The Burning Couch festival celebrated indie, rock and rap artists on April 23
Marissa M. Conner
3 min read
The Burning Couch festival featured indie, rock and hip-hop artists on April 23. Music Industry Creatives hosted the all-day festival at a member’s home.
About twenty artists performed on three stages, one in a backyard and two in basements.
The Whiles, a local band, brought funk and rock to the backyard scene, playing Stevie Wonder’s “Superstition”, The Who’s “My Generation”, Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer”, “Santeria by Sublime, “Light My Fire” by The Doors, and “Dear Mr. Fantasy” by Traffic. They also played their first unreleased original that they wrote that morning.
In the basement of the house, known as The Reef, Class Action played the originals “All I Need” and “Sunday Afternoon” while surrounded by a selection of psychedelic tapestries that covered every inch of the walls. with people taking up the whole room.
Related: [Full Bloom Festival showcased local punk, pop bands]
Holumb performed several originals on the backyard stage, including “Cinnamon Candle”, “Oh No” and “Oil Diffuser”. Later, band member Jordan Nouri serenaded the crowd with a cover of Daniel Caesar’s “Best Part.”
“I hope you all like fucking jam,” Nouri told the crowd before Holumb played an unreleased original song, “Sunrise.”
Too Many Cooks, a psychedelic blues punk funk band, began their outdoor set with “Dani California” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. They also performed “Dark Necessities” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, “Purple Haze” by Jimi Hendrix and an original song: “Four Years Old”.
Tree To Stone performed several original songs, including “Rabbit Hole” and “God Damn”. They also covered “Yer Blues” by the Beatles.
As Westhead closed the backyard show, the crowd got up off the ground and swung their arms back and forth.
Throughout the night, people talked in the backyard and basement, the neighbors garage and its roof, and the neighbor’s backyard and basement.
People crowded into the neighbor’s basement, known colloquially as The Pit, to watch D Slay, Ed Winn, Abdul Fall and other hip hop artists.
La Poblana Taco Truck offers tacos, burritos, tortas, quesadillas and more. They also sold horchata and Jarritos.
A slide welcomed people going to the festival and other garden games were available. Attendees played cornhole and board games. Karaoke was available in the garage.
Related: [Montage Film Festival showcased talents of IU students in film]
WIUX provided a DJ set from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. during the intermission. WIUX also had a table to sell merchandise and hold a vinyl record giveaway.
MIC invited local artists to sell their artwork, including clothing, prints and other items. Gonzo Hydraulica sold clothes at the event. IU junior Isabelle Davis, sold fine art prints, bookmarks and hand-bound journals.
“I’m naturally inclined to make art, and I have a lot of it, so I like to sell it,” Davis said.
Anna Prager, owner of Art Wurmz and IU’s freshman year, sold clothes, buttons, prints, and stickers at her artist booth.
“I feel like (Bloomington) is a really good community,” Prager said. “There are a lot of people who really honor the arts and it’s really great to get back into the art and find other people who are as interested in it as I am.”
Alexa Dow, president of Undergraduate Student Arts Managers and senior IU, was selling art at a table. She said the profits were split equally between the Ukraine Crisis Fund and the Civil Disobedience Movement in Myanmar.
The festival was named “Burning Couch Festival” to honor their first house show, during which a couch was thrown into a bonfire. In memory of this festival, a sofa was burned in a bonfire at the end of the night.
