Four years ago, Fellafest started from necessity. We wanted a space where all our musician friends could play a show to an audience who would give them the time of day. Venues in Detroit were not replying to our emails, local bars only wanted country acts; it all felt very hopeless. So we turned to something stranger.
Cayden St. John (Fictional Violence, Jules Bonnot)'s father, Greg, owns and runs a metal stamping factory in Oxford. One day, he politely said "Hey, you guys could play in the warehouse". From there, our DIY indie show dreams came true. We had everything from hardcore bands to groups with violins, to lo-fi rappers play. Everyone we were excited about deserved a space to play.
Community has always been one of the biggest pieces in music for me and having found a way to merge the gap from audience to artist was mindblowing. People who had come to Fellafest as a fans one year had started bands and were playing the next. Connecting is everything.
The last 4 years have flown by, but consistently having a space where we knew we could play to people who cared and care for people who played meant the world. If you've ever had the urge to play music, start a band, join a band, or even just be involved in shows, please do it. Some random 13-year-old is making music on his iPhone and doing numbers. That kid you know from high school sings in a metal band. That kid you were always friendly with in math class plays bass in a jazz band for school but loves the Clash like you do. People just like you are doing it, which means you can too. No art is too small. So please for the love of god...
START A BAND
Stop Waiting, Go Create.
-Finn Murray, Jules Bonnot
Vee Zyngier
All photos were taken by Vee Zyngier at Fellafest 2024. Bands photographed: Jules Bonnot, Fictional Violence, Samis, The Worst Afternoon, STATIONS, Catching Hare, Dandelion Whine, RIGGBE, Once Upon a Time, A.Parisot, and Out of the Rafters. The photographer owns all rights to the images. Please email contact@vislow.media for all prints, usage inquiries, and booking requests.
From an outside perspective, Fellafest may just look like another group of kids playin music in a warehouse, but its a lot more than that. Fellafest has made a massive impact on me and my life and I bet a lot of people can say the same. Its the culmination of so much passion and drive to create something. A bunch of kids from a small town wanting to do more than just play in their schools band. It gave so many people the opportunity to prove themselves to be more than just a kid with a guitar and to connect with more people like them. Playing what they want to in front of an audience that isn’t just a few friends or their parents.
I have personally met and connected with so many people through Fellafest. Its the reason I’m still a photographer and its the reason I continue to try to make music. I’m not all that good with any instrument and I only know a few basic songs on guitar but that hasn’t stopped me from trying to create something. Without this event and the people involved in it, I think I would’ve given up a while ago.
As everyone moves away to pursue careers and start new journeys Fellafest has become harder to organize and coordinate every year. While, unfortunately, this is the final Fellafest, the impact it has made on people will not be forgotten, it will live on in peoples hearts and in peoples minds.
If you have a goal in life, start now. If you don’t have a goal, go find it. Don’t wait for life to hand you an opportunity, go create the opportunity. It might be difficult and it might be scary and you may think you don’t have the means to get there. You do. You will get there. Start small, start now. A social media account is free, there are tons of free options to make websites, you don’t even have to show your face. Just put your art and your work out there, stick to it, and people will come. I don’t care if you don’t think you or your art is good enough, someone does, you just have to find them and that isn’t going to happen by hiding your art from the world. In the future, you’ll be glad you started when you thought you couldn’t.
To anyone who performed or participated in Fellafest, whether its from a distance or by your side, I am excited to see how you progress in the years to come. I love my friends and I love this community.
Please, go make something.
-Vee Zyngier
So...are you going to go make that song now?
0%Already on it
0%I want to join a band
0%I'll just enjoy listening to music
Blog post credits:
Written by Jules Bonnot/Vee Zyngier.
Photos by Vee Zyngier.
Edited/Designed by Karly Maroney.
Comments