An upcoming local music festival aims to foster community connections and honor a late local rapper’s legacy.
Millside Amplified 2, a music festival billed as “a day of live tunes, local vibes, and good energy,” will be at Millside Park in Easthampton on Saturday, Oct. 11, from 12 to 8 p.m.
As its name suggests, this event is a sequel to (and expected to be bigger than) the original Millside Amplified, which took place in June.
“We want to see people come out, dance, and enjoy music,” said event producer Brandon Eastman, who runs the local music collective Creatures of the Night. “So we were like, ‘Why don’t we throw a free event?’”
The first Millside Amplified came together after about only a month of planning, but it was a success. The producers decided to create another one, this time with more marketing, bigger bands, food trucks, more artists and vendors, activities and games for kids, and lighting (because the nights start earlier this time of year).
“We’re stepping it up this time, for sure,” Eastman said.
The lineup includes reggae/hip-hop group The Alchemystics, psychedelic funk band Shantyman, reggae/hip-hop/neo-soul group Soulkeys, “danceable hits from every decade of music” band Radio Reptar, and singer/guitarist Tobey Sol LaRoche. DJs will play between live sets.
Besides Creatures of the Night, the festival’s production team includes The Sean Byrne Memorial Music Foundation, whose namesake, a local rapper and music producer, died in 2017 at the age of 21.
After their son’s passing, Stephen Byrne and his wife were lost: “Your brain is completely erased,” he said, “and we’re like, ‘Well, how are we gonna survive this?’”
They decided to create a foundation in Sean’s name to continue his legacy – “to do what Sean intended to do” while he was still alive. Byrne said that Sean “lived for music” and that hundreds of people came through his family’s house when Sean was a teenager because Sean was helping them with music in some way.
“He was huge about his friends and helping other people,” Byrne said.
“It wasn’t until after Sean passed that we realized that that was how the music industry was in general,” he added. “The support that everybody gives each other to play that great song or have that great performance … and the joy and the happiness when the performance went the way it should.”
As a way of helping young musicians, the Byrnes purchased an Airstream, which they converted into a mobile recording studio.
“We really wanted it to be something where people can sing their song,” Byrne said. “Everybody has a song, right? One song that means so much to them, regardless of ability – everybody sings in front of the mirror, and we had a concept of getting people in the studio, whether it’s that recording studio or another recording studio, giving them professional equipment, professional assistance, and they walk out with their song on a thumb drive.”
Millside Amplified 2 “is that on a group level,” he said. “The performers are up there, their supporters are there, I’m sure there’s gonna be a lot of people in the crowd. They’re looking up to the performers and saying, ‘Wow, I wish I could do that someday.’ Well, we can help with that.”
Eastman, who met Sean at Holyoke Community College, was also close to him. Eastman said Sean was “always open and willing to do things that had to do with music that would support people, help people, or get people out of their home and into an event space” – to “grab the world.”
Now, in his current role, Eastman said, “It feels like I’m working with Sean.”
“Any email I send, any graphic I design, any speaker I plug in for Millside, Sean’s on my mind,” he said.
Mike Bodman, guitarist of Shantyman, also knew Sean, as did all of his band.
“He was a huge supporter of Shantyman in our early days, and we always loved when he would hang around and want to sit in on a tune with us,” Bodman said. “We’re incredibly grateful to help support his legacy and play shows in his honor.”
Admission to Millside Amplified 2 is free and open to the public. Dogs on leashes are welcome. If you have questions or want to participate (as a volunteer or otherwise), email cotncollective@gmail.com.
