Live music preview: The second Saturnalia Festival begins Friday in East Austin
November is a bittersweet month for music fans like us. While Fun Fun Fun Fest and its successor, Sound on Sound Festival are no longer feeding our music festival addiction in November, there are upstart events like Saturnalia Festival to appease. The Roman-themed winter fest returns to Webberville Baptist Church and the adjacent Sahara Lounge this weekend (November 16-19.) Organizers from The Electric Church and The Sahara Lounge are building a main stage on the church property that will feature visuals from Bob Mustachio (The Black Angels) and other local projection artists.
The lineup of 50 bands over three full days are sourced primarily from Austin with a couple out-of-town acts. Los Angeles’ Spindrift have been invited as well as headliner, Gallo Sonido Negro (Mexico City). Other headliners include Golden Dawn Arkestra, Holy Wave, Superfonicos, Lumerians, Mystic Braves and Latasha Lee and the Black Ties. A second stage will be located inside Sahara Lounge. The venue recently upgraded their PA for a better listening experience.
The festival has added a new wrinkle with tent and RV camping recently made available to fans who want to remain close to the venue for the duration. Saturnalia has provided a VIP ticket option and announced new sponsors, Tito’s Vodka and craft beer makers, Lagunitas. Ticket prices are affordable with 3-day passes available for $65. Single day tickets start at $25. Advance tickets can be purchased via Eventbrite. A limited amount of passes will be available at the festival gates.
The festival has organized pre-parties Wednesday and Thursday evenings at The Sahara Lounge and The Electric Church. Fans who have pre-ordered tickets can pick up their passes at either location. All pre-parties at Sahara are free for ticket-holders. Public can pay $5 at door which we recommend for tomorrow’s Sahara show featuring hot, local Latin nuevo-wave act, Como Las Movies. The synth-cumbia quartet led by Nelson Valente Aguilar is worth seeing, festival ticket or not. Electric Mushrooms and Sarah Dossey round out the bill. RSVP via Facebook here.
The Electric Church pre-parties are free for three-day ticket-holders. $5 for single day ticket-holders and $10 for public. Wednesday’s event includes, Tropa Magica, Hot Garbage and Millbrook Estates. Thursday night lineups can be found via Facebook Events.
Considering the high cost of most multi-day music festivals, Saturnalia Fest is quite affordable. After immensely enjoying last year’s event, we would be negligent in not urging you to grab tickets and go. It’s a no-brainer for true music fans.
Full schedule below:
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