Brite winter fest 2014

About

[supertagline] Brite Winter is Cleveland’s Outdoor Winter Art & Music Festival[/supertagline] There might be snow, there might be rain, it might be cold, it might be a blizzard, but it doesn’t really matter. This is Cleveland, and we’re going to play outside. Going on our fifth year, we’ve had more support than ever before, as our region has decided that waiting for summer to have fun is not an acceptable way to live. Sure, we’ll have to work a little be harder for to get what we want… that’s just like us too.

This year Brite Winter will feature more of the things we love: Music, Art and Outdoor Activities. As a community funded and organized event, all of our official programing is free and open to the public. Find out how you get involved by visiting our ‘Help Out’ section or keep up with us on facebook and twitter as we make announcements about Bands, Games, Artists, and more Cleveland Winter Festivity.

2014 Brite Winter festival: 15 songs you have to hear from this year's bands

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- On Saturday, Feb. 15, more than 70 bands will hit 10 stages at this year's Brite Winter Fest. taking place in Cleveland's Ohio City Market District.

The most amazing thing about Brite, aside from how much its grown. is just how amazing the music is. All the acts are good. In the immortal words of Canadian rock band Sum 41 - it's all killer, no filler.

If I could upload all of the music you'll hear on Saturday, I would. Here are 15 great songs from bands that will perform at this year's event:

Smooth Hound Smith - "Boom Boom"

(8:30 p. m. - Great Lakes Brewing Co. Tasting Room)

If ever a name fit a band's sound. Smooth Hound Smith's blistering blues rock will melt you away. This song is a cover of John Lee Hooker's classic that Jack White would be proud of.

Coin - "Time Machine"

(8 p. m. - Brite Winter Stage)

Hailing from the Nashville, COIN falls more in line with the dance-happy indie-pop that's come out of Europe over the past decade. One listen to "Time Machine" and its hard not to cosign comparisons to Phoenix.

2014 Brite Winter festival to feature more than 70 bands on 10 stages in Ohio City

Cleveland, Ohio – Nearly twice as many bands as last year will be featured at the 2014 Brite Winter festival in Cleveland.

Performers have just been announced for the 5 th annual Brite Winter– the growing local event that will take over Ohio City's Market District area on Saturday, Feb. 15.

The 2014 Brite will feature more than 70 artists on four outdoor and six indoor stages throughout the area, with the main stage in Market Square Park. There will also be food trucks, craft beer, bonfires, family activities and events going on in area bars and restaurants.

This year's musical beat ranges from indie to punk to folk, country, singer-songwriter and electronic. Headliners include several on-the-rise Cleveland bands, including the folksy The Lighthouse & The Whaler, punk artistes Obnox, the elegiac Seafair, the punk Nomads, alt-rockers Herzog and the post-punk Pleasure Leftists. Touring acts include Brooklyn's twangy Defibulators and the folkie Green Gallows from New York. For a full schedule see britewinter. com

Last year's fest attracted 20,000 attendees despite a chilly temperature of 19 degrees, with 48 bands on seven stages. There were also 15 art installations. This year there will be 20 art installations, planned in conjunction with The Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Institute of Art.

The festival is free for all attendees, but they are running a Kickstarter campaign to raise funds (and earn bonuses like CD samplers). See britewinter. com/kickstarter .

Said Plain Dealer reporter Michael Heaton of the 2013 BRITE fest: "The Brite Winter Festival is easily poised to become Cleveland's answer to something like South by Southwest in Austin, Texas, or Bonnaroo in Manchester, Tenn."

Warm up @DXY | Brite Winter Fest 2014 in Cleveland

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THE LITTLE DISCOVERIES OF TWO CLEVELANDERS EXPLORING THEIR BELOVED CITY

Upcoming Event: Brite Winter 2014

A snowy, bone-chilling day in February isn’t exactly when most people think about attending (let alone organizing) an outdoor music and arts festival, but leave it to a couple of Clevelanders to turn challenge into opportunity. Enter Brite Winter, an outdoor music and arts festival hosted in Ohio City on February 15th. Last year was our first time attending the festival and it was quite the experience–we definitely can’t wait to go back.

Thaddeus Anna Greene performing at the 2013 Brite Winter Festival – Blaz Photography

This year marks Brite Winter’s fifth consecutive festival, boasting substantial growth year after year. The 2013 event drew in an estimated 20,000 people and showcased 48 artists over 6 stages. This year, there will be 70 artists spread out out 10 stages; 4 outdoor, 6 indoor. You’ll here music genres from indie alternative to folk, punk, rock, bluegrass, funk, electronic, and singer songwriter. The festival also includes creative light installations, food trucks, beer gardens, bonfires, games, and activities for people of all ages.

The best part: It’s free . However, if you wish to donate, check out the festival’s Kickstarter .

Visit the Brite Winter website for directions and parking information: http://www. britewinter. com/get-there/ .

A few words of advice: dress warm . We completely underestimated the 19 degree weather last year and found ourselves at Dave’s Market scavenging for gloves and an extra layer of socks.

Artist Line-up

Air Traffic Controller · Coin · The Lighthouse & The Whaler · Hollis Brown · Herzog · Obnox · Texas Plant · Bars of Gold · Pleasure Leftists · Signals Midwest · Thaddeus Anna Greene · Keeps · Little Big League · Freeze-Tag · Rollergirl · Seasick Mama · Jonathan Harper Croh · Dolfish · Emma Shepherd · Let’em Run · Smooth Hound Smith · Silent Lions · Cruiser · Shivering Timbers · Nick D & The Believers · Seafair · Nick Tolford · Captain Kidd · Tinnarose · The Defibulators · Lulu Mae · Fever Fever · Night Sweats · Emily & The Complexes · Shale Satans · Fingers · Eddie Doldrum · Sidneyyork · Ages · Crash City · Dave Hammer’s Power Supply · Wild Rompit · Rob Kovacs · Heart Attack Man · Vibe & Direct · Captain Ivory · Our Lady · Nomads · Friendly Faux · Jenna Fournier (of Nights) · Carrie Ryan · Green Gallows · Smug Saints · Sim Ross · Skirbe · Yosemight · Bombardier · Tree No Leaves · Caitlin Mahoney · Sweepyheads · Bella Ruse · Wolf Creek · We The People · Istvan Medgyesi

Cleveland embraces cold with Brite Winter Festival of music, art

The outdoor Brite Winter Festival in Cleveland features live music, art installations and carnival games — along with gallons of free hot chocolate (Photo: Scott Meviogel/positivelycleveland. com)

All winter, Cleveland residents endure cold temperatures and lake-effect snow, but that doesn’t mean they stay cooped up inside.

Instead, the city celebrates blustery weather at the annual Brite Winter Festival. Now in its fifth year, the outdoor event features live music, art installations and carnival games — along with gallons of free hot chocolate.

“It was started by a group of young people in Cleveland who just wanted to do something fun outdoors in winter,” said Robin Van Lear, artistic director of community arts for the Cleveland Museum of Art. which coordinates the festival’s art exhibits. “We thought, we have this long, dark winter night that is a palette for light, so let’s do something with it.”

On Saturday, Feb. 15, more than 20,000 people are expected to pack the hip Ohio City neighborhood. The schedule includes more than 70 performances by local, regional and national bands, who will perform on 10 stages, including four outdoor stages.

“There are fires outside, outdoor beer gardens and food trucks, and it’s just a magical scene,” said Thomas Fox, the festival’s director of programming and marketing. “It was 19 degrees and a blizzard last year, and we doubled the attendance.”

The centerpiece of the festival is the Great Wall of Light, which debuted two years ago. Festivalgoers bring lamps from home and plug them into the wall, which extends more than 50 feet down. At the end of the night, visitors can take their lamps home or leave them at the wall as a permanent donation to the exhibit.

This year’s lamps are likely to be on the wacky side. As part of a Kickstarter campaign for the festival, organizers offered a kit for making lamps out of common household materials.

“Throughout the festival, (the wall) becomes larger and brighter as more people contribute to it,” Fox said. “That is sort of a visual representation of our feelings about winter.”

Throughout the festival grounds, eight local artists have created installation pieces celebrating the festival’s recurring theme — light.

In addition, students from the Cleveland Institute of Art and Case Western Reserve University are presenting a fashion show of clothing that incorporates light as a design element. Festivalgoers will vote on their favorite entries.

The carnival games, which are free, include mini golf, a massive electronic arcade crane and a giant skeeball ramp. At 24 feet long, it’s more than twice the usual length. The list also includes an Angry Birds-style cornhole game and a generic version of the “Price is Right” Plinko board.

“People just really want to have fun,” Fox said. “Maybe it’s cabin fever, and maybe it’s a bit of insanity, but I think people are really ready to get outside and have a good time.”

Trip Guide

What: Brite Winter Festival.