MARFA — With El Cosmico’s eye on its forthcoming expansion to a 61-acre site north of town, the Trans-Pecos Festival of Music + Love, an annual fall festival circa 2006, is on hiatus this year. But a new event, the Flying Island Music Festival, is stepping up to fill the void with its own take on a small-scale, desert-set hangout — one centered around playful food pop-ups and an eclectic music lineup.
The four-day festival will take place from Thursday, October 24, to Sunday, October 27, at venues across town, including Larry’s, El Cosmico, Marfa Spirit Co., Do Right Hall, Planet Marfa and more. Acts include Os Mutantes, Helado Negro, Bill Callahan, Steve Gunn, Death Valley Girls, Sessa, Khun Narin, Cactus Lee and locals Zona Mutante and Marijuana Sweet Tooth.
“We’ve got music from all over,” festival organizer Matthew Bolick said. “We’ve got Cumbia, we’ve got some jazzy stuff. We’ve got Brazilian music. We’ve got this Thai outfit. We’ve got local folks from here, folks from California, Austin. We’ve got dub, reggae. It’s all over the map.”
Bolick, a well-known Austin bar and restaurant owner that moved to Marfa over two years ago, is currently in the process of opening a new spot called Larry’s, located in the old Marfa Wine Co. building. It will be a continuation of burger pop-ups he’s hosted, in addition to a shop with cassette tapes and gifts, tentatively set for an October opening.
In addition to his hospitality chops, Bolick brings a passion for music to the festival endeavor. He’s played in bands and held punk and hardcore shows before. The Flying Island festival shares its varied vibe with a New York fusion jazz band of the same name that Bolick’s uncle, one of his biggest musical influences, played lead guitar for in the ‘70s.
He said when he realized Trans-Pecos — one of the town’s busiest weekends in terms of tourism — wouldn’t be taking place this year he got together with some friends to dream up a festival to keep the momentum going. “I would argue this is not a one-to-one with [Trans-Pecos], but this is definitely another little peak in the season that I think would be really great to hit,” Bolick said.
Bolick is putting on the event with the help of Derek Brown of record label Hippie Scum, graphic designer Lauren Dickens and local Kendall Weir.
He said he hopes that by spreading the shows throughout Marfa, the festival will benefit more businesses in the downtown corridor, “potentially even more than being sequestered at El Cosmico.”
The copious food pop-ups — burgers from Herby’s, Chicago-style pies from El Pizza Boys, donuts from Custard Prison and other offerings from Nixta Taqueria, Zee’s Weiner System and more — are also one of the festival’s primary offerings. The chefs are old friends of Bolick’s, he said, who provide a point of view to the festival that is “cool and different.”
More food availability in town should also help alleviate stress on local restaurants caused by an increase in visitors, Bolick said. “When you have a festival, or you have an influx of folks like that, it does put a strain on the local food service situation,” Bolick said. “And in a way, that’s both awesome and also can be kind of scrambly.”
Exposing people to new experiences, whether it’s an innovative food pop-up or an intimate band performance in an offbeat venue, is what interests Bolick about hospitality, he said, a sentiment being expressed in the Flying Island festival.
“Whether it’s making a burger and handing it to someone or throwing a punk rock show inside of a tiny venue or throwing a psych show in the back of a distillery, I mean, [these] things are equally interesting to me and provide different touch points and moments for guests to get excited about something maybe they haven’t had,” Bolick said.
Tickets to access all four days of music and venues are $100. Locals are eligible for a 50% discount on four day passes. Tickets can be purchased online or at Stop & Read bookstore on Highland.
For more information, visit flyingislandmarfa.com