By Mark Zaretsky, Register Staff
mzaretsky@newhavenregister.com

NEW HAVEN — The East Rock West Rock festival — “New Haven Music Week” — returns for a second year for a nine-day run, beginning tonight and stretching through Sept. 25.

The festival, which aims to put New Haven’s music scene on some maps on which it has yet to show up, has a mostly new team of organizers this year, more venues involved, more bands and more than twice as many events as last year, said organizer Patrick Mansfield, owner of Anna Liffey’s, and event coordinator Ian Cunningham.

Loosely modeled on such high-profile events as New York’s CMJ and Austin, Texas’ South By Southwest, East Rock West Rock has a goal “to promote and celebrate our great local musical talent” and increase the demand, availability and opportunities to see live music in the area.

It also has a simple, easy-to-support theme: “Turn New Haven Up.”

Most of the bands and performers are local, although some — such as Cake, performing tonight at Toad’s Place — are national or international.

Most of the venues are in downtown New Haven, although ERWR has made an effort to book and affiliate with venues and events in the ‘burbs, including Saturday’s Branstock festival in Branford, The Space in Hamden, the Rib House in East Haven and Donahue’s in Madison.

There will be shows every night of the week at multiple venues — many of them not usual places to find live music — beginning with an opening night party tonight at Kelly’s Restaurant & Bar on Crown Street featuring Our New Edification, The Crown Street Orchestra, Frank Vielle & The Manhattan Project, Mike Clifford, Colin Cunningham and Mark Brundrett.

A closing party will take place on Sept. 25 at Anna Liffey’s on Whitney Avenue, featuring Dead by Wednesday, The Smyrk, Ryan White of Call It Arson and Brian Bellitto of The Lows, The One Night Stands, Athenry, Modern Hearts and Jaguar — with plenty of music in between.

Shows are continuing to be added. For the most up-to-date schedule, go to www.eastrockwestrock.com.

“There are a lot more shows this year, a lot more showcases” with five, six or more bands, said Mansfield, who came up with the idea last year — and who earlier this week was still looking for additional clubs to participate. Continued...

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“I just thought it was a good idea and I ran it by a couple of friends ...” Mansfield said. “We looked at Austin” and all of its music and the attention South By Southwest generates, “and here in New Haven, we’re the same size as Austin is ... I think we’re really a nice city — and it’s perfect. We’re only an hour or two outside of New York ...”

Cunningham, who also books Anna Liffey’s and promotes several area bands, is involved this year for the first time — sees it as a building block to an even bigger and better next year.

“We booked more shows this year — we booked Koffee, we booked Kelly’s, we booked Anna Liffey’s, we booked Olde School ...” he said. “There is more local talent, I would say, involved, this year.”

There also are some venues outside of New Haven — such as the Rib House in East Haven — that haven’t been known as music venues in the past, Cunningham said.

One purpose of the showcases is to expose people to bands and music they might not otherwise see, said Mansfield.

“Someone might go see a pop band or an indie band and they might see a hip-hop artist,” Mansfield said.

Over the past year “there’s been a bit of a shakeup in the downtown music scene” with the recent closure of Lansdowne and Hula Hank’s and the sale of The Playwright, which is now the Wicked Wolf, Mansfield said. But he thinks that the addition of some new venues such as Stella Blues and Olde School Saloon & Bistro has made the music scene better than it was.

Over the past year, even in the midst of recession, Mansfield said, “I think the music scene has picked up on a smaller scale.”

Contact Mark Zaretsky at 203-789-5722.

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