The local podcast that begat a festival is rapidly approaching its 150th episode, and the festival is back for a third year. It’s been quite a ride for the creators of 561 Music, a weekly sounding board for talent based in and around the Palm Beach County area code, and its annual live-music spinoff, the 561 Music Fest.
Podcast and festival hosts/creators Ben Childs and Hector Diaz, who are also bandmates in the Killbillies, have built a place for music. And they’ve done it in a crowded medium. Practically everyone has or will have a podcast, and there’s almost no subject that podcasters haven’t dissected at 10- to 20-episode length.
Childs and Diaz prove there is still room to flourish. A sharpened focus, a grassroots vibe, a lot of good music and a couple of charming hosts say more today about the value of podcasting than a queue full of ambiguous docu-serials and logrolling actor-comedians.
The lineup for year three of the 561 festival is a who’s-who of South Florida music, and a proud podcast guest roster. For one day, on two stages, Mathews Brewing Company in Lake Worth will see live sets by no fewer than 20 regional acts of various stripes. There’s punk (Blabscam), indie (At the Starlight), Americana (The Smokeboss Militia), experimental (The Zoo Peculiar), rock ‘n’ roll (Sewerside Bombers) and more. The Killbillies, the rogue Celtic bluegrass ensemble led by Childs and Diaz, will also perform. The provisioners of Scratch Kitchen will be on hand to serve up the victuals.
The festival has a bit of everything because South Florida does not specialize. Dig down, and you find a raucous, irreverent mix of homegrown music that delights and amazes, and baffles new arrivals expecting a lot of EDM. It’s a scene built on a foundation that is sometimes more visible from afar: South Florida-made albums going back decades decorate the walls of record stores in far-flung places. We have a 561 podcast in our midst today because there’s so much to say and hear.
561 Music Festival runs noon-11pm Saturday, March 30 at Mathews Brewing Company in Lake Worth. 561music.com GET TICKETS ~ Tim Moffatt and Sean Piccoli
