The New Colossus Festival — the premier launchpad for emerging international artists in New York City's Lower East Side — returns for 2022 with five days of jam-packed programming from March 9 to 12, including the all-Canadian "Upstairs Neighbours Party" showcase at Pianos on March 11.
With sets taking place in the venue's showroom and upstairs, a fleet of Canadians will take over from 12 to 5 p.m.: Tallies, Status/Non-Status, Shallow Waves, Mother Tongues, Jackie, Capitol, Westelaken and Hobby will all be representing Ontario as the nearest neighbours, while some of the West Coast's finest — Sunglaciers and Art d'Ecco — bring pride to Alberta and British Columbia, respectively. The prairies offer Ellen Froese, Living Hour, Marissa Burwell and the Garrys, with Montreal's Alicia Clara lending some Quebecois flavour to the mix.
"We are beyond excited to focus on amazing Canadian music during the festival," festival co-founder Mike Bell said in a release. "Some are playing their first US shows at the festival and we are thrilled to be part of their story."
Established in 2018, the festival gets its name from the 1883 Emma Lazarus sonnet that's etched on the Statue of Liberty. The multi-day, multi-venue platform will host performances from over 100 emerging artists this year, across historic venues including Mercury Lounge, Bowery Electric, Berlin, East Berlin and Arlene's Grocery.
Like many presenters of live music, New Colossus had to get especially creative and make some tough decisions about how to proceed in the pandemic.
"We were excited to launch The New Colossus Sessions in April of 2020 — this was a way for us to stay connected while continuing to share some of our favourite artists from around the world with our online community," festival co-founder Steven Matrick explained.
The festival expanded its pandemic horizons further in April 2021 by starting to host weekly outdoor shows called "Summer Sundays" at 18th Ward Brewing in Brooklyn, highlighting local acts from NYC and the surrounding area.
"It grew into a super rad weekly thing with a community vibe and a taco truck," added co-founder Lio Kanine. "That really helped to get these bands playing again and people coming out to see live music outdoors. We're psyched to bring a bunch of these bands back to the festival in March 2022 and look forward to keeping the music going after."
Festival badges for New Colossus are on sale here. You must be over 21 and provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination to attend any of the festival's full schedule of events.
Presented by the CIMA and the Consulate General of Canada in NY, the "Upstairs Neighbours Party" will be free for the public to attend, and food and drinks will be served.
Check out the Upstairs Neighbours event poster and performance schedule below.
03/11
(Showroom)
12 p.m. Ellen Froese
12:45 p.m. Shallow Waves
1:30 p.m. Sunglaciers
2:15 p.m. Living Hour
3 p.m. Tallies
3:45 p.m. Westelaken
4:30 p.m. Status/Non-Status
5:15 p.m. Art d'Ecco
(Upstairs)
12 p.m. Jackie
12:45 p.m. Mother Tongues
1:30 p.m. Marissa Burwell
2:15 p.m. Hobby
3 p.m. Alicia Clara
3:45 p.m. Capitol
4:30 p.m. The Garrys
With sets taking place in the venue's showroom and upstairs, a fleet of Canadians will take over from 12 to 5 p.m.: Tallies, Status/Non-Status, Shallow Waves, Mother Tongues, Jackie, Capitol, Westelaken and Hobby will all be representing Ontario as the nearest neighbours, while some of the West Coast's finest — Sunglaciers and Art d'Ecco — bring pride to Alberta and British Columbia, respectively. The prairies offer Ellen Froese, Living Hour, Marissa Burwell and the Garrys, with Montreal's Alicia Clara lending some Quebecois flavour to the mix.
"We are beyond excited to focus on amazing Canadian music during the festival," festival co-founder Mike Bell said in a release. "Some are playing their first US shows at the festival and we are thrilled to be part of their story."
Established in 2018, the festival gets its name from the 1883 Emma Lazarus sonnet that's etched on the Statue of Liberty. The multi-day, multi-venue platform will host performances from over 100 emerging artists this year, across historic venues including Mercury Lounge, Bowery Electric, Berlin, East Berlin and Arlene's Grocery.
Like many presenters of live music, New Colossus had to get especially creative and make some tough decisions about how to proceed in the pandemic.
"We were excited to launch The New Colossus Sessions in April of 2020 — this was a way for us to stay connected while continuing to share some of our favourite artists from around the world with our online community," festival co-founder Steven Matrick explained.
The festival expanded its pandemic horizons further in April 2021 by starting to host weekly outdoor shows called "Summer Sundays" at 18th Ward Brewing in Brooklyn, highlighting local acts from NYC and the surrounding area.
"It grew into a super rad weekly thing with a community vibe and a taco truck," added co-founder Lio Kanine. "That really helped to get these bands playing again and people coming out to see live music outdoors. We're psyched to bring a bunch of these bands back to the festival in March 2022 and look forward to keeping the music going after."
Festival badges for New Colossus are on sale here. You must be over 21 and provide proof of COVID-19 vaccination to attend any of the festival's full schedule of events.
Presented by the CIMA and the Consulate General of Canada in NY, the "Upstairs Neighbours Party" will be free for the public to attend, and food and drinks will be served.
Check out the Upstairs Neighbours event poster and performance schedule below.
03/11
(Showroom)
12 p.m. Ellen Froese
12:45 p.m. Shallow Waves
1:30 p.m. Sunglaciers
2:15 p.m. Living Hour
3 p.m. Tallies
3:45 p.m. Westelaken
4:30 p.m. Status/Non-Status
5:15 p.m. Art d'Ecco
(Upstairs)
12 p.m. Jackie
12:45 p.m. Mother Tongues
1:30 p.m. Marissa Burwell
2:15 p.m. Hobby
3 p.m. Alicia Clara
3:45 p.m. Capitol
4:30 p.m. The Garrys
