Joe Hardcore, the brains behind This is Hardcore Fest in the greatest city on earth, Philadelphia, announced today on the This is Hardcore website that after six years he will be taking his legendary summer hardcore festival to The Electric Factory instead of the usual Starlight Ballroom, and his Thursday opener will be at Union Transfer instead of the normal First Unitarian Church. This switch is due to the limited space that Starlight Ballroom provides and the ever increasing number of people who want to participate (for those who have been to Starlight before, it’s very long and not wide which is not conducive for everyone to see the bands). Also in addition to this extra space, the Electric Factory space allows for more hanging out space (and not having to sit on curbs and almost get crushed by cars flying by), and more merch and food options. This year there will be the addition of food trucks, bigger merch booths, and an all around more comfortable time. Read after the break for more info Joe’s answers to people’s inevitable complaining.

One of the biggest complaints within the Philadelphia scene (no matter if you’re a punk or a hardcore kid) is the fact that the Electric Factory generally is not conducive to the very animated and interactive atmosphere of hardcore and punk shows (since there is a gap between the stage and crowd as well as a barrier). Joe Hardcore is no stranger to the scene and really took this to heart when making his decision. He says in his blog post:

Union Transfer doesn’t use one often and to avoid everyone getting severely injured trying to dive off the almost 6 foot high stage at the Electric Factory,we’re bringing a smaller stage to put in front of the stage!

Stage dive, headwalk, singalong… Its all yours… This Is And ALWAYS Will be a hardcore show. That is how we run the fest and how I will always keep it.

Nothing is changing. We’ve got 4 awesome bills lined up and I am sure that by the time the show is over on Sunday you will all understand why the move was the right one to make…

As a group of hardcore kids, this is awesome to hear. Joe Hardcore has done a lot for the punk and hardcore scene in Philadelphia, and to those who doubt him about his choices i’m sure will be silenced when the festival actually comes around August 9-12. To read more about the venue change, check out the blog post by Joe Hardcore here.

Let UTG know what you think of this switch, and who do you think we’re going to see this year???

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Tyler Osborne

Live in DC, grew up in PA. I specialize in writing, filming and taking pictures about punk, pop-punk, and hardcore music, and I also have a huge background in film as well. When not on the site, i'm running my own internet radio show, ToZ's Edge Radio (www.facebook.com/tozedgeradio). I also love stage diving and goldfish.

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