iMatter Festival Announces Impressive 2020 Lineup
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Celebrating it’s 13th year, iMatter Festival has officially announced their lineup for 2020. Powered by HeartSupport, fans can expect to see such acts as Motionless In White, Knocked Loose, Issues, RED, Escape The Fate, The Plot In You, and ERRA, among many others. This year’s event will be held at Chemung County Fairgrounds in Horseheads, NY on August 15th.
Beginning as an event to promote the awareness of suicide, self-harm, and self-doubt, iMatter Festival attracts thousands of fans and prides itself in being a FREE event for all ages. We were able to sit down with Talent Buyer Ashley Tribley to discuss this year’s event.
How did iMatter Festival come to be?
“iMatter Festival was founded 13 years ago by Scott Lowmaster, who was a pastor at a local church in a community with one of the highest rates of suicide in teenagers. Noticing this concerning trend, Scott wanted to contribute something that would give people a day off from stress. Rock and metal music was the most demanded genre from the community, so we put together this little festival and made it a free event, to truly give people a day to celebrate. Now, 13 years later, we are expecting well over 10,000 people to attend, but we remain true to our roots and keep it a free event for families of all ages.”
What was the logic in putting together this year’s lineup?
“Motionless In White have been one of the most requested bands to headline this festival, but things have never seemed to work out timing wise until this year. Being from Scranton, PA, they’re somewhat a local name, so we fought to get them for this year’s headlining spot and everything just seemed to fall into place. Knocked Loose is one of the biggest names in hardcore music right now, specifically with the release of their newest album A Different Shade of Blue, so they were a clear choice for us to try and get. Overall, we try to mix metalcore, hardcore, and active rock, because these are the strongest genres for drawing people towards this festival.”
What can fans expect differently this year?
“First off, we will be hosting a ‘Battle of the Bands’ for local bands to try and earn one of four available slots on the festival stage. Second, people can expect several VIP options this year. We typically host VIP ‘Meet and Greet’ for the headlining and direct support bands, but this year we will have this option for many other bands on the lineup. Finally, we have many more brands and vendors involved this year, so fans can expect more shopping and concession experiences along with the music festivities.”
How do you continue to sustain this festival, given it is a free event?
“We are funded by donations and various sponsorships, and this year we’ve actually partnered with HeartSupport to put this festival on. HeartSupport have established an amazing online community to bring awareness to various mental health issues, so we are partnering to integrate their online community with our community. In addition, all of our staff, security, runners, stage hands, etc. are 100% volunteer-based.”
While this is a free event, tickets will need to be reserved online starting February 14th at 10 am EST. VIP tickets will also be available at this time, with several new package options.
Bringing attention to suicide, self-harm, and self-doubt awareness is certainly one of the most important issues in today’s society. Aiming to promote a day of love and happiness, iMatter Festival embraces all those who wish to attend, so reserve your tickets early and look forward to a day of great music!