Interview
Local and Low-Key with Ryan and Lucas of SummerSide Fest
Between the black hoodies and gray clouds of Spring, there exists a Sun sweltering in its own absence, just dying to be free. I’d understand the skeptic in you, as it’s been months since we’ve honestly had the full force of everyone’s favorite star, but I assure you she’s there. And with her rays, we’ll be coaxed from our cocoon’s into the next season of music festivals.
Sunday, June 30th will mark the second year of the ever appropriately named, SummerSide Fest, bringing together some of Maine’s top singer-songwriters with delicious food, arts, and of course, craft beer. We were able to talk briefly with the two founders, Ryan Audy, and Lucas Roy, of SummerSide Fest just in time to figure out what this thing is all about and why in just a few paragraphs we’ll all want to be there in our favorite shorts and sunscreen.
Tell us a bit about yourself. What are you working on at the moment?
Ryan Audy: I’m a lifelong musician, music producer, teacher, and entrepreneur. I’m currently working on launching a full-scale recording and production studio in South Portland, Breakwater Studio, with Lucas and Cody LaPointe. Aside from that, I’m constantly creating original music content — everything from hip hop instrumentals to electronic music, as well as writing songs for my band, The Middle Men.
Lucas Roy: I grew up in southern Maine. For the past 2 years, I’ve been a full-time musician with a couple of side projects. I’m working on a ten-track album at the moment with a great producer and good friend of mine, Matt Perry. My band is also working on an album we’re hoping to release in 2020. Ryan & I are currently building SummerSide Music & Arts Festival. SummerSide is an annual independent music & arts festival that’s held in Portland. After last year’s success, we’re super excited for this year and can’t wait to see the turnout.
With winters as cold as ours, what were your summers like here in Maine? Were there any Festivals you looked forward to?
Ryan: My summers in Maine consist of hanging out at my favorite breweries, listening to live music, hiking, going to the beach, longboarding, and much more. Growing up as a kid, my dad would bring me to the Big E Festival in Massachusetts as well as the Fryeburg Fair in the fall.
Lucas: I spent a lot of my summertime bike riding and exploring. Being from Maine, I love the smell of the mountain air and the sound of the waves crashing on the beach. I actually haven’t attended as many festivals as I would like — but something I always looked forward to were outdoor concerts. I’m looking forward to attending some music fests this summer in the New England area.
What is your current involvement with the Portland music scene?
Lucas: Aside from SummerSide Music & Arts Fest, I also host an open mic every Tuesday at Bull Feeney’s. I also help run Breakwater Studio, a small recording space in South Portland, along with Ryan, and our friend Cody.
I play out pretty much every weekend but am looking to change gears in 2019 to focus on creating quality music and playing bigger venues as support for touring acts.
Ryan: I play out pretty often with my band, The Middle Men, at venues like Bull Feeney’s, Ri Ra, Oasis, Empire, etc. As a producer, I make it a point to network and collaborate with southern Maine’s up-and-coming artists. And of course, I scout local musicians for the annual SummerSide Festival! I would love to be even more involved with Portland’s music scene outside of my band and organizing the SummerSide Festival.
We have so much incredible talent here, and new venues opening up with supportive owners helping to cultivate Portland’s music scene. What do you think would help make our music scene even better?
Ryan: Honestly, I would love to see original artists in the area putting more content on social media and the major music platforms. Don’t get me wrong, some local artists are currently killing it in that department, but one issue I run into often when people hit us up to play at SummerSide is that their online presence is really lacking. Many artists aren’t on Spotify, or any of the major music platforms aside from maybe SoundCloud. To add to this, their social media game is often lacking or nonexistent. People need to hear your music AND your story before they become your fans. Social media is a great way to attract people to your music, but first and foremost is having your music distributed on all or most of the major platforms. Most people don’t have the SoundCloud app on their phone and their also more likely to take you more seriously if they see you on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.
Lucas: I think that the quality of our music scene is steadily increasing. Right now, I think it’s the perfect time in Portland to be an artist. There are plenty of up-and-coming people and businesses in Portland and I expect that it will only get better in the years to come. One thing that I truly believe that we could benefit from in Portland would be more festivals. With Old Port Fest discontinuing this year, I think it will be crucial for someone to fill this gap.
When I lived in Des Moines they did a city-wide music festival called 80/35 and it was AWESOME. They’d close the streets on the west side of Des Moines for a weekend and throw a massive music festival with 3 or more stages. I think it’s important to keep some of the events accessible to the public and free, as it helps smaller artists have a platform to play their originals, and also helps bring bigger artists and more attraction to Portland.
The second year of SummerSide Fest is coming up, and there are a lot of festivals this summer. What makes this festival such a staple and different from the other ones that Portland needs to know about?
Lucas: The event is created, organized, marketed, and financed by Ryan and I, with day-of execution help from some amazing friends and family. We’re local musicians who put on this festival for artists, musicians, and listeners to hang out on a Sunday and browse local art, listen to local music, and enjoy local brews. It’s not a crazy concert or EDM event. It’s a low-key, easy listening vibe from fantastic artists that you may not have heard of before, but that you’ll definitely want to check out.
Ryan: SummerSide Fest is equally as fun for people in their 20’s and 30’s as it is for families. Last year, there were a lot of people our age that love drinking craft beer as well as a bunch of kids and their parents. The ratio of young adults to families was pretty much even and both crowds seemed to enjoy the festival just as much. Now when you add dogs, local indie music, local food vendors, and a cool art show to the mix, you have this really friendly, summery vibe that makes SummerSide so unique.
Since you already have a year of SummerSide under your belts, how do you plan on improving from last year’s festival?
Ryan: Last year’s festival was a huge success and we want to build off of that momentum. I think a huge factor that makes or breaks a festival, or any event really, is the number of people that are there. Having awesome music and food doesn’t mean much if you’re not experiencing it with friends, or potential new friends! Luckily this year, we can build off of the following we built last year, as well as having awesome visual content from last year’s event that helps paint the picture of what SummerSide is about. We have also recruited help this year from Rad Plaid to give us a helping hand with marketing and promotion. That alone is huge for us. Last year’s festival was literally organized by Lucas and myself. That’s it. Having a team this year means Lucas and I are freed up to work on new stuff that will help to grow SummerSide.
Lucas: A couple of improvements we made to this year’s festival is better marketing, which will hopefully lead to higher numbers. Although we had a great turnout last year, we really want people to know that SummerSide is happening and we want them to look forward to the event every year. We are aiming to create an irreplaceable vibe that people can only get once a year at SummerSide. We want people to have memories of being at the event and meeting someone that’s become important in their life or having unforgettable experiences. We want them to look back at the photos and think “Wow, do you remember when so-and-so did that thing at SummerSide? That was hilarious! What a great weekend we had.”
Can we expect any surprises this year?
Lucas: If I told you it would ruin it!
Ryan: If I told you it wouldn’t be a surprise. But in all seriousness, we are currently brainstorming on some prize giveaways to build some hype for the festival.
We know you’ve partnered with Rising Tide for the event. How is it working with them and their indoor/outdoor space?
Ryan: Rising Tide has been super helpful and cooperative in planning this year’s event. Everyone we’ve worked with from the Rising Tide staff was really kind and I can tell they’re equally excited about SummerSide. Kailey, the director of marketing & events has been especially helpful in coordinating where everything will take place.
Lucas: First off, if you’ve never been, Rising Tide is incredible. They have some of the best craft-brews in Maine and a top-of-the-line tasting room and event space. We are forever gracious to be holding the event there this year. The tasting room will be open to the public. We have a suggested donation of $10 but we don’t want this to dissuade you — if you don’t want to donate that is fine, but please share your experience with friends and get them to come next year.
Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Lucas: Rad Plaid is the dopest platform — thank you all for what you guys do! And also thank you to our other sponsors, friends, family, and artists that make SummerSide so great! We appreciate you!
Ryan: SummerSide was inspired by an international festival Lucas and I played at in Reykjavik, Iceland called Melodica. Something about this festival was very nostalgic, intimate, and special. It was honestly unlike any music event I had ever attended before, let alone had the awesome opportunity to play in! Being super inspired by this festival and the overall experience in Iceland, we wanted to throw our own Melodica in Maine. We came to find out that — of course — it wasn’t like anyone could throw their own festival under this brand; and long story short, Lucas and I said, “Screw it, why don’t we just start our own festival?”
From the start, the vision has always been to create a local and inclusive atmosphere around the festival. Although we hope to have some bigger acts perform at our festival in the future, we wish to always have at least a couple of slots open for local musicians. We will always feature local visual artists as well as food & drink vendors. And of course, we just wanted to create one more awesome event for locals and tourists alike to enjoy right here in Portland, Maine!
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