Evil Genius to Shut Down Front Street for 15th Anniversary Music Festival Headlined by Wheatus
Evil Genius to Shut Down Front Street for 15th Anniversary Music Festival Headlined by Wheatus
Evil Genius Beer Company will celebrate its 15th anniversary with an all-day, all-ages block party on Saturday, October 3, from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. The Evil Genius 15th Anniversary Music Festival will close off Front Street from Cecil B. Moore to Palmer Street, as well as Palmer Street from Front Street to Blair Street.
The festival will be headlined by 2000s alt-rock band Wheatus, known for their hit “Teenage Dirtbag,” and will feature 10 hours of live music, food and drink from around the neighborhood, two exclusive beer releases, and an outdoor market with nearly 50 local vendors, artists and makers. The event is free and open to the public, with food and drink available on a pay-as-you-go basis, and is family- and dog-friendly.
Trevor Hayward, co-founder of Evil Genius, said the brand was built 15 years ago around the idea of “Very Silly Names for Very Serious Beers.” He described the festival as a thank-you to the company’s community, fans and the neighborhood that has supported it, noting that the celebration draws on the brand’s longstanding connection to nostalgia through music.
Music Lineup
Live music begins at noon and runs throughout the day on a single stage:
- 12:00–12:55 p.m. — Kat Rivers & The Second Sight, a Philadelphia female-fronted rock band recently featured as WMMR’s Local Shots Band of the Month
- 1:10–2:05 p.m. — Tell All Your Friends (Set 1), a band covering 2000s emo, rock and alt anthems from artists such as Taking Back Sunday, My Chemical Romance, Paramore and Fall Out Boy
- 2:20–3:15 p.m. — Luna Pools, an up-and-coming shoegaze and alternative rock band from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
- 3:30–4:30 p.m. — Tell All Your Friends (Set 2)
- 4:45–5:40 p.m. — Madska, a Philadelphia rock band fronted by Maddy Rose Weisman
- 6:00–7:00 p.m. — every7years, a modern alternative rock band led by dual vocalists Virginia Franks and Luke Hoffman
- 7:15–7:45 p.m. — Disterbenz, singer-songwriter Gabrielle Sterbenz, a longtime touring partner of Wheatus
- 8:00–10:00 p.m. — Wheatus, marking the 25th anniversary of “Teenage Dirtbag”
