Far Out Free Fest Thrives in Cyberspace

When May turns to June, the amount of shows happening in town usually skyrockets, from DIY touring bands in small venues to Bonnaroo and beyond. But between the threat of COVID-19 and the urgency of the protests against systemic racism and police violence, it's been an awfully quiet month music-wise.

One exception: Far Out Fest. Rather than cancel the multidisciplinary psychedelic music and art extravaganza they’ve put on each summer since 2017, organizers Kari Leigh Ames and Brianne O’Neill made the bold move in April to pivot online. The duo amassed more than 60 original video submissions, from music videos and poetry readings to short films and seminars, as well as live performances. From Thursday night through Sunday afternoon, they streamed them all via Far Out Nashville’s website under the banner Far Out Free Fest.

The heady mix of clips was strung together with a homespun visual aesthetic reminiscent of late-night public-access TV. There was no fee to watch the stream, which you can see archived (for now) on Twitch, but the organizers have been taking tips for the bands via Venmo (@faroutfreefest), and 10 percent of sales from vendors in the marketplace are to be donated to Teens for Equality, the group of Nashville teenagers who organized a massive peaceful protest downtown on June 4. The musical programming of the fest spoke to a comment O’Neill made in the Scene's June 18 preview story about increased commingling between the local psych-rock and ambient-electronic micro-scenes.

With his recent Third Man debut Altar of Harmony, Luke Schneider effectively invented a new genre: New Age pedal steel. Flanked by a wall of TVs and incense burning all around, Schneider’s spellbinding Friday set, one of three multi-camera performances filmed for the fest at East Nashville’s Meltface Studios, was self-care in musical form. Elsewhere, the off-the-cuff synth dronescapes of L.A. artist-producer Al Lover recalled early M83, the Drive soundtrack and those MIDI versions of rock songs from flip-phone days. Scene fave Diatom Deli’s haunting yet soothing synth-and-nylon-string-guitar meditations could’ve passed for something from a Numero Group comp of obscure ’70s folk.

Rock acts of note included Atlanta power trio Death Panels, checking in Saturday night from a Columbus, Miss., living room. Led by singer-shredder Arjun Kulharya, whose sitar-based Naan Violence project played the inaugural Far Out in ’17, the band alternated between droning raga-esque pieces and amped-up riff-fests that channeled Pentagram and Deep Purple, jam-packed with towering fills and dramatic solos. Murfreesboro garage-punk foursome Mouth Reader’s snotty, Devo-esque monotone vocals and zippy dual-guitar action were enough to make you pine for house parties. Watching their Meltface taping, you could practically smell the spilled beer. The same went for a pair of ferocious, MC5-inspired rippers from locals Kings of the Fucking Sea, filmed during the trio’s rowdy two-night stand at East Side showspace Soft Junk back in February. (Those gigs were also recorded for a forthcoming live LP.)

Bridging the rock and ambient worlds was a stellar solo set from Memphis’ Kelley Anderson, alias Crystal Shrine. Superimposed with ax and pedalboard against a backdrop of a geode floating through space, the Those Darlins and Southern Girls Rock Camp co-founder melded rich instrumental guitarscapes to soulful, surf-inflected pop songs. Offering something completely different: Atlanta percussion savant Klimchak, whose elaborate stand-up rig included theremin, mbira, Baoding balls, and an assortment of plates and bowls repurposed as instruments, arranged by tone and timbre.

Presentation-wise, the Far Out crew nailed it. Sets were nice and short, stylistically varied and visually stimulating. The feed ran smoothly, and the lack of ads or other distractions was refreshing. It felt both professional and punk-as-fuck. The longer live music stays shelved, the more livestreams start to feel like a sad reminder of what’s been lost. If more virtual happenings follow Far Out’s lead, we’ll see just how much room for creativity remains within the format.