If you think that it’s a total conflict of interest for me to be writing about a show that will feature my co-worker’s band (the Sparklers) as well as my husband and business partner’s band (Creem Circus) you’d be totally right. But I’m going to do it anyway…

The Northern Liberties Music Festival has been going on in some form or another since the late 80s, and is exactly the type of low-key, super-fun music festival that drew us to this neighborhood in the first place.

As for the music, beer, and port-a-potties, those are the three ingredients—and the ONLY three ingredients—needed for a great neighborhood music festival, according to festival organizer, Larry Freedman.

Freedman, the owner of 2^nd St. Productions, a recording studio on 2^nd Street, has been living and working in Northern Liberties since 1986. He and compatriot Don Phillips started organizing Northern Liberties Music Festival to coincide with a neighborhood flea market. The festival moved around to different locations in the neighborhood before finally landing in Liberty Lands when the park was created in 1995.

The all-volunteer effort used to be big production and there was pressure to expand, add vendors and more attractions, but all that takes away from the focus of the festival and ultimately from the music itself. So for the last 10 years, or so, the spotlight has been on music only, to keep the festival simple and fun.

Besides the whiskey-soaked, junk-country of the Sparklers and the glittery, boogie-woogie, glamstastic Creem Circus, the festival will feature neighborhood favorites St. James and the Apostles, who are just back from their West Coast tour, and will be, I’m sure, ready to testify.

This Spring’s Lineup:

• Almshouse (3:30)
• Urbana (4:30)
• The Gospel Shouters (5:30)
• St. James and the Apostles (6:30)
• Spiritual Thunder  (7:30)
• Sparklers (8:30)
• Creem Circus (9:30)

The festival will be held on Sat., June 6th, at Liberty Lands, on N. 3rd St. between Poplar and Wildey. A $20 donation gets you a bottomless cup for beer. The event is a fundraiser to support the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association, and all the money raised goes towards the neighborhood association and Liberty Lands.