By Jhoni Jackson
Six years is a long time in the blogosphere. But that’s about how long Ohmpark, the independent music blog that champions locally-bred bands, has survived. Founder Davy Minor runs the outlet by a rigid credo, which is arguably its key to success: Can he “honestly recommend and endorse every single musician” on Ohmpark?
“I’d rather have no content than blog about music I don’t genuinely enjoy,” Minor writes in an email interview. “But luckily, there seems to be no shortage of musical artists that impress me in this town. The ultimate concept with Ohmpark is not necessarily to have the most comprehensive coverage of Atlanta music, but to make sure every musician I cover is compelling.”
The lineup for the inaugural Ohmpark fest, to be held at 529 and the EARL this weekend, received the same meticulous treatment.
“The most important criteria I used in selecting the lineup was to choose acts that I personally wanted to see live,” Minor explains. “I’m very picky and fickle about the artists I like, and it’s not often I see more than one or two of my faves on a lineup together. So I wanted to try and build a lineup with as many musicians that I’m a fan of as possible.”
Highlights of the fest include dreamy folk act Little Tybee, the lush orchestrations of Oryx and Crake, Nomen Novum’s digital pop and the debut of On Holiday, a new project featuring members of the now-defunct outfit This Piano Plays Itself.
“I’ve noticed that lately a lot of local festivals have grown exponentially and feature tons of stages and bands, and while it’s great that there are local festivals that can include so many acts, I wanted this particular festival to be more concerned with quality than quantity,” Minor adds. “There are many more acts that I would have liked to include on the lineup, but I didn’t want to have bands competing against each other for an audience.”
The schedule for Ohmpark Fest is as follows:
5:30pm – Doors open at the Earl and 529
6:00pm – Molly Parden @ The Earl
6:30pm – The Electric Nature @ 529
7:00pm – Book Club @ The Earl
7:30pm – Life At Sea @ 529
8:00pm – Oryx & Crake @ The Earl
8:30pm – Jamaican Queens @ 529
9:00pm – Little Tybee @ The Earl
9:30pm – On Holiday @ 529
10:00pm – From Exile @ The Earl
10:30pm – Qurious @ 529
11:00pm – Faun and a Pan Flute @ The Earl
11:30pm – Nomen Novum @ 529
12:00am – Hello Ocho @ The Earl
12:30am – Dark Room @ 529
Ohmp
The EARL and 529 host the Ohmpark Fest this Saturday, Jan. 12.
