Rat******, the indie music fest formerly known as Ratchella, returns to Somerville for its third edition Aug. 22-23. New name, plenty of underground music and the same unsettling fixation on rodents. Explains co-organizer Lexi Howard, “We try to embody the ethos of the rat, its scrappiness, its grit.” Say what you will about the tenets of rats, at least it’s an ethos.
The festival features 14 bands spread over two days in a vacant lot in Union Square, with Maine’s Lady Lamb headlining Saturday and Providence’s Nova One closing out Sunday.
If the name change caught you by surprise, you’re not alone. The Rat****** organizers were contacted by a legal team representing the huge, massive, jumbo, ridiculously oversized, financially secure and far away West Coast festival Coachella days before last year’s event, and went into scramble mode.
Says Howard,
[Founders and organizers] Emma and Corey received a strongly-worded email from a certain legal team about the use of a certain suffix in their branding. They were threatened with the suspension of all of their social media accounts, which would have cut off communications with their audience.
So they complied in the best way that they were able given the size of their more or less two-person team: they took down every post, hand-scrubbed out the suffix using their phones and iPads, then re-uploaded them.
I know it was a little nerve-wracking, but they adapted, and it has now become part of our story.
Rat****** may not have a high-priced legal team or a suffix to call its own, but it prides itself on a connection to the local music scene and upholding DIY principles.
Explains Howard,
We like to say that DIY is an urgent response to the conditions we live in. We are not waiting to celebrate collective care through music, art and gathering. We are grounded in our shared belief that no one is disposable – and that where our joy goes, our rage, and these days more so than ever, our grief, is welcome. Beyond that, it’s about showing respect, and also recognizing that our artists make our fest possible and treating them accordingly, including financially.
Inspired by the DIY approach, Rat******* is a Notaflof event, meaning no one is turned away for lack of funds. Also, a newly introduced R.A.T.S. (Radical Approach to Solidarity) ticket will offer reduced price for those who have logged a sufficient amount of “solidarity work” in advance of the festival. Inquire at the ticketing website for information.
In addition to music, attendees can look forward to vendors, community advocacy groups and art displays crafted with recycled materials, including a giant stuffed rat that is “big enough for two to sit on.”
Complete Rat****** 3 lineup:
Saturday: Tiberius, Sidebody, Sweet Petunia, Clifford, Dino Gala, Winkler, Lady Lamb.
Sunday: Ugly Ghost, Surgeon General, Ohio State Fair, Main Era, Warmachine, Laveda, Nova One.
