Bromberg's Big Noise moves opening night to Constitution Yards Beer Garden on Riverfront

First, the bad news: The opening night of the two-day Bromberg's Big Noise Music Festival will not be at Wilmington's Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park and will not include a previously scheduled set by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band.

Now, the good news: The June 8 kickoff concert has been moved to the nearby Constitution Yards Beer Garden and will retain original headliner, Ivan Neville's Dumpstaphunk. Newark funk act Universal Funk Order will open.

So what gives?

The festival's attempt to extend itself to two days for the first time this year fell flat when it came to individual day tickets for the opening party, forcing the shake-up.

With a Light Up the Queen fundraiser featuring a performance of Milburn Stone Theatre's "Hedwig & the Angry Inch" already scheduled for The Queen on June 8, festival organizer Matt Van Belle had to look elsewhere.

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In the end, he found a home on the Wilmington Riverfront where Big Noise first got its start in 2010 — at Justison Landing where Constitution Yards now sits during the summer months and the Riverfront Rink takes over in the winter. 

Tickets are $28 for the June 8 opening party.

The result should be a big party on the Riverfront considering the beer garden will also be hosting a Dogfish Head tap takeover featuring a Firefly Music Festival ticket giveaway from 4 to 7 p.m.

Dogfish will be on site to tap Firefly Ale '18, brewed with guava and coconut flower nectar, as well as give a sneak peek of the Dogfish Head Distilling Co. cocktail that will be served at the Dogfish Head tent at Firefly called the Compelling Pomtastic. (Other Dogfish Head beers on tap for the event: 60 Minute IPA, Namaste White, Liquid Truth Serum, Dragons & YumYums, Festina Pêche, Mixed Media, SeaQuench Ale and Flesh & Blood IPA.)

Dumpstaphunk will be the first national act to perform at Constitution Yards, which was granted the ability to host live music recently. Performances there wrap up by 9 p.m. Thursday through Saturday.

The move should mean more exposure for both the festival and the beer garden, bringing hundreds of music fans right to Constitution Yards' doorstep while showering beer geeks with the lively sounds of Ivan Neville's soulful five-piece.

The festival drew more than 2,000 people last year.

"It's neat to circle back to the original Big Noise location, and it's also an opportunity to really broaden the reach of the festival," says Van Belle, also co-producer of Wilmington's People's Festival.

The June 8 show will still kick off at 7 p.m. with Universal Funk Order replacing Dirty Dozen, which had to be canceled due to time and space limitations, Van Belle says. The group's replacement, the seven-piece known to fans as U.F.O., will offer their own three-man horn section to help fill the void.

If you previously purchased tickets for Friday's show or a two-day pass for the weekend festival, they will be honored at the beer garden.

The concert will be held on the field next to Constitution Yards with only ticket holders able to enter a separate Big Noise entrance and get close to the stage. All drink and food sales will go through the beer garden for the festival instead of the festival's own vendors.

The festival's main day — June 9 — will feature Wilmington resident folk hero David Bromberg and his Big Band, Chicano rockers Los Lobos, newgrass jammers Railroad Earth, soul singer Bettye LaVette, singer/songwriter Amy Helm and Americana acts David Wax Museum and The National Reserve. (Tickets cost $44 for that day with music running from 12:30 p.m. until the park's 10 p.m. curfew.)

The June 9 festival experience will include a pair of smaller stages in The Grove for local acts such as West Chester, Pennsylvania, roots act Apache Trails; Newark indie-folk four-piece Earth Radio; and Wilmington folk rocker Levi Dylan.

Also, the Blue Moon Beer Garden will offer Blue Moon, Miller Lite, Terrapin and more when it comes to brews with wine by Marydel's Harvest Ridge and spirits by Smyrna's Painted Stave Distilling. A cavalcade of Rolling Revolution food trucks will also be on site, along with a vinyl flea market with Wilmington's SqueezeBox Records, Arden-area Jupiter Records and Philadelphia's Brewerytown Beats.

Bromberg's music festival was resurrected last year at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park, seven years after its one-and-done debut in 2010 as a Light Up the Queen fundraiser.

After a successful return last summer with a lineup that included former Black Crowes singer Chris Robinson and Dr. John, the festival is now an annual occurrence.

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

WHEN: Friday, June 8, 7 p.m. and Saturday, June 9, 12:30 p.m. 

WHO: June 8 kickoff, Dumpstaphunk with Wilmington's Universal Funk Order. June 9, David Bromberg and his Big Band, Los Lobos, Railroad Earth, Amy Helm, Bettye LaVette, David Wax Museum and The National Reserve.

WHERE: June 8 at Constitution Yards Beer Garden (308 Justison St., Wilmington) and June 9 at Tubman-Garrett Riverfront Park (North Market Street and Rosa Parks Drive, Wilmington)

COST: Individual day passes are $28 for June 8 and $44 for June 9. It's $60 (general admission, two days) and $125 (VIP, two days). VIP passes include access to a front-of-stage area, a private tent with a cash bar, private bathrooms and reserved parking. Only a limited number of VIP passes are still available.

TICKETS AND INFORMATION: bignoisefestival.com