and by Terrorizer Magazine as “incredible,” as well as the international group Ayahuasca Dark Trip.3:30 PM Kulfi Girls:Kulfi Girls are a Philly-based rock band fronted by lead vocalist Abi Natesh who uses the South Indian Saraswati veena to present a novel “carnatic rock” sound, inspired by diverse genres of pop and rock.4:30 PM St. Sol:"St. Sol is Philly’s answer to vapory dreamwave, done with haunting, ghostly atmospherics. Where 2021’s debut LIMINA found the artist taking shimmering compositions to new frontiers of minimalism, and 2023’s follow up track “Trine Hymn,” sounded like a desperate dirge and a melancholy lament for uncertain times, the new track “Me and My Leviathan” practically rocks by comparison." - Alex Smith in Artblog5:30 Ishtar Sr. + Dan Blacksberg + Vidrozhena (Leah Basarab)"In sound, narrative and concept, Ishtar Sr.’s (Savan DePaul‘s) Divine Ecdysis holds an almost unbearable concentration of weight and import. Best described as an avant-hip-hop space opera, the album narrates DePaul’s own journey toward a self-assured identity and expands the tale into a cosmic, posthuman tapestry. Carried by psychedelic synthesizers and percussion that sounds like rattling hunks of metal and bone, DePaul sits over the whole project like a faceshifting sage armed with an endless supply of vocal effects and no shortage of obscure historical, mythical and scientific references." - Slug MagDan Blacksberg’s musical vision has led him to compose music with a wide reach. From writing danceable klezmer melodies on his album Radiant Others – the first klezmer album to feature the trombone as the lead instrument – to the free-jazz of the Dan Blacksberg Trio, to genre-busting projects like his Hasidic doom metal band Deveykus and 2017 suite Together in Struggle, Dan forges music with a voice that “aims to infuse the fearless avant-garde with timeless sounds and techniques, and vice versa.” (WXPN’s The Key)Vidrozhena is the solo musical expression of (Ksenya) Leah Basarab (Ex. by V, Rainbow Crimes,etc).6:30 PM Spectral Forces:Alex Smith is your guide enmeshed in the parallel universes of Philadelphia. In The Light of The Universe is in Who worlds are brought to life and death by the rhythm section of Julius Masri and Pete Dennis. Each song, a different aspect of reality, brought close to the ear. Histories- personal, aspirational, erotic, and revolutionary- are rotated for the enjoyment of its prismatic refractions.powered by WXPNWEIRDO Fest is made possible by a grant from from the Penn Treaty Special Services District!