Brokechella gets a new name: Meet BROKE LA
Kevin Bronson on
1
Brokechella, the DIY festival started in 2011 as a bargain alternative to a certain shindig in the desert, is getting a new name.
Meet BROKE LA, which makes its debut April 23.
The announcement came Thursday night from representatives of three groups that stage the festival: Negin Singh, artistic director of cARTel: Collaborative Arts LA; Kush Fernando of underground event promoters Brownies & Lemonade; and Chad Kenney (aka DJ GOJIRA) of the artists collective and label Shifty Rhythms.
“We got too big and they wouldn’t let us be Brokechella anymore,” Singh said at the announcement party at El Cid.
In an interview prior to the announcement, Singh explained that Brokechella’s punny name was too suggestive of festival giant Coachella and not enough of the spirit of the festival — which, she said, “is representing the amazing cross-section of art and music in Los Angeles.”
There was a spirited debate over which direction to go with the new name, Singh said: “There were about 20 people in the room and a lot of discussion about whether to leave the word ‘broke’ behind.” Ultimately, it’s everything that “broke” suggest that persuaded organizers to stay with the name.
“It’s not just ‘broke’ as in out of money,” Singh said. “It’s fighting the broken system, going for broke, breaking off, breaking new ground … All the things our [constituencies] are trying to do.”
The past two years, Brokechella — which drew a crowd of north of 4,000 last year — has been held at a warehouse complex at 590 S. Santa Fe, adjacent to the 6th Street bridge, but because of bridge construction, organizers are currently seeking a new home.
In addition, artist and band submissions are now open at this link.
||| Previously: Brokechella 2015; Brokechella 2014
[…] among the approximately 50 musical acts announced today to perform at the BROKE LA, the festival formerly known as Brokechella, which for its sixth year gets a new location as well as a new […]