Columbus Mini Fest features live music from multiple artists. Credit: Bridging the Music website, permission from Jonah Lipsky
For those looking to diversify their playlists before the next release of Spotify Wrapped late in the year, Columbus miniFEST may be the place to find new artists to add to the mix.
Summit Music Hall will host miniFEST March 18 by Bridging the Music, a company hoping to “provide up and coming artists the opportunity to showcase their talents and to expand their network,” according to its website. Columbus miniFEST will feature music acts Imber Solis, BreakAway, Golden Alley, Dayrider and more.
Bridging the Music has “a lot of history in Columbus,” company founder and producer Jonah Lipsky said, but has only hosted miniFEST in the city for the past few years.
“We had a different event, the Solo Artist Awards, which was more of a competition kind of event. We had that at Skully’s [Music-Diner] for many, many years,” Lipsky said. “We switched the branding of our event and wanted to become more community style with our events.”
And so, Columbus miniFEST was born.
Lipsky said over the past couple of years, miniFEST has changed to fit the audience and performers’ needs. As the importance of media presence rises for smaller bands, Lipsky said, the company tries to support and accommodate artists in whatever way it can
“We’re always trying to make our event better. I’m always constantly thinking about this,” Lipsky said. “For example, this year we added a livestream feature where people can get a livestream ticket for the event and watch the event from anywhere. The artists, the performers, also get a free video out of it.”
Although any artist can sign up through the link on the Bridging the Music webpage, Lipsky said not every act that signs up gets approved to play at miniFEST.
“We definitely don’t book everybody that applies. Musically, we have a certain standard,”Lipsky said. “We like to give people the chance and the opportunity, but we definitely listen to every single act, we talk to every single act that we book.”
One of the groups selected to play in this year’s Columbus miniFEST is Golden Alley, a hard rock-based band hailing from Muncie, Indiana. Golden Alley is made up of guitarist Dean Jupiter, drummer Tyler “Bogey” Bogard and bassist Nick Taylor.
Taylor said the group first heard about miniFEST through a friend in New York who thought the band might be interested in performing.
“He was like, ‘You guys should hop on this. It would be a good chance to get your name out there a little better and collaborate with some other musicians in different genres,’” Taylor said. “We were like, ‘That sounds like fun. Let’s try it out.’”
Another band performing is heavy metal Columbus-based group BreakAway, made up of vocalist Jeff Book, guitarist TJ Arthur, drummer Sam Lerch and bassist Jeff Holley. Book said the group is most looking forward to potentially reaching a new audience at miniFEST.
“You never know what you’re going to see at a local show,” Book said. “You might find your new favorite band at a local show, and that’s amazing.”
Lerch said he has a lot of respect for local bands, and miniFEST is a great way for people in the community to support local musicians.
“You have to have passion to play at a local level,” Lerch said. “You’re not just doing it for fun. You’re not just doing it because it’s easy.”
Tickets for Columbus miniFEST, both the in-person and livestream tickets, can be purchased online starting at $22.99. The event is expected to run from 5:45-11:45 p.m. as per the event’s website.
