Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Awesome Fest creator wants to change name

Fest tentatively dubbed "Happy Birthday" slated for February

More people might argue that Awesome Fest is an awesome name.
More people might argue that Awesome Fest is an awesome name.

Did the punk rawker in you notice something odd this year? Labor Day weekend came and went minus an Awesome Fest. Fear not, faithful festival attendee, the event is still on for its 11th year — it has just been moved to a chillier holiday weekend.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

toyGuitar - "I'm In My Head" @Awesome Fest 10, San Diego 9/4/16

“When we started this, there wasn’t a whole lot going on,” Awesome Fest founder Marty Ploy explained. “Now there’s so much shit going on and it’s all within three months from the end of summer through Halloween. I got a calendar out and was, like, ‘When’s another three-day weekend that’s not in the middle of all of this?’ I just went through my calendar and I was, like, ‘Fuck, dude, Presidents Day!’”

According to Ploy, “Nobody’s busy at work in the middle of February.” That was a big motivator since many attendees work service-industry jobs and have a tough time getting off work around Labor Day. Besides bypassing one of the hottest weekends of the year, Ploy said the new dates would give Midwestern attendees “an excuse to get away from the cold.”

Ploy, who lives in Pomona, started Awesome Fest in Riverside. It was sort of a festival that happened by accident.

Past Event

Awesome Fest

  • Friday, February 16, 2018, 7 p.m.
  • Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego
  • 21+ / $35

“We had some band come through and everybody wanted to play with this band,” he said. “It just turned into eight bands. I was, like, ‘Oh, I like this picture of my buddy Matty Awesome. I’ll use it for a flyer.’ So I used that and threw ‘awesome’ in quotations [followed by] ‘fest.’ Then it went off and everybody had a blast. Nine months later somebody was, like, ‘Hey, are you gonna do that Awesome Fest thing again?’ I was, like, ‘I dunno.’ I never thought about it. It was sort of a joke.”

So much of a joke, in fact, that Ploy is eager to ditch the moniker. And if you thought the original name was awful, you’re going to love what he came up with as a replacement.

“I’m still fighting for ‘Happy Birthday,’ he said. “I think it’s such a funny idea. Nobody needs to tell you it’s a fest. It was a joke when we named it. That’s the worst. When you name something that lasts this long and it was a joke to start with. The joke is over. Take it from the guy that named it. I don’t like the name!” [Laughs]

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Live Five: Songwriter Sanctuary, B-Side Players, The Crawdaddys, Saint Luna, Brawley

Reunited, in the round, and onstage in Normal Heights, East Village, Little Italy, Encinitas
Next Article

How to make a hit Christmas song

Feeling is key, but money helps too
More people might argue that Awesome Fest is an awesome name.
More people might argue that Awesome Fest is an awesome name.

Did the punk rawker in you notice something odd this year? Labor Day weekend came and went minus an Awesome Fest. Fear not, faithful festival attendee, the event is still on for its 11th year — it has just been moved to a chillier holiday weekend.

Sponsored
Sponsored
Video:

toyGuitar - "I'm In My Head" @Awesome Fest 10, San Diego 9/4/16

“When we started this, there wasn’t a whole lot going on,” Awesome Fest founder Marty Ploy explained. “Now there’s so much shit going on and it’s all within three months from the end of summer through Halloween. I got a calendar out and was, like, ‘When’s another three-day weekend that’s not in the middle of all of this?’ I just went through my calendar and I was, like, ‘Fuck, dude, Presidents Day!’”

According to Ploy, “Nobody’s busy at work in the middle of February.” That was a big motivator since many attendees work service-industry jobs and have a tough time getting off work around Labor Day. Besides bypassing one of the hottest weekends of the year, Ploy said the new dates would give Midwestern attendees “an excuse to get away from the cold.”

Ploy, who lives in Pomona, started Awesome Fest in Riverside. It was sort of a festival that happened by accident.

Past Event

Awesome Fest

  • Friday, February 16, 2018, 7 p.m.
  • Soda Bar, 3615 El Cajon Boulevard, San Diego
  • 21+ / $35

“We had some band come through and everybody wanted to play with this band,” he said. “It just turned into eight bands. I was, like, ‘Oh, I like this picture of my buddy Matty Awesome. I’ll use it for a flyer.’ So I used that and threw ‘awesome’ in quotations [followed by] ‘fest.’ Then it went off and everybody had a blast. Nine months later somebody was, like, ‘Hey, are you gonna do that Awesome Fest thing again?’ I was, like, ‘I dunno.’ I never thought about it. It was sort of a joke.”

So much of a joke, in fact, that Ploy is eager to ditch the moniker. And if you thought the original name was awful, you’re going to love what he came up with as a replacement.

“I’m still fighting for ‘Happy Birthday,’ he said. “I think it’s such a funny idea. Nobody needs to tell you it’s a fest. It was a joke when we named it. That’s the worst. When you name something that lasts this long and it was a joke to start with. The joke is over. Take it from the guy that named it. I don’t like the name!” [Laughs]

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

For nutty pies at Pizza by Aromi in La Mesa

Sicilian cousins add to the Italian goodness they dish out around Lake Murray
Next Article

Barrio Logan’s very good Dogg

Chicano comfort food proves plenty spicy
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader