VALLEJO, Calif – Community organizers of NOICE Fest and local musicians gathered Friday, May 22, at the Autonomous Gallery in downtown Vallejo for a night of music and games aimed at building solidarity ahead of NOICE Fest on June 28. About 30 people from Vallejo and across the North Bay attended.
Alongside local bands, the NOICE Fest will also host local vendors and artists from across the downtown and larger Vallejo area. All proceeds of the upcoming NOICE Festival will go towards CHIRLA and The Autonomous Gallery in Vallejo.
“This festival is highlighting that we’re bringing people together, we’re bringing people that are not going to be separated. We’re showing that you are not alone in anything here,” said Brandon Gamoras-Young, known locally as “Chubs” within the Vallejo community.
The event was hosted at the Autonomous Gallery in downtown Vallejo, an open community or “third space” for all.
“The Autonomous Gallery is very much a community space, first and foremost. Art and everything else comes second. Everything that happens here is donation-based, no one is turned away for lack of funds,” said Z, owner of the gallery.
The lineup for NOICE Fest includes local North Bay and Vallejo bands and musicians such as Pro-pain, Kid Venison, Mothball Fleet, Tocca, and El 7 Quartet. Devin Jones is a co-organizer of NOICE Fest and guitarist and songwriter for Mothball Fleet, a post-punk rock indie rock band which will be performing at the festival in June.
“The goal of this festival is to bring people together for a good cause, to bring people together to see great local music and to foster a bigger and brighter scene in Vallejo,” said Jones.
Marz Martinez is a lead vocalist of Mothball Fleet and Lead Community organizer for the NOICE Fest. They said the idea for the festival came after seeing an “Artists for Aid” event flyer in Berkeley benefiting CHIRLA.
“I thought, what is a person like me with not much significance? What am I gonna do? I didn’t think that the impact of one person could do something, but this experience has really been changing my mind,” said Martinez. “Come on down, have fun, listen to some good music, and know that you’re in a safe space.”