Courtesy of Colin Lloyd
On September 30th and October 1st, Sound on Sound Music Festival returned to Bridgeport to play a muddy tribute to the state of Connecticut. The festival drew about 55,000 attendees to Seaside Park including Governor, Ned Lamont.
“He loves Connecticut. We love Connecticut. Connecticut loves John Mayer,” Lamont said as he took to the stage to introduce Mayer, Sunday night’s headliner, and the closing artist for the two-day festival. Mayer’s set topped off a weekend packed with some of the most well-known indie performers, a diverse array of food trucks and vendors, and a range of fun activities. Alongside Mayer, performers included the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Alanis Morisette, and Hozier.
The festival was delayed on the 29th due to flooding and inclement weather. Several artists booked for that date including Sammy Rae and the Friends and Julai and the Serotones–both bands with Connecticut roots–were removed from the lineup. During the delay on Saturday, the festival crew went to work implementing adjustments to ensure festival goers’ safety on the muddy grounds. This included the last-minute placement of a boardwalk in the GA+ and VIP spaces as well as the laying of mulch in front of the stage.
Despite the poor weather, these adjustments meant that the festival went on without any major hitches. The weather Sunday morning was bright and sunny with fans pouring onto the grounds to enjoy openers like Snacktime, a motley crew of musicians from Philadelphia. Snacktime appeared onstage in matching green outfits, and brought with them an infectious groove to the Sound with songs like “SNACKMFTIME” and “GOTTA GET FUNKY”. The group went on to perform an impromptu performance in a nearby parking lot and accompanied the folk-rock band Dispatch onstage later in the day.
This was Sound on Sound’s second year. The festival incorporated lessons from its inaugural year into this year’s setup including the installation of a single stage rather than multiple. This meant that there was only one official performance happening at any given time so festival goers did not have to choose between sets as is typical at festivals of this size.
When attendees were not watching a performance, they were able to enjoy food from the over 40 different vendors surrounding the stage, many of which were local to Connecticut.
“We love being from Connecticut. We think of ourselves as Connecticut’s lemonade,” said Nathan Bryant of Lemonates. Lemonates has two permanent locations in Guilford, Connecticut, but the traveling lemonade stand is also a popular vendor at University of Connecticut events, charity functions, and concerts at the Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater in Bridgeport. “It’s really important to us that we’re involved in our local community.”
“We wanted to make the best lemonade that we possibly could, so we don’t take any shortcuts,” Bryant continued as he explained the process for making his signature drinks, each of which is squeezed to order with fresh fruit crushed in.
Beyond the drinks themselves, Bryant also makes concerted efforts to keep his business environmentally friendly. Because his permanent locations are located on the coast, he uses biodegradable cups in order to help protect the beautiful Connecticut coastline.
Bryant isn’t the only Connecticut local who served up delicious food at Sound on Sound and seeks to give back to the environment. Beth Maco, of This Girl Shucks, brought luxury shellfish to the festival at two different stands and a pop-up in the NetJet VIP Artist’s lounge. Maco has partnered with CORRShell Recycling to ethically and sustainably recycle the oyster shells she shucks back into the ocean. CORRShell provides Maco with the appropriate buckets to store the shells for events. It was particularly easy for her to return the shells to the ocean at Sound on Sound, due to the festival’s location, “We just literally turned around and poured them back into the sea.” Maco has been involved in the seafood market since the summer of 2019 when she joined an oyster farm in a seasonal position.
Maco began to get personally contracted for private events in 2021 and her schedule was rapidly filled so much so that she felt she needed to establish an LLC to manage the volume. In 2023, Maco is still essentially a one-woman show with contracted employees coming on for bigger events such as Sound on Sound. She regularly runs a stand in her hometown of Stamford at Cisco Brewers. Alongside music festivals, Maco brings personalized raw bar services to private events including weddings, graduation parties, and more. Yet, concerts hold a special place in her heart. She expressed, “I’ve always been a huge concert-goer, and being on the vendor side is such a cool experience because I grew up always attending shows.” Maco noted that this year was a huge milestone for her as a Phish fan, having attended over 150 Phish shows in her life, with lead guitarist Trey Anastasio headlining Sound on Sound this year.
On managing multiple booths at once, Maco matter-of-factly stated “I like to push myself to see how far I can get as long as it’s tenable. I thrive in high-pressure environments so a music festival this size is a great opportunity.” Maco is not underscoring the festival’s high energy, she noted that although she spent time serving oysters in the Artist’s Lounge, she had little time to pick up her head and notice who was coming to her table. She suspected that she may have served Alanis Morisette, John Mayer, and Dispatch although she was too busy at the stand to confirm.
Those three artists, alongside Hozier, put on some of the most memorable performances of the day. Dispatch’s rowdy folk rock sound made audience members feel like dancing in the mud served as a perfect response. Later in the night, Hozier took the stage. His roots-sound dug deep into soil on the festival grounds and blended seamlessly with the crisp fall air. Though Hozier’s calm presence was shaken, the second Morisette took the stage. The pop punk icon was introduced by a five minute film featuring fans and momentous events across her thirty year career.
Then, as the last sliver of sun set on Seaside Park, hometown hero John Mayer walked across the stage. He was alone, accompanied by a single acoustic guitar. Between songs he told stories about growing up in the town, how his father was the high school principal in town, and the moment that Mayer fell in love with music. Mayer reminded the audience that they were home just as he was home in Bridgeport, “I was born here so I’d like for you, for the rest of the night, to just call me John.” So, to abide by this request, The Voice will offer praise to John, the rest of the performers, the fabulous local vendors, and the crew for a well-orchestrated festival on the Sound.
