Phuzz Phest music festival helps sharpen arts scene

The City of the Arts will be celebrating its namesake this weekend. Phuzz Phest, an annual music festival in Winston-Salem, begins tomorrow. Its third installment will feature more than 50 bands, a coffee conference, a bike race and more.

The festival began in 2011 when UNC alumnus Philip Pledger, who is the festival’s founder and director, and a friend accidentally booked a few local shows in a row. Since then, the festival has grown significantly.

“We’re trying to continue to bring in bigger bands to play alongside local talent, but definitely trying to keep it grounded with a third of the bands being from Winston-Salem or Greensboro,” Pledger said. “I think it’s progressed a lot since the beginning, and I think there’s a lot of room for it to continue to grow.”

Among the North Carolina-grown bands are The Sweets, Whatever Brains, T0W3RS and Mount Moriah. Carrboro singer-songwriter Josh Moore will perform at the festival for the first time under his own name. Moore, who grew up near Winston-Salem, said he has enjoyed watching the area’s music scene evolve over the years.

“Trade Street was just like the abandoned and kind of run-down side of town, and now it’s where the arts district is,” Moore said. “That’s where I grew up going to my first shows in Winston.”

Pledger attributed the growing music community in Winston-Salem to the improvement of its venues and local media coverage.

“(They) foster the right kind of environment that musicians can thrive in,” Pledger said. “It kind of pushes musicians to continue what they’re doing and just creates a support system that I’m not sure was always present.”

Reanimator is one venue that has worked closely with Phuzz Phest. Owner Shawn Peters grew up in Winston-Salem and said that its music scene has always been something to be excited about.

“As far as local bands go, we have a lot of really cool things going on right now,” he said.

“There’s kind of a working class vibe here, but there’s also a lot of unique artists — and not just musical, but visual artists and creative thinkers,” Pledger said. “There’s also a sense of history here, and that’s pretty interesting when you’re bringing new ideas and new energy into a place that’s been here a long time.”

Pledger said that Phuzz Phest has a broad reach for music lovers.

“I think the festival can appeal to people in the Triangle for sure and show a different perspective on the state,” Pledger said.

“I think one of the great things about North Carolina is that there’s a lot of great cities and towns that are connected in a lot of ways, but they also have a lot of unique traits.”

diversions@dailytarheel.com