When you think of a garden party, certain images come to mind: trees, picnics, fancy clothes, and of course, gardens. But the Screaming Females’ Annual Garden Party is not that kind of garden party.
Now in its third year, the annual event that has been christened as the Garden Party Festival returns to White Eagle Hall for two days of live music on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 17 and Feb. 18.
Led by New Jersey’s own Screaming Females -- the group hails from New Brunswick -- the event originally began at WFMU’s Monty Hall in Jersey City. When it was time to move the event to a bigger venue, White Eagle Hall became the new home for the annual festival.
“It’s a truly independent event,” says Jarrett Dougherty, drummer for Screaming Females. “It’s something that we like to do to inspire and show off independent bands from New Jersey. This isn’t some big corporate event that was put together to attract investors. Between the band, our manager, and others that have worked with us, we put a lot of effort into making this show. We’re in a time where people are wondering whether or not people will come out to see a show due to the past two years.”
Dougherty recalled some of the past events of the Garden Party Festival, one of them being their 2017 performance of a certain Neil Young song.
One of the years when were first doing these shows at Monty Hall, we did a cover of Neil Young’s ‘F*!#in’ Up’ and we just had a line of musicians all across the stage playing with us,” he says. “Another year we did a cover of ‘Teenagers from Mars’ by the Misfits, another big New Jersey band. So that was pretty fun.”
Guitarist and vocalist Marissa Paternoster was inspired to name the event as the “Garden Party Festival” by old Victorian era paintings of garden parties, where those attending can be seen sipping tea and eating tiny cucumber sandwiches.
“New Jersey’s the Garden State for one and I would often think of old Victorian paintings that depicted those kinds of parties” says Paternoster. “It’s not an aesthetic that I’ve ever actually tried, nor is it one that you would see for this show. But a cucumber sandwich does sound pretty good.”
The Garden Party Festival will also serve as the launch of Screaming Females latest album, Desire Pathway, their first album in five years under Don Giovanni Records. An after party by Don Giovanni Records will take place at Pet Shop, 193 Newark Ave., Jersey City, with performances by Paisley Fields and Sug Daniels at 11:30 p.m. following the first show on Feb. 17.
The tour will then continue to Alaska before heading back down to some of the lower states and then hitting Europe.
The first night of the show begins at 7 p.m. and will feature Screaming Females, Armand Hammer, Nina Nastasia, and Truth Cult.
The following night on Feb. 18 at 7 p.m. will feature Screaming Females, Laura Stevenson, Catbite, and Gel. Earlier in the day, from 3 to 6 p.m., Pet Shop will host the Ancient Artifax Pop Up which will have rare records, posters, and vintage T-shirts for sale. Entry to the pop up is $10.
General admission tickets for the show can be found online at https://bit.ly/40FNskM. There are also wristbands that allow access to both shows as well as the after party and pop up events at Pet Shop at https://gardenpartyfest.com. White Eagle Hall is located at 337 Newark Ave., Jersey City.