Philadelphia’s underground is gearing up for Dilly Dally Fest at Underground Arts, a gathering that brings together the energy of DIY culture, screamo, punk, and hardcore. Organized by Bread Box Philly—a queer and trans-operated booking collective—the festival is a labor of love focused on community, inclusivity, and the DIY ethos that keeps the scene alive.
We spoke with the festival’s organizer, who started booking shows at 15 in Florida, organizing hometown gigs for their middle school band. After stints in St. Louis and Tampa—where a successful show for Frail Body marked a turning point—they settled in Philadelphia.
There, they’ve been cultivating a community around Bread Box events, hosting over 100 music and art shows across Philly and New Jersey. The focus is on LGBTQIA+ artists, with many concerts doubling as benefit shows for local mutual aid organizations like Savage Sisters and the Bread and Roses Community Fund. Accessibility is a priority, too; all events are all-ages with student discounts, and they provide harm reduction and menstruation supplies whenever possible.
The lineup features acts like Saetia, Vs. Self, Gillian Carter, Frail Body, In Loving Memory, HIRS Collective, and Cloud Rat, among others.
We also caught up with three bands performing at the festival: Our recent guests, NØ MAN has had a heavy year, channeling their activism into their music and performances. Their third record, Glitter and Spit, led to a series of benefit shows for Palestine. They have a long-standing relationship with Philly, appreciating the intergenerational nature of the punk community there.
Saetia, a seminal screamo band, expressed excitement about playing Dilly Dally Fest as part of their effort to reach places they hadn’t during their initial run. With members living in Philly and a history tied to venues like Stalag 13, the city holds special meaning for them.
44.caliberloveletter, from Sweden, talked about expanding their U.S. tour thanks to an invitation from Bread Box Philly. “Our USA tour was originally going to be much shorter,” they explained. “But when we announced that we were going to the USA, we got a question from Bread Box bookings if we wanted to play, and we said, ‘Let’s go.'”
To get the full story behind Dilly Dally Fest, check out our in-depth conversations with the organizer and three of the festival’s featured artists: NØ MAN, SAETIA, and 44.caliberloveletter. We discussed the personal challenges they’ve faced, the political context surrounding their music, and the unique relationship they each have with Philadelphia’s DIY scene.
Also, as the year winds down, the organizer and the bands shared some of their favorite releases from 2024, highlighting a lot of under the radar artists that have inspired them throughout the year.
NØ MAN / SAETIA / 44.caliberloveletter interview:
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Congrats on being part of this amazing festival! To kick things off, tell us what’s been going on with you guys this year. What were the main events that shaped your year, and what plans do you have for the next few months? Give us a quick update on the band so we’re all caught up.
(NØ MAN): Thanks for having us! We’ve honestly had really heavy hearts over the past year, watching the country enable a live-streamed massacre, decimating Palestinians and wiping out complete families.
When children are being starved and burned alive, everything else takes a backseat — including our bands. As a Palestinian in punk, it’s an ongoing challenge with our comfort even playing shows.
Our third record “Glitter and Spit” came out in March, and we decided all of the release shows would be benefits for Palestine. This band has always been an extension of our activism, and we’ve tried to extend that to our shows, using the space to donate to charities like UNRWA, Gaza Soup Kitchen, Palestinian Youth Movement, and mutual aid or demonstrating, a place for music and protest.
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On the flip side, it’s been really heartening and cathartic to play benefits with other bands who won’t remain silent and connect with other punks using their voice in this counter-culture community. And to quote Mohammed El-Kurd, “to indulge in guilt does not start revolutions.” On behalf of the oppressed, it demands we don’t shut down in our homes and we use our position of privilege to keep screaming not in our name to the $20+ billion the US has spent on Israeli military welfare this year alone.
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We have a few shows left this year. We’re playing with Coalesce and Cave In on 10/19 in New York and 10/20 with New Forms at Limited to One record store. We’ll play FEST in Gainesville and of course Dilly Dally in Philly. We’re excited to play a 40 year anniversary show for our DC hometown record store, SMASH!, on 11/30 at the Black Cat.”
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(Saetia): Thanks for inviting us to play! 2024 has definitely been a busy year for us. We made the decision in late 2023 to try and play as many places here in the states that we hadn’t played previously since starting this reunion. All of the shows have been so special.
We just feel so lucky to have the opportunity to play for so many people that never got to see us when the band was originally around. We are ending the year with 3 more shows (Philly for Dilly Dally, a club show in NJ and opening for The Blood Brothers in NYC at Irving Plaza).
(44.caliberloveletter): Erik: For the band, this year has been dominated by booking our USA tour from the ground up. We never expected to reach out to so many people in the USA so we did our absolute best to go to as many places as possible while figuring out how to book tours from the ground up.
44.caliberloveletter was technically no longer active, but we still hang out lots and book shows in southern Sweden together under the name “Fuck Snuten Bookings” (fuck the cops bookings).
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Other huge happenings that shaped this year for me was the Gore Over Europe tour with Necropsy Odor, Sulfuric Cautery, Mephitic Corpse and Tolerance, where I drove them through Scandinavia, and the Palestine encampment at Lund University which shows that not everyone on this planet is a genocidal maniac
Tell us more about your relationship with Philadelphia. How do you see the indie and punk scene there, and how did you end up on the lineup for this festival?
(NØ MAN): We have a decades-long relationship with Philadelphia, ranging from road trips from DC for shows at the First Unitarian Church, friends moving there, and bands we consider family like HIRS.
Our most recent show in Philly was playing an Orchid reunion show at the church and we loved seeing all the familiar faces from over the years come out as well as the next generation of kids. Intergenerational punk shows not living in the past are my favorite.”
(Saetia): Billy and Steve have been living in Philadelphia for a while. In general, Saetia has always had a relationship with Philly, as we used to play at a venue called Stalag 13, which was an iconic punk space in Philadelphia throughout the 1990s.
Philly was always a unique place with a really active music scene and a really devoted DIY culture, so we naturally fit in there. Steve currently runs a studio in Philly called Permanent Hearing Damage and has recorded bands like Massa Nera, Foxtails, Stinking Lizaveta and an array of others.
We are honored to play Dilly Dally Fest as it is a great continuation of the same ethic and community focused approach to punk that excited us the first time around.
(44.caliberloveletter): Erik: The twins introduced me to hardcore through videos of This Is Hardcore in Philly, and we have all thought of going there sometime. It seems really cool, and I know that I like the band Charcuterie from town.
Our USA tour was originally going to be much shorter, and only in California, but when we announced that we were going to the USA we got a question from breadbox bookings if we wanted to play, and we said fuck it, let’s go. So without breadbox we wouldn’t have the same tour plan at all!!
Since you’ve seen a lot of different places around the States, share with us a few other incredible independent festivals or projects you really respect for their dedication to organizing indie events and promoting the right kind of values. If someone loves Dilly Dally Fest, what other events would you recommend?
(NØ MAN): There’s nothing like Break Free Fest in Philly, so powerful and focused on POC communities.
We’ve had the honor of playing New Friends Fest in Toronto a couple of times and I’m floored by how it’s grown and maintained the incredible energy of the rooms.
Dark Days/Bright Nights kicked off in Richmond, Virginia this year and felt like a family reunion. It was pulled together by one of our dearest buds, Mike Taylor from pageninetynine, and Paul Hansbarger of Persistent Vision Records.
(Saetia): We’ve mostly played our own shows, but the two festivals that we’ve played so far were both great. First was Fest in Gainesville Florida. Super eclectic lineup and spread out throughout different venues across the city.
The other was New Friends Fest in Toronto, Canada. This fest had more of a focus on the Screamo scene and had two stages in the same venue. That was a really special show for us. Definitely recommend checking out both if you can.”
(44.caliberloveletter): Erik: We all fuck hard with Alive and Well fest in Stockholm, organised by Acting Out Bookings.
We got to know each other through their shows. Same with Stockholm Straight Edge and Firestorm Fest around walpurgis, where they organized sober hardcore/screamo festivals on a day when everyone in sweden gets black out drunk instead.
Don’t go hungover to the first of May!! Ostämman organized by Angry Hudik every summer in a barn in northern Sweden is really cool too, they book great punk bands from all over the country.
Forensic Picnic Records in Öland is doing the same, but with death metal/grindcore bands, called Öland Rots. This years festival was the best i have ever been to probably. Come see my goregrind band play next year!
And finally, since it’s almost October and the year is wrapping up, we’ve all got our favorite releases from this year on repeat. So, drop a few of the most interesting bands or releases that really caught your attention in 2024, along with a quick comment on why they stood out to you.
(NØ MAN): These are more what we are jamming in 2024, but some may have come out in 2023.
Portrayal of Guilt “Devil Music”
Close friends of ours that continue to surprise us with each new record.
Antichrist Siege Machine “Vengeance of Eternal Fire”
Two-piece relentless metal from Richmond. Really sweet people.
Triac “Pure Joy – Numb Grief Stricken Animals”
Little over a year old but still on rotation constantly. Baltimore grind heroes.
Eye Flys “ST”
One of our favorite sounding recordings.
HIRS “We’re Still Here”
Kindred spirits with hearts of gold. Can’t make a bad record.
(Saetia): Billy: Andre 3000’’s ‘New blue sun’ is a journey. An opus dedicated to reflection and a better understanding of self.
A record that set the tone for my 2024 and similar to the way our perception of the world adapts to seasonal changes, so goes ‘new blue sun’ – glowing in different hues and textures on each listen but never not shining. Never not resonating on a foundational level.
Adam: The Hard Quartet – Self Titled
This band came out of nowhere and totally blew me away. An indie rock “supergroup” on paper, but they have the songs to back it up. I’m a huge fan of the band Chavez, so anything Matt Sweeney is involved with always gets my attention. I don’t want to attempt to describe the music, because it’s a little all over the place and I don’t think I would do it justice. Just listen with an open mind.
Colin: Blood Incantation – Absolute Elsewhere.
It’s their best mix of death metal, prog and ambient music yet. It’s one of those records that takes you on a journey.
Steve: Schedule 1 – Crucible
Tom: Love Letter – Everyone Wants Something Beautiful.
An unorthodox take on traditional hardcore featuring blatant political lyrics and melodic guitar interplay.”
(44.caliberloveletter): Erik: Idiot Child – The First Breath is the Beginning of Death.
It’s insane to me tha something so heavy and freshly rotten can come from Sweden. RIP Mikey.
Bladee – Cold Visions
His absolute best work ever, I’ve followed Bladee since Gluee and I love to see how he develops his style and writing.
Teppebombe – S/T
The Norwegian homies are absolutely killing it with this chain release!!
New Standard Elite has been releasing a lot of good shit, especially Submerged and Regurgitated Entrails.
And the Mephitic Corpse debut album will fucking kill it as soon as it gets released.
The Dilly Dally Fest Interview:
First off, how did your journey with booking and organizing events start nearly 10 years ago? What were some of the first events you remember, and do you have any media—photos, videos—that we can share here? What were those early concerts like?
I started booking shows in Florida when I was 15 by organizing a couple of hometown gigs for my middle school band. I booked a few shows here and there, before I moved to St. Louis, Missouri right when I turned 18. I continued to book in various spaces around St. Louis- but all of my shows tended to be very small and intimate since I was just starting out booking and didn’t know many folks, and didn’t have a handle on promoting or flyering yet.
Once I moved to Tampa, I set up a show for Frail Body in early 2020 before the pandemic. This was a much more successful show, and was a turning point for my processes. I unfortunately don’t have much documentation from that time since I was so young and didn’t have a lot of resources. Now that I live in Philadelphia, I have a stronger sense for booking shows and have been growing a community around the Bread Box events. All of our shows are all ages, have student discount pricing and when it’s possible, shows are accessible. Accessibility in Philly is extremely hard to achieve due to historic building laws, but we do our best. We also offer harm reduction and menstruation supplies at all of our events.
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Next, let’s talk about Dilly Dally Fest. How did the idea for this festival come about?
Dilly Dally was conceived while we were operating the Bread Box brick-and-mortar venue/community space that was in the Callowhill neighborhood of Philadelphia. We had been hosting shows there for around a month before we started booking the first Dilly Dally Fest and we wanted to host a bigger and more elaborate event with all of our friends and favorite bands.
We knew we had very limited space in our 120-capacity venue so as we confirmed bands for the fest we searched for a second venue to help act as a second stage. We were not able to find a venue to collaborate with so we ended up finding a venue to host the entire event at, as at this point we had 15 confirmed bands including Your Arms Are My Cocoon and In Loving Memory.
We chose Rittenhouse Filmworks as the venue for the first year as it was an appropriate size and aesthetic for it, and we sold out the fest over a month before it happened.
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Can you walk us through the booking process? Does good old networking and direct contacts still work as well as it did years ago, or do modern communication methods and digital tools change how you approach it? How do you see it?
Most of the booking I do through Bread Box is by word-of-mouth or friend of a friend kind of situation. I have some support from my partner Aloe around Dilly Dally Fest 2 but the individual Bread Box events are often done solely by me, so I’m not able to book every band or artist that contacts me.
If I like your vibe, we have mutual friends, you have played a previous Bread Box event, or if you just come out to a Bread Box show and talk to me I am more likely going to be able to work on your show.
Tell us a bit about the venue where the festival takes place. What role does it play on the independent scene in Philadelphia?
This year’s Dilly Dally Fest is being hosted at Underground Arts, which is a well established venue in the Spring Garden neighborhood of Philly. They have been in operation for over 10 years and have hosted shows for artists such as Julien Baker, King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard, Guided By Voices, The Fall Of Troy, and thousands of other well known acts.
While a lot of mid-large sized venues are run by Live Nation, Underground Arts seems to remain untouched by mega-corporation event services and still cater to the more independent and underground vibes of Philadelphia. They are typically a 21+ venue but we have worked with them to allow Dilly Dally Fest to stay all ages, which was an important contingency for our festival.
And speaking of the local scene, tell us about last year’s initiative, Bread Box Philly. What’s the mission, and what kinds of events and activities does this independent organization support?
Bread Box largely focuses on LGBTQIA+ artists and we have hosted over 100 music and art events around Philadelphia and New Jersey. Many of our concerts are benefit shows, like Dilly Dally, where we have a raffle to benefit a local mutual aid organization, this year Savage Sisters, and a percentage of every ticket sale will go to another mutual aid organization called the Bread And Roses Community Fund.
We hosted the band Lagrimas in July and were able to raise nearly $400 for Savage Sisters and we have donated more than $2500 to mutual aid organizations in the last 2 years. We are completely DIY and do not take any money from our shows, all proceeds go to paying the bands, room fees, and making donations.
What challenges have you faced regarding the venue or operational issues, and is everything sorted out now, or are there still some ongoing struggles?
Everything is currently running smoothly! We had a few lineup changes but otherwise no major problems and the venue is very accommodating and communicative. Last year was completely volunteer run but this year the venue has staff members to help out so we will be a lot more hands-off in terms of running the event, we are just coordinating with the bands and doing promotion really.
Who are some other local promoters known and respected in the alternative, hardcore, and punk scenes?
Philadelphia has a rich DIY scene and dozens of show bookers/promoters. R5 Productions is one of the long-standing bookers in the area, they run Union Transfer and the First Unitarian Church and have been booking shows in Philly for more than 20 years. 4333 is another big name in booking in Philly.
They run the Ukie Club and book out of several other venues like Foto Club and Ortliebs. Some other smaller bookers/promoters off the top of my head are Heavy Light Booking, Shows From The Big Chair, Zook Productions, and Subterranean Dissonance.
There have been a lot of controversies and divisions in the scene over the years, which is pretty common in any community. For instance, comparing a show like this to This Is Hardcore Fest, they’re two different worlds, but at the same time, a lot of people appreciate both styles and approaches to organizing events and music. How do you see it? Is there really a divide, and what’s your take on that?
That said, there is definitely a divide in scenes that I have seen and it is something I have been trying to bridge. My friend booked a show recently that was a hardcore/screamo show and they were telling me that during the screamo bands all of the hardcore kids stayed outside. Everything is obviously subjective and people can dislike what they dislike but it does seem like a lot of hardcore kids are more agro towards screamo kids or are less willing to accept/participate/experience in screamo than a screamo kid is with hardcore.
Looking more broadly, do you think there are genuine divisions within the punk and hardcore scenes, or not really? Back in the 90s, even here in Europe, there was a fantastic time of integration between metalheads, punks, hardcore kids, and other subgenres—even rap and hip-hop. It seems like things have siloed off a lot more since then, although the last 20 years have had phases where it’s been worse, and now, depending on the scene, there’s more blending and mixing again. How do you see this affecting audiences—not just in Philly but across the States if you have that perspective?
I don’t have much experience with the national scene other than through the internet, but it does seem like everywhere has its own problems and strengths and there will always be some sort of divide. It is stronger and more prevalent in some places and there are people in all scenes that are working toward scene unity.
With a big political moment coming up in the U.S., what’s your take on that? The punk scene has always been left-leaning, but talking to people directly, it’s clear that things aren’t so black-and-white. People have very different views depending on their life situations and which aspects of politics hit home for them. So, I’m far from saying it’s all one way or the other. How do you see it? Do you guys focus heavily on political issues, or is it more of a background thing in your work?
As a staunch anti-fascist and anarcho-syndicalist, I disagree with both of the current United States political parties. I grew up poor, homeless, and hungry in Florida and it shaped a lot of how I view politics in the US and how they don’t serve anyone or anything but capital and wealth.
As a child living on the streets I was not shown much kindness and rarely ever saw relief from any sort of government entity like I thought they were supposed to provide for their citizens.
I was arrested when I was 17 for being homeless and sleeping in a public park and while I was definitely a leftist before this incident, it gave me a confirmation of what I already knew; that the police and government are not here to protect anyone but property and the wealth of the ultra-rich US citizens.
There’s a lot happening in the world right now. How do you see Europe from where you stand? Do you follow global events through specific media channels, or are you more focused on the American scene? With tensions like the ongoing war in Ukraine, the conflict in the European Union, racial tensions, and the economic-military standoff with China, how do these issues shape your perspective? Do you think more in terms of global problems, or is your focus more local?
I tend to focus more on local politics but I do keep up with global things too as I have friends in many countries and try to help out and spread awareness when I can for things that don’t directly affect me.
My partner and I have traveled to Europe a couple of times, including to Germany, where we took part in a pro-immigration anti-fascism rally in 2018 in Munich.
All leftist communities of the world are connected, whether they are aware of it or not, and building a stronger support system and network with fellow leftists across the globe helps strengthen the stance that fascism and authoritarianism has no place in our world.
Global politics affect us all in some way, some instances more than others, like so-called “Israel’s” genocide on Palestine being massively funded by the United States.
And to wrap things up on a lighter note, drop us some of the best albums and releases from this year that caught your ear. Always good to hear what’s been on your radar. Thanks a lot, sending greetings from Warsaw—take care and talk soon!
This list could go on for paragraphs but some of my favorite releases so far from this year (in no particular order) are:
Self Titled by Febuary
Bled Out and Painted Blue by Clay Birds
leaving behind everything you love by agile
Widowdusk/In Loving Memory split
Hiraeth by Respire
Artificial Bouquet by Frail Body
death of a rabbit by Your Arms Are My Cocoon
because our days are numbered… by Treehouse Of Horror
Not To Waste EP by Auxiena Saint
fire dOve/xO by OLTH
The Lights Never Lie by bulletsbetweentongues
Fear of the Fall by Sinema
two songs by Despot
