On March 25 and 26, 20 Hattiesburg bands will present the third Hub City Madness concert series.
Hub City Madness is the largest showcase of exclusively Hattiesburg bands. The showcase features different sub-genres in the underground Hattiesburg rock ‘n’ roll scene. This year will feature pop rock, indie rock, punk rock and metal. This is the first time the event has expanded to two days.
From the beginning, different parties from around the various Hattiesburg scenes have organized the showcase. Drew Kern of Face on Mars; Ross Sherman of Emerald Heavy; Stephen Curley of Stellatone, Under Orbit, The Squirms and Chubby Daniels; Matthew Curtis of Face of Mars and The Squirms; and Eric Jamison, previously with Vorpal Hand, put together the band roster and set up this year’s Hub City Madness. For the past couple of years, local sound engineer Joel Londeree has run sound for the shows.
“It is about getting new eyes and ears on local bands that deserve more eyes and ears on them,” Kern said. “Myself and a few friends from other bands come together once a year to put on this show that spans the spectrum of rock ‘n’ roll in Hattiesburg. One of the big ideas behind [Hub City Madness] for me was not just promoting the future of rock and roll in Hattiesburg but honoring the history of rock ‘n’ roll in Hattiesburg. ”
Many different bands throughout the years have participated in the event. During the setup, bands come together for the first time sometimes and help each other. Alfred Jordan III, of Year of the Vulture and previously in Vorpal Hand, is one of the members that played for the previous Hub City Madness’.
“Being in this really small community of bands and musicians, we very rarely get a chance to meet in one place to appreciate each other,” Jordan said. “[Hub City Madness] kind of gives us that opportunity. I know the first two years were mainly focused on the heavier ends our local music spectrum. But this year it’s been opened up way more. I think that’s beautiful.”
The show will be an opportunity for people to play and expose themselves to people who normally would not listen to that genre. Justin Thrash of Pissfist has attended the show previously but will be playing the event for the first time.
“It’s not a normal show, which are normally focused on hosting a touring band and everyone making money,” Thrash said. “It’s a chance for bands to be heard by people who normally wouldn’t travel outside of their preferred genre. Also, it’s a great chance for friends throughout the music community in Hattiesburg to set up merch booths and have a chance for people who might not normally see them to hear a new band and get some merch off them.”
“The way all the bands come together and hang out with each other is something special and unique,” Curley said. “Since a lot of us come from different genres, things like this don’t happen very often.”
The event will be held at The Thirsty Hippo and is sponsored by C&M Music, Hattiesburg Tattoo, Rock 104.5, Shipley’s Donuts of Hattiesburg, Sunset Screenprinting and The Thirsty Hippo. The door fee will be set at $5 a head.
For more information on the show and this year’s lineup, check out the facebook the Hub City Madness event page.
