Sunset Strip Music Festival

1 September 2010 No Comment

Sunset Strip Music Festival “History In The Making”

The second annual Sunset Strip Music Festival was nothing short of a complete success and I was there representing Hollywood Music TV. 3 days and over 50 musical acts playing at some of the most famous joints on the Sunset Strip. What more could a music lover want. Diversity is the main concept of this festival. It was a place for all sorts of music genres to come together and have a few days of fun and enjoyment all around. Food trucks, some of which are on the “Great Food Truck Race” on the Food Network were around serving up all the good stuff that comes from these cultural icons.

Slash was this year’s honoree. With a ceremony to commemorate his lifetime achievement held at the House of Blues on the first night of the festival, the red carpet was littered with celebrities and musicians alike. The entire ceremony was a media frenzy that might possibly go down in the books.

Friday night Filter was the main band to perform and attract a huge crowd. Apparently they’ve still got a fan base despite being quiet for a short amount of time. There was a photography/art exhibit held that showcased some of the famous rock photographers the Sunset Strip has seen over the years. I hope one day my 11+ years of dedication and hard work in photography will get me the opportunity to showcase my work for the world to see during one of the many more Sunset Strip Music Festivals that are to come.

It goes without saying that I along with 14,000+ people were looking forward to all the bands playing on Saturday. Gates opened at 1pm and the madness begun. There were local royalty playing such as All Hail The Yeti, Sean Rex and Desecrate. My personal favorites Volbeat and Dommin, and of course big timers and heavy hitters like Fergie, Slash, The Smashing Pumpkins, Common, Kid Cuddi and many, many more. One thing that I’ve seen proven time and time again is that the Hollywood crowd is not something you want to ever mess with. With that being said, Fergie was booed off stage while performing along side Slash. The crowd is definitely still a huge Axl Rose supporter and they won’t allow someone, even of her stature to come in between them and a classic like “Sweet Child of Mine”.

One of the best things about this event is festival goers pay a flat of $50, which grants them access to all 3 days that this goes on. While there you can waltz right into any of the venues within the closed off area that is the festival such as The Whisky A Go Go, Roxy Theatre, The Viper Room and The Cat Club and check out some bands that you may or may not have seen before. It’s a great way to open your eyes and ears to new music, genres and artists that you may have never otherwise been exposed to.

After 11 hours of walking around, chatting it up with people, photographing everything and anyone, expanding my connections in this industry and enjoying the amazing weather, my highlights of the night were Dommin and Volbeat performing back to back at the Key Club. I have seen well over 1000+ bands in the years that I’ve been attending concerts and I gotta say that Volbeat is absolutely the best show I’ve ever seen.

Last years Sunset Strip Music Festival was epic. This years is right up there as well. What will next year hold for this one of a kind festival? Who knows. But you know that I alongside Hollywood Music TV and about 14,000 people will be in attendance to document the entire thing. Until then, I expect the music scene to make a quick recovery and open it’s arms to emerging bands and we’ll see what the rest of 2010 brings us.