Making Time ∞ music festival goes ‘back to the roots’ this September with 120 acts scheduled to perform at Philly’s Fort Mifflin

Making Time ∞ (Forever), a music festival that has emerged as a Philadelphia end-of-summer staple, will once again welcome thousands of people to Fort Mifflin Sept. 18-20.

More than 120 DJs and live acts will perform at the historic Revolutionary War fort on the Delaware River, including alternative music icon Kim Gordon, Philly-based shoegazers They Are Gutting a Body of Water and electronic acts Bicep and Daphni.

A three-day pass for Making Time ∞ starts at $295, including taxes and fees. Donations towards the upkeep of Fort Mifflin can also be made.

Getting back to Making Time’s roots

Philly native Dave Pianka has been putting on Making Time parties since 2000, which have brought emerging acts to the city, including The Strokes, Bloc Party and LCD Soundsystem. He said roughly a third of this year’s lineup will be live bands and reflected on how those early parties helped build towards the annual festival.

“It gave me the opportunity to go back to the roots, the foundations of Making Time, which was to have more bands,” Pianka said. “Each year, there are a few more live bands … and live performances. And this year, there’s more than ever.”

The festival also showcases a bit of Pianka’s current listening palette, which is what inspired him to book Gordon in the first place.

“I loved her last record, and I saw that she had a new record coming out. I knew it was kind of a long shot,” Pianka said. “It’s not traditionally what she does, like these kinds of festivals at least, but I think it fits.”

Making Time ∞ will also serve as the debut performance of Father Dionysios Tabakis, a 53-year-old Orthodox priest from Greece who recently released his debut album, “Praise Metal,” an ambient record he recorded by himself at home.

“I just wrote the label owner and I was like, ‘Hey, do you think that he could play?’ And he hadn’t had any shows booked,” Pianka said. “And he’s like, ‘Yeah let’s give it a shot.’ And we gave it a shot and we made it work.”

Booking challenges led to a ‘move forward thinking’ lineup this year

Booking for the festival started almost immediately after last year’s festival wrapped up, and Pianka said the lineup has changed “very drastically” in what has been “the most challenging year to book the lineup.” The main culprit: visa issues and concerns over the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

“A lot of international artists are scared to come here, which rightfully so,” Pianka said. “I’ve had a lot of phone calls with artists all over the world about whether they should come.”

Thirty-nine countries are under either a full or partial U.S. travel ban. For 19 of those countries, the State Department has suspended issuing all visas, according to NPR. 

“The visa costs are more expensive,” Pianka said. “Visa processing is very backed up now. Artist visas and work visas for artists are very backed up. So unless you’re willing to pay an expediting fee for your visa, you’re likely not going to get a visa for over a year.”

Those challenges forced Pianka to get creative with this year’s lineup, but he said he’s “really happy with the way it came out.”

“I think it’s a little more forward thinking, it’s a little more progressive,” Pianka said. “There’s a lot of artists that people might not know, but I think they’re going to know who they are this summer.”