HampdenFest celebrates The Avenue and local musicians
The fervor of Howard Street's infamous Ottobar ran rampant up and down The Avenue on 36th Street last Saturday afternoon. Hampden Fest 2007 took place on September 15 and the turn-out was fantastic. Food, jewelry, crafts and clothing vendors set up shop and hawked their wares.
The street was split in half, which allowed Baltimoreans to meander up and down while browsing, socializing, munching on falafel sandwiches and chicken-on-a-stick and sipping several varieties of tapped beer. The stores lining 36th Street remained open throughout the day, inviting people in to peruse the many antiques and vintage clothes. Three performance stages and a slew of talented bands accented the day's activities, with one stage at either end of The Avenue and a third situated in the middle of the four-block stretch.
For the past four years, the owners of Atomic Books, Rachel Whang and Benn Ray, have organized the festival as a means to bring locals together and enliven the comparatively secluded street with people and businesses from all over Charm City.
Roman Kuebler, lead singer for The Oranges Band (which was just one of the 22 bands that performed Saturday) credited Atomic Books with "doing an incredible job."
Roman acknowledged that Rachel and Benn have created "a symbiotic relationship between the neighborhood and the festival, keeping the festival fresh and local. It is a real Baltimorean event." The Oranges Band played for their fourth consecutive year at the festival, returning to honor Hampden and The Avenue with their intense indie rock flavor.
At the Falls Road/36th Street intersection, the location of the Atomic stage, I enjoyed another local band, Double Dagger, that has also rocked Hampden Fest for the past four years. The three-man ensemble plays mostly post-punk music. Lead singer Nolen Strals, dressed in a black "I [heart] Baltimore" T-shirt, explained that what he primarily loves about the festival is that "it really feels like you're playing for the people. It's just big enough that you're not too bored, and not too big that you're overwhelmed."
The street was split in half, which allowed Baltimoreans to meander up and down while browsing, socializing, munching on falafel sandwiches and chicken-on-a-stick and sipping several varieties of tapped beer. The stores lining 36th Street remained open throughout the day, inviting people in to peruse the many antiques and vintage clothes. Three performance stages and a slew of talented bands accented the day's activities, with one stage at either end of The Avenue and a third situated in the middle of the four-block stretch.
For the past four years, the owners of Atomic Books, Rachel Whang and Benn Ray, have organized the festival as a means to bring locals together and enliven the comparatively secluded street with people and businesses from all over Charm City.
Roman Kuebler, lead singer for The Oranges Band (which was just one of the 22 bands that performed Saturday) credited Atomic Books with "doing an incredible job."
Roman acknowledged that Rachel and Benn have created "a symbiotic relationship between the neighborhood and the festival, keeping the festival fresh and local. It is a real Baltimorean event." The Oranges Band played for their fourth consecutive year at the festival, returning to honor Hampden and The Avenue with their intense indie rock flavor.
At the Falls Road/36th Street intersection, the location of the Atomic stage, I enjoyed another local band, Double Dagger, that has also rocked Hampden Fest for the past four years. The three-man ensemble plays mostly post-punk music. Lead singer Nolen Strals, dressed in a black "I [heart] Baltimore" T-shirt, explained that what he primarily loves about the festival is that "it really feels like you're playing for the people. It's just big enough that you're not too bored, and not too big that you're overwhelmed."
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