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The CBGB Music and Film Festival is set to return to New York this October 9-13, it was announced today.
In addition to the 150 venues that the fest says are taking part in the music aspect of the fest, the organizers have greatly expanded its film portion this year, with premieres for 40 new, music-focused films scheduled to take place over the five-day schedule. Chatting with Billboard during this past SXSW, CBGB’s Film Festival director Joe Amodei said of the expansion: “I think if we can get a good selection of films that deal with all aspects of music, I think we can have a really successful film festival. It takes a long time to grow, but that’s OK. There’s a natural connection here: People who go to music festivals are the same audience for (music) films. It’s the same as saying people who went to CBGB are the people who went to see Sid & Nancy.”
CBGB brand co-owner Tim Hayes wrote in a statement that the “goal is to keep the spirit of CBGB alive in all of its forms… fashion, photography and art… We want to celebrate and elevate authentic forms of expression.” Hayes claims in the statement that the first CBGB festival “engaged” 300,000 people. It’s likely foot traffic through Times Square, where a concert from The Hold Steady, Superchunk and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah was put on during last year’s festival, contributed strongly to the tally.
If anything, the festival is an affordable one. A VIP combo pass which provides access to all aspects of the fest will cost early birds $250 and everyone else $300. Compare those prices to CMJ $549 for a full-priced badge, while a Platinum badge for SXSW — whose logo, not to mention Wednesday to Sunday schedule, CBGB Fest seems to have taken direct inspiration from Austin’s indie fest godfather — will set buyers back a hefty $1595 at full price.
The festival’s namesake, now a high-end clothing store on the increasingly shiny Bowery, hosted its final concert in 2006, headlined by Patti Smith.
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