The seventh Silk City Fest is a FREE event for live music, local artists & makers, interactive activities, games, food trucks, and lots of beer and cider from local breweries! We will be located in downtown Manchester, CT, on Purnell Place (follow the signs for the Orange Lot; the fest’s approximate address for GPS directions is 12 Purnell Place, Manchester, CT 06040) There will be plenty of parking in the nearby lots, as well as on Main Street and various side streets.
LIVE MUSIC
Silk City Fest brings you eleven local bands and performers playing original music all afternoon and evening! There's something for everyone—folk, funk, indie rock, alt-rock, rap, ska, and world percussion. Bring a lawn chair and spend the day with us!See Performer Lineup
CRAFT BREWS
Enjoy craft beer and cider from local brewers. The drinks start flowing at 1:00.Participating Brewers
ARTISTS
Visit our vendor village for your fix of fine art and handmade goods including jewelry, fine wood craft, fiber art, mixed media, illustration, soaps, and all sorts of other fun stuff from dozens of artists and makers.Participating Artists & Makers
FOOD
Hungry? We've got local food trucks to fuel your fest-ing! Barbecue, hot dogs, rice bowls, kettle corn, twisted comfort classics, gyros and more. Let's not forget Italian ice and gelato!!Participating Food Trucks
BREW EXPERIENCE
Sure, you could have a couple full pours, but with so many choices, maybe you'd like to responsibly try several? Welcome back THE SCF BREW EXPERIENCE starting at 1:00pm! Enjoy a package that includes a commemorative SCF 2025 drinking vessel along with 12 samples of your choice. Tickets are limited!
INTERACTIVE ART
Are you an artist? You are when you get involved in our interactive art zone. Try your hand at different mediums while learning from local artists.Learn More
COCKTAIL SESSION
Birch Hill Tavern will be serving a great selection of summertime draft cocktails to delight your taste buds! Our Special Cocktail Session starts at 5 PM and ends at last call.What Are We Pouring?
Silk City Fest 2025 Performers
MARMO
1:00–1:40
MARMO features three Connecticut singer-songwriters with a Folk/Americana/Roots feel employing a variety of instrumentation and strong vocal harmonies. Since 2017, MARMO has performed at festivals, markets, brew pubs, and private parties, as well as on TV, providing audiences with thoughtful, witty, and soulful songs about love, life, and beverages. MARMO features Bill Ludwig (Troubadour Emeritus), Christian Loftus (Current Official Troubadour of Manchester CT), and Dan Thompson (Troubadour Emeritus).
Garrett Moore
1:50–2:30
Garrett Moore is a small town artist who recorded his debut album in Nashville, Tennessee.
Ali Kat & The Revelators
2:40–3:20
Ali Kat & The Revelators are a collection of close friends bringing together blues, funk, soul, and rock n’ roll for a fun, funky, high-energy musical experience that you won’t soon forget! Singer/songwriter/frontwoman Ali Kat is known for her uniquely soulful sound, powerful vocals, and infectious personality, and her Revelators feature groovy guitar licks, a strong backline, and a harmonious assortment of horns. AKR will have you on your feet with their fresh originals and crowd-pleasing covers, so get down, get funky, and get your pull with Ali Kat & The Revelators!
The Eldest Spawn / Addy Fiereck
3:30–4:10
The Eldest Spawn
Addy Fiereck is a Singer/Songwriter hailing from Manchester.
Manchester Pipe Band
4:10–4:30
The Manchester Pipe Band is a competition and performance focused bagpipe band located in Manchester, Connecticut. Year-round programming sees the band traveling to local, regional, and international musical competitions, performance in local events and ceremonies, and an active instruction program which offers weekly tuition-free lessons in bagpiping and drumming. Manchester Pipe Band is organized as a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization and is administered by a volunteer executive board. Today, the band boasts over 30 volunteer musicians in two competition groups, and almost two dozen individual piping and drumming students.
FriendZWorldMusic
4:40–5:20
FriendzWorldMusic is a multifaceted group of musicians, composers, entertainers and educators originating from all parts of the globe. They believe that all humanity is connected no matter where you are from. Their mission is to pay homage to and pay forward the legacy of their ancestors; sharing music, dance, song and story from the African Diaspora. As a group, they share a lifetime of collective experience sharing the arts on stage and in their communities. FriendZWorldMusic are professional experts in various styles of music and dance, including West African, Afro-Caribbean, calypso, jazz, hip-hop, fusions and much more. Their vibrant, colorful, live performances give their audiences the best experience of the explosive power of music, drum and dance.
Thankful Soul Revival
5:30–6:10
Best known as a local Connecticut Blues Rock Band, Thankful Soul Revival and their sound have developed and grown in popularity since 2019. Influenced by the community, culture, and sounds of their hometown, they perform music that speaks to fans across the musical spectrum. Their signature style has become synonymous with a diverse collection of melodies and compositions. This Blues Rock Band is on the rise, and nothing can stop them from achieving the success they work so hard for.
Sgt. Scag
6:20–7:00
Sgt. Scag (aka Sgt. Scagnetti) has been a fixture on the Northeast ska/punk scene since the late 1990’s. Songs about dysfunctional parenting and revenge fantasies developed into teen center anthems. After an 18-year break, the band is BACK and actively releasing new material about teeth, Burger King and illegal fireworks salesmen. They will play the old stuff too. Don’t worry.
Bap Pack
7:10–7:50
BAP PACK is a retro hip-hop supergroup of popular CT emcees RapOet (seen on Netflix), Tang $auce (heard on NPR’s “Where We Live”), Hydro 8Sixty (of TV’s 106 & Park rap battles), and Klokwize (heard on ESPN-TV, DJ QUIK & SUGA FREE’s “A Little Respect”), who combine their collective creativity and community building efforts with head-nodding classic boom bap sounds and live instruments. Their debut album “First I Heard…” hit streaming in June 2024, led by the hit single “Oooh!” featuring MICKEY FACTZ. BAP PACK have been seen sharing the stage with legends like KRS-ONE and are festival mainstays all over New England. Like your favorite big screen superhero team, the Bap Pack combine to shine light on the community and make the people dance!
Pocket Vinyl
8:00–9:30
Pocket Vinyl are an incredibly unique piano-slamming/live-painting band from CT. Their live show consists of insightful piano indie rock coupled with a live painter, who creates a work of art on stage during the show, which gets auctioned off afterwards. Every painting and show is unique.
The new album “Rabbit on Fire” (out now) is 9 story songs about a ruthless warrior (Death’s Favorite Daughter), a widow reflecting on their new life (Audio Sickness), an artist relieved to have lost their passion for art (Bleed Like A Victory, a macabre piece of furniture (Chair From Your Bones), and exactly 5 other tales. It’s emotionally dark material wrapped in bright indie rock. You’re going to love it.
