The first annual Small Town Music Festival was hosted in the small village of Danielson, Conn. on October 12.
The festival, hosted by the Killingly Business Association, served as a platform for local artists to share their work with Eastern Connecticut. Additionally, the festival hosted a variety of local vendors and drew business into the borough of Danielson.
Next to the local Chubby Dog Coffee Co, the opening notes of the festival rang out across the old brick walls by local bands Twin Barrel Floxglove and Ruby Leftstep.
Throughout the day, local vendors, breweries, and shops catered to the hundreds of people in attendance.
The full lineup also included the bands Shed Life, JR SPECS, Sever, en Masse, Ski Club, Cinema Stare, oldsoul, Wavy McGrady, fallfiftyfeet, Cheem and Sunday Morning as the closing act.
Genres represented at the festival included punk rock, emo, post-punk, and math rock, to name a few.
Sponsors of the event included the Chubby Dog Coffee Co, the Canterbury Fire Department, A. Reynolds Electric, Ra Ra’s Ice Cream Shop, Paws Cat Shelter, Spirol, Brunet & Company, Frosty Frozen Cheeks Treats, Gilman and Valade, D.B.C. Solutions, Bear Hands Brewing Company, Black Bond Brewing Company, The Chop Shop, Kazantzis Real Estate, and Hammerhead Roofing.
CDLS Mobile Repair LLC provided the stage and Knowhere provided the sound production.
Traditionally, major music festivals are hosted in large venues nearby urban corridors. Indie music festivals, however, have a storied history of performances across smaller towns and cities—Danielson was no exception.
Danielson was initially developed in the 19th century during the rise of grist mills across the region. As the railroads expanded across Rhode Island and Connecticut, the borough of Danielson was formally founded in 1854, and quickly became a small hub of industrial activity in the tri-state corner of Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts.
Grist mills eventually gave way to a vibrant railroad depot, but by the mid-20th century, as manufacturing began to leave Connecticut, Danielson grew smaller and smaller.
After decades of decline in manufacturing, a distinctive arts scene began to emerge from the village, and the local economy began to recover as the borough established local shops and even built a local airport.
For 10 hours on Saturday, with the festival adjacent to its historic downtown, Danielson became a temporary hub of the indie music scene.
As the last notes played through the night, the organizers announced that they are hoping to host the second Annual Small Town Music Festival next year.
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