The Northside Festival, which runs this week Wednesday through Sunday, is often described as Brooklyn’s answer to Austin’s South by Southwest extravaganza. “South By,” as aficionados call it, is still the big enchilada of music-tech-arts festivals, but Northside is growing mightily. This week the Brooklyn festival, now in its ninth year, will present more than 300 bands and solo performers on music stages all over Williamsburg, Greenpoint and Bushwick.
The innovation component of the festival, focusing on technology and business, will feature more than 150 speakers. New this year is the Northside Report, a timely deep-dive into politics and media with partners BuzzFeed News and The Intercept, which will take place at the William Vale Hotel in Williamsburg on Thursday and Friday. The Report’s theme is fake news and politics in the age of Donald Trump. In one segment, BuzzFeed News editor in chief Ben Smith will interview Mayor Bill de Blasio. A selection of highlights from the innovation festival can be found here.
Back to the music. A festival with 300 acts in multiple venues is affirmation of Brooklyn’s thriving music business, but a bit overwhelming when it comes to making choices. We offer our selection of the 10 essential performances to catch, based on the judgment of a small committee of our contributors.