Photos: BROKE LA 2016 at Imperial Art Studios

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The audience takes over the stage at Broke LA 2016 (Photo by Daiana Feuer)

BROKE LA, fka Brokechella, made its sixth annual appearance Saturday at a new location, Imperial Art Studios in DTLA. Music boomed from one end of the sprawling multi-warehouse space to the other while artists covered the walls in graffiti murals to the delight of festival-goers eating free Pocky sticks as they wandered around. Any lap around the fest between snacks and music was best spent hugging puppies in the corner, courtesy of Bark LA, who set up a dog zone to find forever homes for furry friends. It was a warm, nice day and the mellow afternoon crowd politely transformed into a drunk, happy throng, guzzling down samplings of indie rock, rap and EDM. While the lineup consisted of neighborhood bands, it was a pleasure to see music scenes converge and slip between genres without breaking a sweat. The event as a whole was well-executed by a huge, enthusiastic team. The space was amazing and they lit it up with colors and fog like a psychedelic crime scene.

Favorite moments: Alien-mask wearing Street Fever destroying a keyboard with a bat. Sister-duo Cam and China delivering empowered dirty raps. Air Life’s big-band soul pop and Disco Shrine’s throwback party jams. The audience takeover of the Brownies & Lemonade stage (as pictured).

Least favorite moment: Never being able to sit down. 5,000 bodies roaming the grounds, not one chair…

All in all, BROKE LA made a lot of people smile.