Broke L.A. Features A Killer Line-Up Of Fantastic Local Talent

LOS ANGELES, CA- In its 8th year, Broke L.A. changed things up. What was once homegrown festival held on a warehouse lot in the Arts District moved this year into the more formal setting of the Regent Theater. Obviously, partnerships with a company like Spaceland (the company that helps run and book a number of prime music venues, including The Regent) makes the burden of organizing logistic for a weekend long festival that much more manageable, but it does take away a bit from the independent spirit and DIY nature of festival.

The Comedy Room. Broke L.A. 4/21/18. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.

While there were four stages to watch the various musicians, comedians and dancers perform, there wasn’t the same type of “festival feel” that there was compared to last year. While the main stage in The Regent is a fabulous place to perform, the other stages were tough to access. Two of the stages were set up in adjoining businesses that permitted the use of their space. While the comedy room was consistently packed with patrons, it left me on the outside looking in because there simply wasn’t any room for me to squeeze in (and man… I really wanted to lounge on those comfy looking cube foam cushions. The same could be said about the “Lovesong” room, which actually seemed to be in a room that was less spacious than the comedy room.

A third stage was set up in a parking lot across the stage. With an assortment of merchants and food trucks, the lot where this stage was set up (which was powered by Trapdoor Social’s traveling solar-powered generator) had more of festival type vibe. Perhaps it was open air, space and hustle and bustle of the city’s energy, but I think that Broke L.A. could have really utilized this space more.

And while I miss the playground (there was a playground at the location of the festival last year near the main stage) and puppies (the festival last year was dog-friendly!), the main focus of Broke L.A. is giving Angeleno’s a cheaper, yet top-notch, alternative of entertainment than shelling out a month’s worth of wages to head out to Indio for Coachella, and they really put together solid line-up of musical acts and, from what I understand (because I didn’t actually get to see any of it), comedians.

Holy Wars @ Broke L.A. 4/22/18. Photo by Derrick K. Lee, Esq. (@Methodman13) for www.BlurredCulture.com.

While ticket prices this year increased slightly from last year’s (probably to subsidize the costs of a leasing a 1,100 capacity theater) , the $15 – 25 for the weekend was well worth the price of admission to catch even just a handful of the talent on the roster.

We obviously weren’t able to catch every act that performed, but we were consistently amazed by some the “new” talent that we saw. Some acts we hadn’t even heard of before were particularly eye (and ear) opening, and that’s something you don’t need a Coachella for to experience. You can be broke and in L.A. and still discover some banging new music.

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