Steven Matrick

This week on the Culture Cast we spoke with Steven Matrick, Co-Founder of The New Colossus Festival, which is happening at eight different venues on the Lower East Side from March 6 - 10. Over 130 bands from all over the world will be playing at Arlene's Grocery, Pianos, Rockwood Music Hall, Mercury Lounge, Heaven Can Wait, Berlin and Baker Falls.

The festival was started in 2019 in an effort to bring live indie music back to the Lower East Side. Steven manages the band A Place to Bury Strangers and recently started his own label, Dedstrange.

We talked about the challenges of surviving as an indie rock band in the post-pandemic era, and in the new "Spotify-social media-landscape," as well as what new creative models for musicians might look like and we got a preview of some of the lineups he's most excited about at this year's festival.

You can listen to the 2024 Festival Playlist here.