L Y N D Z A P A L O O Z A
Diverse music. Creative community. Equal opportunity expression.
Lyndzapalooza (LP) was born in 2003 as a party thrown by founder Lindsay Wilhelmi in the West Philadelphia back yard she shared with her partner Kate Wilhelmi.
The LP name was tongue-in-cheek, but Lindsay's intent for the event continues to drive the organization to this day: to bring a diverse group of local artists together to share their talents with an audience of receptive peers. To accomplish her goal she relied on the do-it-yourself ethos of her close friends; - the performers were mostly drawn from the theatre and music programs at nearby Drexel University, and the amplification was cobbled together from the bedroom studio of singer-songwriter Peter Marinari.
The result was a day filled with music - a'cappella groups, singer-songwriters, and even a performance on the bass flute. It was also a day filled with made possible by DIY creative solutions thinking and design.; at At one point an a'cappella group sang into microphones that were affixed to the tops of mops and broomsticks in lieu of actual stands!.
Even after only a single year, the party had outgrown it's birthplace in the city, so the second annual event was held in a different back yard - that of multi-instrumentalist Dante Bucci in Yardley, Pennsylvania. And, it was less a party and more of a festival - full of singing, dancing, eating, and drinking, all while enjoying tunes from homegrown artists like Mutlu and Polymer, playing sets plucked directly from Philly venues like The Fire and the Grape Street Pub.
In 2005 and 2006, Lindsay continued her the tradition of annual spring LP festivals, accumulating an expanding list of performers and a growing team of volunteers to help her with the logistics of her the increasingly-complex events. Yet, even as the festival grew, her commitment remained the same - to promote a diverse group of musicians and to provide audiences with a casual, friendly atmosphere where they could interact with fellow guests and artists alike.
In 2007 LP presented its fifth annual event - Evolve. Bigger than ever before, it featured a roster of over twenty artists presented on two stages housed under a mammoth outdoor tent. The event not only drew a robust crowd of local fans, but prompted longtime attendees to travel from far flung locales like Boston, Atlanta, and Los Angeles to enjoy the festivities.
LP's 2007 evolution wasn't limited to their spring festival. "Evolve" subsequently became a mantra for Lindsay and her fellow organizers. After the festival, Lindsay formalized her relationship with long-term organizers like Kate, Peter, and Dante by forming a Board of Directors for the organization. By the end of the year the Board board had performed a comprehensive audience survey, began fundraising towards incorporation as a non-profit, and initiated discussions for booking a farm for their 2009 festival.
The evolution also included LP's first ever off-season event: the 2007 Winter Mixer. Organized by recently recruited directors Jem Jochems and Gina Martinelli, and presented in the Shubin Theatre, Winter Mixer gave LP audience members a chance to see a selection of Evolve festival artists up close in an intimate black-box environment. It marked a departure from the established LP formula, and it was a solid success.
LP's planned evolution shows no end in sight. The organization became a non-profit in March 2009; continues to showcase more artists and involve more volunteers; and is planning an increasing number of events. Beyond their goal of a 2009 farm festival (which they've achieved! Check out the official recap of our recent festival, BYM Fest!) the LP team continues to explore new outlets for their celebration of diverse music, creative community, and equal opportunity expression.
ABOUT |
EVENTS |
ARTISTS |
GET INVOLVED |
CONTACT
FIND US:
RECENT TWEETS: