HARK!
I hear … vegans weeping…
Last week, we poured sweet syrup on the Pancakes & Booze art (attack) happening. Now, let’s take a deep (crust) dive into the Phoenix Pizza Festival, perhaps an even more deliciously devilish marketing ploy.
Where P&B was a gimmick to spread the work of local artists, PPF is a front for music. It happens Saturday, Nov.13 (11 am-5 pm) and Sunday, Nov. 14 (11 am-4 pm) at Margaret T. Hance Park. Tickets: $12 https://www.phoenix.pizza/get-tickets
Before jamming on the music toppings, let’s talk about the pies: The festival will have 20 pizza makers, including Dough Riders and the Pizza Sloth. Not sure if any of them will be offering “alternative pizza,” and don’t care.
As an easily-tempted vegan, I’ll say this about a recent pizza I had with non-dairy “cheese” and “alt-pepperoni”: As compared to starvation, it was terrific! Otherwise…
If chowing down on greasy, cheesy pizza is like getting stomach-stoned, then digging into alt pizza is like doing stomach-yoga.
Anyway, the fun thing about the Phoenix Pizza Festival is all the music being served. Full lineup: https://www.phoenix.pizza/music-stage
Gus D Wynns & Breakers
HARK Valley recommendations:
Saturday:
The Lonesome Wilderness ("desert garage rock") and Gus D. Wynns & the Breakers ("a collision between various styles and genres").
Sunday:
The Blood Feud Family Singers ("a rollicking bad time").
"A rollicking bad time"
HARK Valley grilled Lisa Duffield, the festival’s music booker, with a cheesy Q&A:
HV: Pizza and music...gee, how did you come up with that? (Lol)
LD: Years of intense research, obviously. Haha.
HV: What are your three all-time favorite bands and pizza combo (eg, Grateful Dead and deep-dish anchovies)
LD: That’s a hilarious question. I’d say Pink Floyd and wood-fired wild funghi pizza. The Melvins and plain cheese, nothing on it! Ratt and a NY slice. haha.
HV: How did you put this year's lineup together--submissions, recommendations, bands you've seen, etc.
LD: I started with a list of bands I knew of and thought would be a cool fit. Sometimes I’ll get a referral or someone will reach out that I didn’t know about and dig. Like, I didn’t know about Jane N’ the Jungle, but they reached out and I was stoked to book them.
HV: Seems like a WIDE variety--was that intentional?
LD: I mean, yes and no. There’s a super diverse mix of people that come to a food festival like this so variety makes sense. But if I were booking music for the mass audience that comes for pizza, a wedding-style cover band or a DJ playing top 40 would probably do the trick. I just feel like our festivals are this great opportunity to support our local music scene by having them play to this huge audience that they may or may not be exposed to otherwise. Plus, I personally think the variety adds a cool unique vibe to the whole experience :)
HV: When someone says "Phoenix music," what do you think?
LD: Hmmm.. I don’t know if there’s a particular Phoenix sound or style that comes to mind like Grunge was Seattle music. I think it’s eclectic.
HV: Three favorite Arizona venues to see/hear music?
LD: Crescent Ballroom. Valley Bar. Rebel Lounge.
HV: What are you doing when you're not putting music-food festivals together?
LD: I have a little boutique that I own with Grace Perry called Goods at the Pemberton House. It’s an airstream trailer with a funky, 70s, rock n roll theme so I spend a lot of time sourcing cool vintage stuff for the store. I’m also a mom so I do a lot of mom stuff, lol. I have a crazy schedule these days but I still really love going to shows and other festivals when I can.
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