Return of the Renegade San Diego Indie Music Fest

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While the category "indie" has forever been intrinsically associated with the realm of modern rock music, the phrase has come to embody so much more in this DIY era of non-conformist entrepreneurs and artisans.

And just as musicians are coming to the realization that major labels do not necessarily equate to major success, so too are the film makers, artists and even businessmen and women of the world recognizing the power and possibility of success without intervention.

Consider it a modernistic approach to laissez faire entrepreneurialism, if you will.

What better way to celebrate both the existence and proliferation of such ideologies than to organize a gathering of the very people which comprise the indie movement itself? Enter the fourth installment of the San Diego Music Festival.

On Saturday, March 29, 2008 the renegade San Diego Indie Music Fest (SDIMF) will explode with a rarely seen passion for the indie revolution and all it represents.

Executive Producers, Danielle LoPresti (frontwoman /Danielle LoPresti & The Masses) and Alicia Champion (Champ Records/ Durga Sound) are two women who believe in letting the entities speak for themselves when demonstrating the relevance and importance of independent music, art, business and thought. But San Diego Indie Music Fest is about much more than even this. It is a coming-together of cutting-edge ideas, outreach, progressive activism and diverse art of all kinds; including film, dance, visual art, poetry, crafts, body and psychic arts and more - all designed to ignite and inspire.

SDIMF IV will feature over 70 extraordinary independent artists, films and bands; interactive art projects, indie artisans selling their creations, henna tattooists, tarot readings, jewelry making, tile painting, indie businesses, voter registration, children's area, featured appearances by renown community leaders, beer garden and mature audiences stage, massage, delicious and affordable food and drink, and family-friendly activities - all ages are welcome and encouraged to attend all day long.

In this modern-day climate of culture-induced apathy being viewed not only as acceptable, but even "cool," it's ever more important to have a gathering space where one can come and find a powerfully refreshing alternative - example after example of people from all walks of life who've turned their passion, angst and questions into something tangible.

There's nothing quite as seductive as experiencing with one's own eyes and ears what it looks and sounds like to move out of apathy and into action. The importance of this work has been most recently recognized by a grant award from the San Diego Foundation for Change to San Diego Indie Music Fest.

Nearly tripling in size in its sophomore year, and again for Festival #3 in '07, SDIMF is not only revolutionary in scope, but has become one of California's hottest and youngest events to grow this exponentially. SDIMF IV will demonstrate an all time high in the level of community partnerships, as they are joining forces with some of the most powerful voices in San Diego, including Sun & Moon Vision Productions, Results, The Women's History Museum & Educational Center, San Diego Foundation for Change, Eveoke Dance Theatre, the Tariq Khamisa Foundation, The LGBT Center, North Media, the Environmental Health Coalition, DiscoverSD, Stay Classy and more.

The festival is a non-profit project of Results Educational Fund, and is the brainchild of San Diego-based indie record companies Say It Records and Champ Records, owned by Danielle LoPresti and Alicia Champion respectively. They will present SDIMF IV from 12 noon to 12 midnight on March 29, 2008, featuring a hugely diverse range of musical styles on seven stages.

2008 stages include the brand new World Stage hosted by Eveoke Dance Theatre in their new North Park space, the new and improved Indie Film Stage, now presented by Sun & Moon Vision Productions, in the gorgeous Birch North Park Theatre; the new location for their Acoustic Stage at the newly-renovated Old Time Music performance space, a return of the popular Mature Audiences Stage at The Rubber Rose, the Women's History Stage at Claire de Lune, the Green Stage on 29th Street, and the new Durga Sound Main Stage located behind the Birch North Park Theatre.

The artist line-up includes Beth Hart, Uh Huh Her, Semi Precious Weapons, James Marsters, Tam Tam Mandingue, Scissors for Lefty, Kid Beyond, Delta Nove, Danielle LoPresti & The Masses, Alicia Champion, Rupa and the April Fishes, Antedote, The Cuban Cowboys, Saucy Monkey, Hectic Watermelon, Rumhoney, Seis Pistos, Veronica May, Tragic Tantrum, Jane Lui, A Band Called Pain, Katrina Parker, Podunk Nowhere, Mary Grasso, Paul Abbott, Misty, Middle Earth Ensemble, LAWA, Bella Sorella, Donnis Trio, Greg Friedman, The Shambles, Rhythm and The Method, Jennie Laws, Carol Ames, Ricardo Garcia, Evren Ozan, Holly Light, Calaveras, Beth Preston, Sistas In The Pit, Social Green, Una, Josh Damigo, Theresa Perez, Angie Evans, Linda Sargent, V.I.T.A.L. Emcee, Clare Love (Canada), Francesca Valle, Alu, Sutro, Celeste Astara, Javier Mendoza, Jessica Fichot, Eveoke Dance Theatre, Laura Jane, Allison Gill, Isaac Cheong, Kontinuous, Meg Baier, DarZana, and Left on Red.

The event runs from 12 noon to 12 midnight and general admission is $23; students, seniors and military with valid IDs are $20; and kids 5 and under are free. SDIMF IV spans seven venues on and off University Avenue between Utah and Ray streets. For tickets, call the Birch North Park Theatre Box Office at 619.239.8836. Additional information is available at SDIndieMusicFest.com.

Check out a few photos from the 2007 Indie Music Fest here.