From being a mecca for authentic Louisiana food to a bustling college town, Baton Rouge is a city that means many things to many different people. In recent years, the city\u2019s music scene has seen significant growth, begging the question: Does Baton Rouge have what it takes to support a true music festival?<\/p>\n
On Saturday, March 7, the answer proved to be an astounding yes during LA Psych Fest\u2019s inaugural concert.<\/p>\n
Organized by the members of Blue Widow, a local psychedelic punk band, and the band\u2019s manager, Cole Dewey, the one-day festival aimed to fill a notable gap in Baton Rouge\u2019s entertainment culture.<\/p>\n
From 2 p.m. to 2 a.m., Psych Fest brought the underbelly of the overpass to life, with more than 30 vendors stationed along the stretch between Chelsea\u2019s Live to Brickyard South. The two venues, as well as an additional stage beneath the overpass, hosted performances from bands including NeoSoul500, Grocery Bag and Sunscape.<\/p>\n From the beginning of the event, Psych Fest was teeming with a lively crowd. Attendee D\u00f6uno, who is also an artist, came to the event to cheer on friends who were performing.<\/p>\n \u201cI gotta show love and come support,\u201d D\u00f6uno said. \u201cIt\u2019s been good. There\u2019s so many people \u2014 like-minded people \u2014 on a vibe, chilling.\u201d<\/p>\n Sunscape. took Brickyard\u2019s stage just an hour after the festival kicked off.<\/p>\n \u201cWe expected good times, but obviously I didn\u2019t expect it to be such a good turnout,\u201d Sunscape. guitarist and vocalist Lucas Broussard said.<\/p>\n The Baton Rouge band had a packed crowd during the entirety of its performance, with many guests being completely new to Sunscape.\u2019s music.<\/p>\n \u201cSeeing a bunch of new faces and seeing a bunch of people like our [music], it\u2019s a really good thing to experience,\u201d Sunscape. bassist Tanner Smith said.<\/p>\n Between sets, guests were able to grab food, including crawfish, and shop from a variety of local small businesses.<\/p>\n Psych Fest had a handful of things working against it: many LSU and Southern University students had left town for spring break, weather forecasts showed heavy and consistent rain for the evening and the festival was entirely new to the public. Despite these hurdles, the festival sold out of tickets the night before the event.<\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t expect it to sell out before the day of,\u201d vendor Melinda Jacob said. \u201cI did think it would do really well, because I think BR has been really wanting bigger art and music events.\u201d<\/p>\n Jacob started 2 Girls 1 Shirt with her friend Natalie Nickens only a few months ago. At their first pop-up during White Light Night in November, Blue Widow lead singer Anderson Powers approached the pair about Psych Fest.<\/p>\n \u201cEveryone is so nice and funny and really interested in our stuff,\u201d Nickens said. \u201cThe vibes are great.\u201d<\/p>\n 2 Girls 1 Shirt was one of the many clothing vendors at Psych Fest, with a handful of booths selling jewelry and vintage fashion.<\/p>\n
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