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Three weekends, three music festivals, one venue

Rudder to host live music from local, national acts
March 29, 2013

Though the weather says it is still winter, festival season in Dewey Beach is surely a sign of spring, and beginning Good Friday, the Rusty Rudder will host three weekends of live acts for nearly every musical persuasion.

Delaware Music Festival will feature 25 bands from all corners of the First State, Friday to Saturday, March 29-30.  The DJ Festival will welcome electronic music from seven performers, Friday to Saturday, April 5-6, and Dewey Beach Popfest will feature 25 more bands from across the nation, Friday to Saturday, April 12-13.

The line-up for Delaware Music Festival features acts for fans of rock, ska and funk.

Promoter Vikki Walls said Delaware Music Festival would include some new bands from Delaware and alumni acts that say they wouldn't miss it, such as The Bullbuckers of Wilmington, Love Seed Mama Jump of Dewey Beach and Lower Case Blues of Rehoboth Beach.

Last April, the Rudder hosted the first-ever Dewey Beach Electronic Music Festival with more than 20 live DJs from across the East Coast.

This year, a smaller version of the event – The DJ Festival – will feature some of the same DJs, including Taurus and Vagelli of Philadelphia and DJ Bis of Newark.

The Popfest lineup includes bands from across the country.  Walls said many crowd favorites are returning to Popfest this year, including Lovebettie of Pittsburgh, Late Cambrian of New York City, Find Vienna of Philadelphia and Dynasty Electric of Brooklyn, N.Y.

Walls said other bands, such as The Locals, Talain Rayne, Highly Suspect and Dead Leaf Echo – all newcomers to the Popfest – are creating a buzz in the music industry.

The Locals, a Chicago three-piece, have been together since 1998, and the look and sounds of the band gives a nod to other female-fronted bands of the ‘90s, such as Veruca Salt and The Breeders.  Frontwoman Yvonna Doll was featured as one of the “10 Female Guitarists You Should Know” in the August 2012 issue of Guitar World Magazine.

Fans of Coldplay will likely enjoy Talain Rayne of Harrisburg, Pa.  The band was founded in 2008 by Frontman Talain Rayne Blanchon, who sings and plays piano.

Highly Suspect was founded in 2009 by twin brothers Rich and Ryan Meyer with their best friend, lead singer Johnny Stevens.  The trio hails from Brooklyn, N.Y., and creates a low fidelity brand of rock comparable to the Black Keys.

Dead Leaf Echo, another three-piece from the Big Apple, combines elements of Ambient New Wave and Shoegaze to produce a sound that is part My Bloody Valentine, part Echo and the Bunnymen and part Sigur Ros.  Time Out New York called them one of the best live acts in the city.

“These events get great crowds,” Walls said in an email. “The events are all free and give music fans a chance to check out new music from bands, and DJs from all over the country in one venue.”

For a full schedule and band lineup, go to deweybeachfest.com.

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