The Hives, clipping., Scowl, Zsela & more braved the rain at Rough Trade’s Rock Center indie fest
iNDIEPLAZA, the annual New York City celebration of independent music, merchandise, and workshops and hosted by pioneering indie label Rough Trade, returned to Rockefeller Center in Midtown Manhattan with an epic slate of bands including The Hives, clipping., Scowl, Zsela, and more.
The event took place rain or shine, and in this case, it rained pretty much the entirety of the day – from when Slippers opened at noon until The Hives headlining set ended around 9 p.m. Thankfully, free ponchos were handed out to the undaunted attendees who braved the elements.
The show was free to attend and took place on Record Store Day, and had RSD releases for sale at both Rough Trade locations – including the original location Rough Trade Above on street level, as well as Rough Trade Below, which opened earlier in the week at the concourse level of Rock Center.
The acts that played reflected various hot genres and independent labels in the scene – Sub Pop, Mexican Summer, ATO, and Dead Oceans, to name a few. Scowl’s latest album, Are We All Angels, was released earlier in the week and their iNDIEPLAZA set marked their second NYC show during release week. The Hives also have a new album in the tank that’s set be released in late August, which they were happy to tease.
Meanwhile, DJs played in a small tent to the left of the stage in between band sets, with Chanel Beads cranking out all the DJ sets from 7 p.m. up until the Hives closed things out.
If any one moment encapsulated the spirit of iNDIEPLAZA, it was the members of clipping. appearing to be very amused by the setting, with Daveed Diggs stating at one point, “murder raps in 30 Rock is amazing.” Later, Howlin’ Pelle of The Hives joked that the band brought Swedish weather to NYC, and that everybody who lives in NYC was in attendance for their set. All in all, it was another triumphant celebration of indie culture in New York City – rainstorms and all.
Feel free to scroll through the photos and portraits below.
All Photos by Edwina Hay
