For its 14th year, the Brite Winter Festival returned to the West Bank of The Flats district in Cleveland, Ohio on Saturday, February 25th. In the near-freezing temperatures, 21 bands and over 14,000 fans gathered across three stages on the banks of the Cuyahoga River overlooking downtown to celebrate this annual tradition.
This year, the festival was headlined by hometown heroes and past headliners Welshly Arms, as well as co-headlined by Signals Midwest and Fox Royale.
To my surprise, when I entered the festival grounds, the temperature was hovering around a nice 45 degrees (I like the cold so this was not an issue for me), but as the night wore on and the crowd grew, the temps had dropped to just below freezing, forcing many to the fire pits scattered throughout the grounds and hand warmers and hot chocolate for those who didn’t.
Rest of the Fest: The People
With over 14,000 in attendance, people from all walks of life were present throughout Brite Winter. Also dogs, lots of dogs. Fluri, the festival’s mascot, was also able to be spotted throughout the grounds, even sometimes in the photo pit right alongside me.
Indré
Starting off the day for me at the Riverview Stage was Indré, an indie band from nearby Akron, OH. Even with the near-freezing temperatures, even at this point in the day, Indré brought the summer vibes in their beach-style outfits including t-shirts, no shirts, shorts, and sun hats.
Indré can be found on Spotify, Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Angela Perley
Next up I headed over to the Cleveland Scene Skyline Stage to catch Angela Perley, an alt-country, rock & roll, and Americana singer/songwriter who “makes music for road trips across the American heartland.” Having listened through a few songs before Saturday, I can most definitely agree. Now I want to plan a road trip.
Angela can be found on Instagram, Spotify, Facebook, Bandcamp, and YouTube.
Cellophane Jane
Over at the West Bank Stage where I would remain the rest of the night was Cleveland-based Cellophane Jane at 5:50. While some bands embraced the cold and went with a summer look, this glam-power rock group embraced the pirate theme of the festival. With six albums, EPs, and singles to their name, the band has been partying hard since 2017.
Cellophane Jane can be found on Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.
Grumpy Plum
I owe a lot to Grumpy Plum. Having known the band personally for many years, they were not only my introduction to the Cleveland music scene but also the first band that I ever did photos for. If it weren’t for Tallulah, Mattie, and Laurel, I don’t know if I’d even be writing this article and doing concert photography. Anyways enough of me being sappy, onto them.
Founded by Tallulah Swasey in 2019, Grumpy Plum prides themselves on being “the World’s Cutest Band.” Self-described as “indie slop-pop”, they have released two EPs and multiple singles to date with a new album in the works. Through the help of TikTok over the pandemic, they were able to grow a dedicated fanbase.
Grumpy Plum can be found on Spotify, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
Fox Royale
To my surprise, Fox Royale is not from Cleveland but rather Joplin, Missouri. The big reason that I thought this is immediately clear in the photos, with not a single member of the band wearing a shirt the entire show. I managed to catch up with the band after their set, and when I asked about the shirts they said “we thought of doing it maybe an hour before the show. We thought it would be funny.” I couldn’t agree more. Also according to them, this was the biggest crowd they had ever played and first time in Cleveland, so I applaud them for not only co-headlining the festival but also choosing to play completely shirtless.
Fox Royale can be found on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, and Spotify.
Signals Midwest
Since 2008, Ohio natives Signals Midwest have brought pop punk/midwest emo to the masses. In my eyes, they are the definition of “punk’s not dead.” As mentioned, many of their songs blur the line between midwest emo, with clean melodic guitars and punk. The band has currently released four albums, a live album, and an EP.
Signals Midwest can be found on Spotify, Instagram, Bandcamp, Facebook, and Twitter.
Welshly Arms
Hitting the West Bank Stage at 10 P.M to kick off the end of Brite Winter 2023 was Cleveland’s own Welshly Arms. To say they are one of the biggest acts to come out of Northeast Ohio in recent years would be an understatement. With over 1.2 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone, Welshly Arms pulls their influence from all sources, ending up with a sound that to me resembles Arctic Monkeys. The group consists of Sam Getz (lead, vocals, guitar), Jimmy Weaver (bass, vocals), Mikey Gould (drums), and Bri and Jon Bryant (vocals) and has hit some of the biggest stages including Rock Am Ring, Lollapalooza, Bottlerock and more and are currently preparing for a European tour in April/May of this year.
Welshly Arms can be found on Instagram, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, Spotify, and Soundcloud.
