Birmingham’s thriving DIY scene recently held a festival to showcase local Alabama artists of an extremely wide variety. The live entertainment ranged anywhere from punk, to funk, to hip hop, to comedy, and more. Art booths and murals in the venue also offered an array of different art styles, such as surreal paintings and unique duct tape imagery. The very spacious area wasn’t filled with people, but that was okay, as it gave a place for people to skateboard in.

Despite a constant downpour throughout the day, the festival persisted, allowing performers a stage to share their artistic vision, even if this vision involved a band dumping a tub of spaghetti on their vocalist and eating it off him. The band, GNARB, had accomplished this for “the sake of punk,” as BJ Wilbanks, vocalist of the band Snake Church, explained it.

It is uplifting to witness the support given to local artists by its community, as many DIY shows, especially in the Madison/Huntsville area, seemed to have died off. Hopefully events like this fest demonstrate promise for the artistic community’s future.

Pictures described:

GNARB, Cole Bryant’s art, People outside the venue w/ food truck, Pen Pals, Giant Sunbeam & the Noise, Brillo, Artists’ booths