Chris Robinson, Dr. John lead Bromberg's Big Noise
An eclectic mix of sounds from rock and folk to pop and blues led by Wilmington-based "Godfather of Americana" David Bromberg will fill the air May 20 for the return of Bromberg's Big Noise music festival.
The line-up, revealed to The News Journal ahead of today's announcement, packs a punch: Bromberg and his Big Band will be teamed with blues rockers Chris Robinson Brotherhood, led by the former Black Crowes frontman, along with six-time Grammy Award-winner and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Dr. John and the Nite Trippers.
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Fellow New Orleans favorite Anders Osborne is also on the bill, along with longtime Bob Dylan and Levon Helm collaborator Larry Campbell. Campbell will be joined by his wife, singer/guitarist Teresa Williams. San Francisco-based roots pop act Front Country will open the festival.
Bromberg's Big Noise will be held in the city's Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, home to annual music festivals such as the Bob Marley-inspired People's Festival and Riverfront Blues & BBQ Festival.
General admission passes ($44) and VIP passes ($88) are on sale now. VIP pass-holders get access to a front-of-stage area, a private tent with a cash bar, private bathrooms and free parking at Colonial Parking's nearby Ships Tavern Garage (201 N. Walnut St.)
"It's great. I'm really happy about it. I like all the people on it," says Bromberg, whose wife, artist and musician Nancy Josephson, worked with festival co-organizer Matt Van Belle to curate this year's line-up.
General admission passes are $6 cheaper than the festival's 2010 debut, which was a benefit for the Light Up the Queen Foundation ahead of the Queen's opening. In a twist, this year's festival will come five days before World Cafe Live leaves the Queen. (Building owners Buccini/Pollin Group announced last month that a new promoter will run the venue, but their identity has not yet been revealed.)
The festival, which has been dormant for seven years, will run from noon until 8 p.m. with gates opening at 11:30 a.m. Fans will be permitted to bring lawn chairs.
Milton-based Dogfish Head is the festival's official beer sponsor and they run an on-site beer garden selling their brews, including a new line of canned beers, including 60 Minute IPA, Flesh & Blood IPA and SeaQuench Ale.
Food will be available via the food trucks of Rolling Revolution, Delaware's mobile vending and food truck association. Up to a dozen food trucks are expected, including Mojo Loco, Cafe Riviera, Kapow, Delicious Craving, The Brunch Box, Cajun Sno and Sweet Josephines.
Bromberg's Big Noise made its debut at Justison Landing Park in Wilmington, which is now home to the Riverfront Rink in the winter and Constitution Yards Beer Garden during the summer. The WXPN-approved line-up was not quite as varied at this year.
In addition to Bromberg and his Big Band, the festival's 2010 roster included singer/songwriter John Hiatt, newgrass leader Sam Bush Band, jam band Railroad Earth, Jefferson Airplane's Jorma Kaukonen and Josephson's Angel Band. The festival closed with all of the acts together on stage for a final jam.
"This year, we were trying to branch out a little bit and bring some diversity," says Van Belle, the downtown Wilmington-based social media consultant and brand strategist organizing the festival alongside Abe Pitts. Pitts is the son of People's Festival founders Ginny Pitts and her late husband, Ibis.
"We were looking for the best fit for David and that sound, but we also wanted to bring something fresh and new that you can't see anywhere else," Van Belle adds.
This year's festival will also feature one-time-only collaborations and jams, although the exact structure of those moments have not yet been decided. Bromberg's Big Noise is expected to return next year as an annual spring event.
The festival's debut drew about 3,000 in 2010 and this year's target is 3,500, although organizers will be prepared for a crowd as big as 5,000.
Josephson was a lead organizer for the first Big Noise and when the festival's return was announced in August, she told The News Journal, "I told Matt that I would like to be an elder who tells people what to do and then goes back to the teepee to take a nap." She continued, "David added, 'I'm staying in the teepee.'"
Well, it seems Bromberg popped his head out of the teepee. He had a few conversations with Josephson about the festival, who then brought ideas to Van Belle.
The Grammy Award-nominated Bromberg has connections to many of this year's acts.
His relationship with Dr. John goes back decades. The longtime friends collaborated on Bromberg's 2011 album "Use Me" with the pair teaming up for the groovy "You Don't Wanna Make Me Mad." The good doctor also appears in the 2012 Bromberg documentary "Unsung Treasure" with the two reminiscing about old times while walking the streets of New Orleans.
"David's my partner," Dr. John told The News Journal in 2015 ahead of a show at the Queen.
Bromberg, a 15-year Wilmington resident and famed multi-instrumentalist, also has deep ties with Campbell, who not only produced Bromberg's most recent album, last year's "The Blues, the Whole Blues and Nothing But the Blues," but also 2013's "Only Slightly Mad." He also produced a pair of songs featuring The Band's Levon Helm on Bromberg's 2012 release "Use Me."
While Campbell has worked with Chris Robinson before, including playing banjo, fiddle and pedal steel on The Black Crowes' final album, 2009's "Before the Frost...Until the Freeze," Bromberg has not.
Robinson has played Wilmington before. Chris Robinson Brotherhood was at the Queen in 2012 and The Black Crowes played Kahunaville in the summer of 1998.
For Bromberg, the eight-hour musical buffet will be a hometown hoedown featuring some of his favorite collaborators – all happening only a few blocks from his Market Street home.
"I'm really looking forward to it," says Bromberg, who runs Market Street's Bromberg Fine Violins. "It should be a lot of fun for me."
Contact Ryan Cormier of The News Journal at rcormier@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2863. Follow him on Facebook (@ryancormier), Twitter (@ryancormier) and Instagram (@ryancormier).
IF YOU GO
What: Bromberg's Big Noise music festival
Who: David Bromberg and his Big Band, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Dr. John & the Night Trippers, Anders Osborne, Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams and Front Country
When: May 20, 12 p.m. - 8 p.m. (Gates open at 11:30 a.m.)
Where: Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, N. Market Street and Rosa Parks Drive, Wilmington
Cost: $44 (general admission) and $88 (VIP). VIP passes include access to a front-of-stage area, a private tent with a cash bar, private bathrooms and free parking at the nearby Colonial Parking Ships Tavern Garage (201 N. Walnut St.)
Tickets and information: bignoisefestival.com