GEM Fest returning to Glens Falls this weekend
GLENS FALLS, N.Y. (NEWS10) - This weekend, the Glens Falls Shirt Factory is hosting a huge amount of music in and around a single building. It's the Glens Falls Entertainment & Music Festival's second year at the Glens Falls Shirt Factory - its 6th year overall - and the "gems" are ready to be back.
"Artists and bands are locked and loaded every year," said GEM Fest Artistic Director and local artist Anthony Richichi. "It's been a well-oiled machine, and we owe it up to everyone else."
GEM Fest first migrated to the Shirt Factory in 2021, after having to take 2020 off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Originally housed in City Park downtown, the festival was moved to the Shirt Factory in order to better mitigate crowd size, allowing for better social distancing conditions.
That tactical move has given the festival a whole new way to approach programming. The list of bands coming this Saturday is long, and will occupy two main outdoor stages. More bands will play at Rock Hill Bakehouse Cafe, occupying the Shirt Factory's side building on Curran Lane.
It's $20 for a full day of live music, along with free admission to an artist alley full of painters, artisans and more. Artist Cory Pitkin will be painting live, for whoever wants to stop and watch. An opportunity like this, to get out in front of a crowd, can mean a huge step forward in artists' careers.
"There's a handful that are just starting their career. You wouldn't know, walking down the line, who's a first-time shower at a booth. It's cool to put them in and get them featured at a fun spot with 20 bands worth of people walking around."
GEM Fest runs from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. on Saturday, with a long list of bands that run from the hyperlocal - including Lock 9, of which Richichi himself is a member - to the national. Chestnut Grove, the show's headliner rock n' roll group, hails from Philadelphia. Hard rock band New Saviors is coming from Bennington, Vermont.
As for the venue itself, Richichi hopes to hold onto the Shirt Factory as long as possible. The festival is now sponsored by North Country Arts, an art nonprofit that operates a gallery within the Shirt Factory. Add to that the fact that the building is home to dozens of artist studios as is, and it's clear that the old building will remain a new home of local rock for some time to come - just at the right time.
"It's fun to be able to get 20, 25 bands for a day," said Richichi. "Thank you to anyone supporting music and art. It's what keeps us going."
GEM Fest admission is $20 in advance or at the door, at the Shirt Factory at 71 Lawrence St. and 21 Cooper St. The full list of bands and artists at GEM Fest includes:
Bands
- Chestnut Grove
- The Midnight Revival Band
- Brookline
- New Saviors
- Grape Juice
- The Erotics
- Pardon Me
- We're History
- The Hauntings
- E.R.I.E.
- Under the Den
- Reese Fulmer & The Carriage House Band
- North Side Sound
- Carolyn Shapiro
- Brian Medicine
- Lock 9
- Beautiful Losers
- Violence
- The Inside Out Band
- Angelina Valente
- Project Race Car
- Jason Irwin
- Seize Atlantis
- Deb Cavanaugh
Featured artists
- Corey Pitkin
- Hannah Williams
- Sarah Calzada
- Alexandra Lindsay
- Shelley Fairbanks
- Joe Richichi
- Jes Turco
- Kelsi Lee
- Kayleigh Smith
- Marta Baxter
- Alaina Vooris
- Jamie Greene
- Val Jean