Festival season in Lowell isn’t over just yet. Mill City may have just wrapped up the long-awaited return of its annual Folk Festival, but a new musical tradition will debut on Merrimack Street this weekend.
The inaugural Lowell SummerJAM brings 10 New England bands and a bevy of local vendors to Trend on Saturday (August 6) for an all-day — and seemingly all-night — music and arts festival. The jams will be split between two stages over the course of 10-plus hours, as attendees peruse offerings from pop-ups like Vamped Up Vinyl Co. and Pass Glass.
Music on an outdoor stage begins with a set from Phantom Ocean at 3:30 p.m. and runs until Lowellians Tysk Tysk Task move things indoors for the “After Party” portion at 8:30 p.m. Other artists scheduled to perform on Saturday include Killroy Killjoy and Dave, Wired For Sound, The Freqs, Space Casino, The P.A.’s, Black Hatch, Burp, and festival organizers Key of Caustic (pictured above).
The Boston rock band created Lowell SummerJAM alongside Sloth Entertainment, a new organization that aims to “find more stages” and performance opportunities for area musicians. Following the success of recent Lowell events like The Town and The City Festival and Senseless Optimism’s EP release show, the city seems to be gaining popularity among musicians from Greater Boston.
“Lowell is definitely on the upswing with regard to local music, and the venues in Lowell actually take care of the bands (and fans) that play there,” shares Key of Caustic vocalist and guitarist Jimbo Jones. “Even though there is massive gentrification happening throughout Lowell, the city itself seems ultra-committed to growing and expanding the arts and culture, in which music resides.”
Tickets for the outdoor portion of Lowell SummerJAM are $10, while access to the afterparty costs $5. Check out the set times below, and snag advance tickets here.
