Sing Us Home Festival looks to create ‘a lot of memories with a lot of people’ May 2-4 in Manayunk

From Philly and the Pa. suburbs to South Jersey and Delaware, what would you like WHYY News to cover? Let us know!

Starting Friday, the Sing Us Home Festival in Manayunk aims to bring music lovers across all ages out for three days on Venice Island.

Manayunk will be hosting festival headliners English singer-songwriter Frank Turner and longtime New Jersey punk rockers, The Bouncing Souls, along with AJJ and Tim McIlrath of Rise Against during the Hause Family Campfire set.

Why Dave Hause brought the festival to Manayunk

Event organizer and long-time recording artist Dave Hause grew up in the Roxborough-Manayunk section of Philadelphia. When the idea came to him of starting a festival in his hometown, he said he couldn’t think of a better place to have it.

“As a kid, I watched the CoreStates Bike Race come through Manayunk and watched Manayunk turn from sort of skid row into this bustling, Main Line adjacent street where the arts were celebrated,” Hause said. “And you know, Main Street Music has been the staple of the community for so long and watched it kind of transform and transformed along with it.”

Hause has played many festivals worldwide, including Reading in 2014. Still, when he got to play Eddie Vedder’s Ohana Festival in 2018, he said that experience “changed my view on what was possible.”

“Typically, the bigger the festival, the less enjoyable it is for the showgoer and the band,” Hause said. “I ended up talking to Eddie about his festival, and I said, ‘Oh man, you must have managers and booking agents and promoters wanting you to do this on such a larger scale. How do you keep it this intimate and this family-oriented?’ He said, ‘It’s the hardest thing.’ It’s the hardest challenge that they have is to keep it small and keep it cool.”

That challenge hit Hause directly in the face during last year’s Sing Us Home Festival, during which it rained for two days straight. Despite the damp conditions, he said it “created a lot of memories with a lot of people.”

“It probably would have killed most second-year festivals, but we stuck it out, our fans stuck it out,” Hause said. “I had tears in my eyes when The Mermaid [his backing band] came on because everyone stayed. Everyone was there that had bought tickets. It felt really full, it felt very wet … but we got through it and had a wonderful time.”

Speedy Ortiz is looking forward to playing in front of families, getting back to their roots

For members of Philly-based indie punk Speedy Ortiz, getting the chance to play a festival in their adopted hometown was the perfect opportunity to connect with music lovers in the city “they’re very proud of” and are always “excited about local things.”

“I think the thing about Philly that’s cool is the sustainability of its arts communities,” lead vocalist and songwriter Sadie Dupuis said. “People are able to be lifer musicians here and career artists here.”

She said the festival gives her a similar vibe to playing some of Philly’s intimate venues like First Unitarian Church, specifically the diversity among age groups that will be represented this weekend.

“It really brings everybody out and everybody accepts and admires that it’s an all ages space that’s working to bring incredible acts to music fans of all ages,” Dupuis said. “Some of these bands who maybe don’t get to play all ages shows or don’t get to play in front of families will get to do so, and we love doing stuff like that.”

Bassist Audrey Zee Whitesides said that the festival brings her closer to her roots, “coming from a pop punk world” before joining the band, and that the festival will be a bit of a “fun throwback.”

“I’ve toured with Dave Hause’s band, The Falcon, probably like eight or nine years ago when I was in a different band,” Whitesides said. “So for me, it’s also like a fun Philly festival, but also musically getting back to like some roots and my early 20s when I was more in this world. It’s going to be a lot of fun for me.”

Lead guitarist Andy Molholt grew up in nearby Lansdale’s pop punk scene and moved to Philly around 17 years ago. Playing in various bands over the years, he said he’s seen the local scene change so much since then. That’s not only been reflected in the work the scene’s produced, but also at this weekend’s slate of shows.

“Playing a festival in Philadelphia, there aren’t too many of them that happen regularly,” Molholt said. “Hopefully, the fact that it’s the third year means that there’s going to be many more years.”

How to get tickets, what times are the bands playing?

Tickets for this year’s Sing Us Home Festival start at $59 for single-day passes. Weekend passes start at $149. VIP passes have sold out, but a waitlist remains open for those still hoping to attend. Below is the festival’s schedule:

Friday, May 2 (doors open at 5:00 p.m, VIP doors at 4:30)

• Quarry – 5:30 p.m.
• John Gallagher Jr. – 6:15 p.m.
• Hause Family Campfire featuring AJJ (solo), Tim McIlrath (of Rise Against, replacing Dan Andriano), Dave Hause and Jon Muq – 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, May 3 (doors open at noon, VIP doors at 11:30 a.m.)

• Speedy Ortiz – 12:30 p.m.
• Mary’s Morning Deathbed – 1:45 p.m.
• Tim Hause and the Pre-Existing Conditions – 3 p.m.
• Buzz Zeemer – 4:30 p.m.
• Dave Hause and The Mermaid – 6 p.m.
• The Bouncing Souls – 7:30 p.m.
• Big Boy Brass- artist at large (performing in the crowd)

Sunday, May 4 (doors open at noon, VIP doors at 11:30 a.m.)

• Lullanas – 12:30 p.m.
• Black Guy Fawkes – 1:15 p.m.
• Mobley – 2:05 p.m.
• Dave Hause and The Mermaid – 3 p.m.
• Frank Turner – 4:30 p.m.
• Ocean Avenue Stompers – artist at large (performing in the crowd)

Frank Turner will also perform Sunday evening at the Sing Us Home After Party at Ardmore Music Hall. While tickets are sold out, organizers encourage those still hoping to attend to join the waitlist. The show is scheduled to begin at 8 p.m.