There were no upsides to the pandemic but there were consolations: an outpouring of new music from people stuck at home; and ideas for connecting that started online and made it to the physical world. Which brings us to the Light in the Dark Fest, the creation of recent Fort Lauderdale arrivals Becca and Jeremy Joseph, aka the aptly named electropop duo Glowing Screens.
Tristen by Danielle Holbert
“Light in the Dark Fest began during peak Covid 2020,” Becca Joseph told PureHoney. For two fundraisers staged online in 2020, the Josephs — then based in Virginia — recruited far and wide: Artist and poet Demetrius “6ixx” Similien emceed, and bands and musicians including Emma Swift and Robyn Hitchcock joined in to beam music and solace across the Internet.
The streams live on, via YouTube, as reflections of the surreality of their moment: hypnotic threads of live performance, music video and poetic talk interspersed with abstract art, fundraising appeals for Food Chain Workers Alliance and Save Our Stages, and links to self-care resources.
The online festival returned in 2021 with more music, art and a short-film contest winner. In January, Light in the Dark Fest transits from glowing screens to a pair of physical spaces in Fort Lauderdale.
Andy Friedman
First up, The Murphy House Studio hosts an opening party on January 26 featuring live music by Brooklyn-born singer-songwriter Andy Friedman, an artist as well whose work will hang alongside pieces by others including Claudia Aguilera and Murphy House proprietor Murf. The main event is January 28 at Craft Beer Cellar, with Nashville-based indie rocker Tristen headlining a full musical slate.
The spirit of mutual support remains. “I have always been inspired by the socially conscious musicians of the 1960s such as Bob Dylan and Joni Mitchell, Bob Marley’s world-changing notion of “One Love”, and artists like Operation Ivy who make ‘Unity’ feel cool and punk rock,” Joseph explained. “I hope people leave the event feeling like we can bring back some of these values but with a modern vibe and something wholly original for the current times.”
Light in the Dark Fest is Thursday, Jan. 26 at Murphy House Studio and Saturday, Jan. 28 at Craft Beer Cellar in Fort Lauderdale. lightinthedarkfest.com ~ Sean Piccoli
