Now in year nine, Northside is a festival founded by Northside Media Inc., taking place in Brooklyn. Programming is broken into two major components over the course of a week: Music and Innovation.

The Innovation portion kicks things off on June 7-9, with focuses on innovation, reporting and content. Music carries us on June 8-11 and our Art portion, the Bedford Block Party, is Saturday + Sunday.

Northside takes place in pretty much every venue, concert space, and hotel in the Williamsburg and Greenpoint neighborhoods of Brooklyn, which makes walking/running/biking around from event to event nice and easy, at least by New York standards. That’s by design. We’ll be giving more details about our headquarters closer to the festival!

To find your new favorite band, then see your all-time favorite band play down the block. To avoid having to go to a giant field and forego showers to immerse yourself in live music. To hear about the cutting edge of technology, design, and content by forgetting those old ways and forging new paths. To encourage yourself to think outside of the box. To shine a spotlight on the crazy talented artists making art, music, and content right in your backyard. To hang out in the coolest city in the world. To soak up Brooklyn.

Great question! There are a couple different ways to attend. The best and most convenient route is to buy a festival badge. There are a few different types of badges to chose from: Music, Innovation, and Premium. (Hang tight. More info on each type in the next question.) For the Music portion of the festival, you also have the option to buy tickets to an individual show through that show’s respective venue. (That option is not available for Innovation events, however.) The free shows at McCarren Park are open to the public. To attend those, an RSVP is required for admission unless you have a Music or Premium badge. You can flash that at the door and roll in like a baller. Innovation badge-holders must still RSVP to be granted entry to the free shows at McCarren.

Technically, that’s not a question, but we see where you’re coming from. Let’s start from the top. There are three types of badges: A Music badge, an Innovation badge, and a Premium badge. A Music badge will grant you access to every Northside Music show taking place during the festival on a first-come, first-serve basis June 8-11. An Innovation Badge will grant you access to every Innovation panel (including Report and Content) and event taking place during the festival on a first-come, first-serve basis June 7-9. And finally, a Premium Badge will grant you access to every music show, innovation panel, and content event taking place during the festival on a first-come, first-serve basis. As a Northside badge-holder, you’ll be eligible for discounts at our local bar and restaurant partners. And you’ll have access to exclusive parties, happy hours and events throughout the festival. Info on those discounts and special events will be provided in the Festival Program Guide that you’ll receive when you pick up your badge.

The number of reserved spots for badges is relative to the size of the venue, so the number of badges allowed into each event varies. We realize how much it sucks to spend money on a badge and be turned away at the door, but it’s important to realize that admission is not guaranteed. So if there’s a music show, or screening or panel that you really, really want to see, you’ll want to either get there early or consider buying an individual ticket (available at the venue’s website). But even if you don’t, we’re confident that you’ll be able to see a ton of great shows, screenings, and talks armed with nothing more than your very affordable badge. Music venues do honor a one-in, one-out policy, meaning if a badge-holder leaves at any point during a show and there’s another badge-holder waiting to get inside, they’ll be able to enter at that time. We are aware of issues in the past with certain venues and are working closely with them this year to ensure this is honored for every Northside show.

Tickets for Northside Music and events will be sold at the door the day of, and a number of events will have tickets on sale in advance. (If you don’t see a “buy ticket” button next to a particular band on our lineup page, then it’s safe to assume tickets will be sold at the door the day of that show.)

Tickets to individual Innovation events are not sold. But, hey, think of all the learning, networking, and a-ha moments to be had by attending multiple panels, screenings, and workshops.

Yes! But! Tickets to a lot of Northside Music events are at 21+ venues, and we want to be up front about that. Even if you have a Music or Premium badge, if you’re underage, you won’t be allowed into certain venues. (It’s the law.) That said, the outdoor shows at McCarren Park are all ages, as are a handful of others. Bring the kiddos. There are also a few music venues that are 16+ or 18+. All Innovation venues are all ages.

Members of every band playing Northside receive a complimentary wristband to grant them access to shows, just as a Music badge would. It’s our small way of saying thanks for being awesome. If you’re not in a band playing Northside, you’re probably still awesome. That’s what the badges and tickets are for.

We’re excited to have you on board! Before attending any event, you need to trade in that email confirmation for your physical badge. Print out the email you received after purchasing or download the Eventbrite app on your trusty phone. Bring the printed out PDF confirmation or your phone to Festival Headquarters. Depending on the type of badge you purchased, badge pickup hours may vary, so be sure to double check. Headquarter information will be both e-mailed to you and on the website before the festival.

To redeem your badge each individual badge-holder must bring a photo ID. Badges are non-transferable. This means that each badge will belong to one individual, and you will be asked to show ID at all venues to confirm the badge you are using is yours. You can change the name on your order via Eventbrite’s help center before picking up your badge, so if one person from your group of friends/family ordered for everybody, you can make sure everyone’s set.

Deep breath, we’ll make it through this together. If for some reason you don’t see a confirmation in your inbox within 24 hours of purchase, check your spam folder; it might be hiding. If you’re still coming up empty handed, click here to access the Eventbrite help center.

Yes, maybe. Thing is, the large majority of Northside shows aren’t actually booked by us. While we take care of a large swath of shows, we’ve handed the reins over to our favorite industry folks to curate pretty much everything else, allowing them to handpick the bands who play their respective showcases. With that said, it may be worth trying to reach out to some of them and ask if you could play their show if you think you’d be a good fit. Friendly tip: Familiarize yourself with what type of bands they might book before doing so, and don’t annoy them with a million emails and phone calls. Of course, a much simpler way to try to play Northside is to apply through Sonicbids here.

It’s definitely possible, especially if you swear to get a Buddy Holly hologram to play. Though we hesitate to make any promises, seeing as there are only so many venues in Williamsburg/Greenpoint and we already have a lot of wonderful showcase presenters on board, feel free to shoot an email to info@northsidemedia.com, and we’ll see what we can do. If not this year, there’s always next.

We are! Thank you for asking! You’re definitely one of our favorite people ever. Click here for our volunteer application and to receive more information. You’ll get a free badge for helping us out, what what.

Yes they are! Media registration is required to be considered for 2017 coverage. Click here for our 2017 press application. Our press team will reach out to let you know if you’ve been approved leading up to the festival. Any other questions can go to press@northsidemedia.com.

We most certainly can! Email Jesse Smith at jesse@northsidemedia.com.

It happens to the best of us. Shoot an email to northsideticketing@northsidemedia.com, and we’ll lend a helping hand.