One of the best things about independent music is the strong sense of community you feel when you indoctrinate yourself into the music scene that speaks to you the most. As the music industry changes to keep up with the times, there’s something comforting about the DIY mentality still strongly prevalent with independent music. This is even more evident with ska music. While effectively being written off in the early 2000s, ska feels stronger than ever. Once dormant bands are becoming more active again, while the scene is also ushering a crop of fresh voices and sounds to keep ska strong for years to come.
With the Supernova Ska Festival, taking place at the Oozlefinch Brewery in Hampton, Virginia from June 13 through June 14, 2020, organizer Tim Receveur is bridging past and present together for what is promising to be the most epic ska festival ever assembled. What makes Supernova even more special, aside from a rare East Coast Hepcat performance, is that a majority of the expenses for the festival were crowdfunded. If that doesn’t encompass the true DIY spirit of independent music, then I don’t know what does.
Continue reading below where Tim shares his thoughts on the evolution of Supernova, ska music, and what it’s like running a festival.
What is it about ska music that made you want to start throwing this festival?
We started with a Chris Murray house party that got too big. We added in King Django and moved it to a brewery. This was in 2013 and we held our first festival a few months later in Summer 2014 in Fredericksburg, Virginia. We started with one-day festival in 2014, expanded it to two days as the Virginia Ska Fest in 2015, and we scaled it up and rebranded to Supernova in 2017 and 2018. In 2020, we’re moving it down to our new home at the beach at Fort Monroe, Virginia. No matter the year, we look at the festival as a way to give back to the ska community and to keep the music alive for a new generation.
Is planning and running Supernova a full-time gig for you, or is it a passion project?
It’s all a passion project. Nights, weekends, and lots of wonderful volunteers. My 9-5 is working for a peacebuilding non-profit organization in Washington, DC.
You took a break in 2019 but came back with a Kickstarter to help fund this year’s festival. What made you take the break, and also what gave you the idea to look into crowdfunding?
The festival had been getting bigger each year, but it was still losing money in 2018. My wife and I moved down to Hampton, Virginia later that year so we decided to take a break and regroup in 2019. We had some success with crowdfunding after the festival, but I wanted to see if we could raise funds on the front-end for a change. Taylor Morden had success on Kickstarter for his movie Pick It Up so we were hopeful that a fundraiser like this would work. In all, we raised more than $70,000 that went right out the door to bring in world-class bands like Hepcat and The Skatalites.
Will, we ever see a day where Supernova is a traveling fest, or will it always be in Virginia?
I’ve talked with fans and bands about doing it, but it’s hard enough to pull together all the funding and permits for one, so I can’t imagine doing a tour right now. One idea was to do a mini-run up and down the East Coast hitting breweries, but I still think part of the Supernova magic is bringing fans together.
Looking at this year’s line-up, who are you the most excited to have people experience live?
The obvious choice would be Hepcat playing on the East Coast for the first time in a couple of decades, but I’ll say Droogs Don’t Run. This is a super band featuring original members of The Skoidats, Inspecter 7, and Hub City Stompers and it should be a special performance.
What are your fondest memories from previous Supernovas?
We brought in Western Standard Time from LA and Doreen Shaffer from The Skatalites in 2018. Western Standard Time had never played with Doreen before, but they came together for a performance for the ages. As magical as ska can get. I rarely get to see my own festival, but another standout was The Pietasters and The Aggrolites backing Greg Lee singing Hepcat songs in 2017.
What is the state of ska music and the new ska scene as we begin this new decade? Are we ripe for a resurgence?
I lived in Japan for three years in the mid-90s. Ska was huge there and I got hooked. I’ve been into the ska scene ever since going through major highs and lows. It feels like the scene finally stabilized over the last few years ago and feels like it has been on the rise over the last year or two. I’ve been lucky to be fielding new bands for Supernova and hearing all the new releases. Stop the Presses!, The Loving Paupers, and Matamoska are some of the up-and-coming bands playing in June.
For the uninitiated, what do people need to know about Supernova?
Supernova is a DIY festival made for fans by fans. We try to mix first wave artists like Doreen and Derrick Morgan with all eras of ska. Beyond that, it’s just a long weekend to get together and hang out with your friends and favorite bands.
How has Supernova changed since it was just an idea in your mind?
When it was started, it was a festival that I thought might appeal as far away as DC and Baltimore. Now we have people flying in from places as far away as Australia and Singapore. Like the fans, we’ve also been expanding to try to include bands from all over the world.
For those looking to just jump in and do something like this, what advice can you offer?
I would say that you’ll never know everything in the beginning so it’s important to just get started. Just start small and figure out what you’re doing.
What were some of your favorite ska releases from last year?
What a great year for ska releases. We looked at the list with Reggae Steady Ska last week and came up with this list.
This one has been on a constant loop since it came out. Deep grooves and the best new vocals in ska and reggae in the last few years.
One British publication said the sound is what would happen if Bob Marley and Sam Cooke merged sounds. It’s a wonderful collection of songs that incorporate the early Jamaican ska rhythms.
Not to be a downer, but last year was such a horrible year for the planet and this album makes 2019 just a little better. Wonderful lyrics, great hooks, and a ton of fun.
We also loved releases from Eastern Standard Time, The Bandulus, The Planet Smashers, and Catbite too.
Has anyone in the scene ever reached out to offer advice or assistance? What’s the best piece of advice you’ve gotten?
We have had so many people reaching out from the scene to offer to help with the festival and we can’t thank them enough. Fans do everything from chauffeuring bands around to putting up flyers around the country.
Any last words?
If you’re a fan of ska then do yourself a favor and get down to Hampton, Virginia June 12-14. You can find more at supernovaska.com. Thank you for the interview.