New Vibes For Bridgeport

Sound on the Sound brings live music back to Seaside Park

Live music is a great connector. Everyone coming together, swaying to the music, holding up a lighter (or cell phone) during the ballad. Even during COVID, people yearn for those collective memories. In September, Bridgeport will be home to a festival that will be one for the memory bank.

The new Sound on the Sound Festival will make its debut at Seaside Park in Bridgeport with headliners including Stevie Nicks, whose work both solo and with the legendary Fleetwood Mac speak for themselves, as well as a set by Dave Matthews with longtime collaborator Tim Reynolds.

The organizers, Founders Entertainment, said that they want to put together a big late-summer draw for Connecticut. And with the success of the Governor’s Ball that they hold in New York every year, they already have links to the industry that will get them access to big names like Nicks and Dave (which is what his biggest fans call him).

They will build on the success of Gathering of the Vibes, which had ended in 2015. Originally begun as a tribute to Grateful Dead singer Jerry Garcia, it had been held both in Bridgeport and in New York through its twenty year history. Founders Entertainment will honor the jam band roots by adding a second weekend of concerts in 2023 dedicated to jam bands in the tradition of the Vibes concert.

But with festival circuits these days, organizers have to plan sometimes years in advance to get the headliners they want. And while Founders says they have four headlining acts over the two weekend days, many of the jam bands they wanted to book for the next weekend were already billed somewhere else.

And though September is quite a ways away, the festival will likely have vaccination or test requirements that have generally made these events relatively safe.

The current unknowns are the total amount of acts that will play and who they will be, how much the ticket prices will be, and how popular this event will be. The organizers had suggested that up to 35,000 people can attend the event over the two days, and speaking to the Connecticut Post, discounts will be provided to Bridgeport residents.

One thing for sure is that this will be a boon to Bridgeport. Any attendees of the past Gathering of the Vibes know what a great place Seaside Park and Bridgeport can be to see live music.

The Economic Development section of CT&C is sponsored by New Haven Terminal, Inc. Learn more at: www.newhaventerminal.com