Elsewhere Festival, a brand new two day music and arts fest in Wichita, KS is in the books and it feels like a new air is blowing in the local art scene. After a weekend of sets from Killer Mike, Steve Aoki, Vince Staples, Snow Tha Product, Sudan Archives, and BADBADNOTGOOD, many in Wichita are already looking forward to what next year will bring. Also featured were prominent local and regional acts like Horse Bitch, Keo & Them, and Apathy Unit among many others. There has long been skepticism as to whether Wichita musicians would ever get something like Elsewhere. But last weekend, stretched across three blocks of downtown Wichita, Elsewhere Festival caused everyone to rethink what’s possible here in Wichita.

Elsewhere brought artists from all over the country, including the likes of Steve Aoki to close the Where Else stage Friday night. Aoki has been a mainstay in the EDM space since the early 2010s, but to many Wichitans he’s a complete unknown. However, those that know the kind of party Aoki brings made sure they were in that venue on Friday. Aoki literally has the world record for the most shows played in a single year at 366 so it’s pretty rare to see him in a place he’s never played before. He stormed into uncharted territory and gave Wichita a rare treat of live dance music. The setting was an elevated back alley rave complete with stacks of professionally graffiti’d shipping containers and a state of the art light and sound system to boot.

The festival blends the paid elements at WAVE and Where Else stages with public stages and art installations free to all. This blend between the community and the festival is emblematic of what Elsewhere aims to achieve. The Wichita art scene like any other city is naturally leery of new splashy projects out of fear that too much commerce will sour the creative spirit. Elsewhere walks this line by making a covenant with the community by showcasing local and regional artists of all stripes and offering free programming to those without a wristband.

They took full advantage of the existing venues all within a few blocks of each other like the larger WAVE outdoor stage and the smaller clubs like Barleycorns and Norton’s Brewing. Knowing these to be where the local acts will feel the most at home, they can showcase their art in its most organic format. It creates an environment where Kylie from Apathy Unit can feel comfortable screaming, “I’LL NEVER BE MYSELF” into a mic for a room of people ready to match the self-loathing energy. Then Keo & Them can pack out the WAVE Indoor stage like they’ve done a number of times before. Except this time, they have a blend of locals setting the tone and out of towners getting to experience Keo & Them on their own turf.

But it wasn’t just Wichita bands that were feeling the groundswell of Elsewhere Fest. The band Horse Bitch from Denver, CO has played in Wichita many times before, but never like this. While the venue they were in may have looked like the typical bar they’re accustomed to playing, the event that brought them here was anything but typical. Bands like Horse Bitch have made a name for themselves in the Wichita music scene, so it is only right that they be brought in to partake in such a momentous moment for Wichita.

The inclusion of these existing spaces is also apparently strategic considering the 100+ degree heat during the day. If you arrive early between four and five pm, you can sit in an air conditioned building and grab a drink while still seeing sets. Once it hits 7-8pm and it begins to cool is when things really start to take off at the outdoor stages. Heat can easily put a damper on any outdoor summer event in Wichita. However, it seems that organizers did everything in their power to mitigate this hazard with free cold bottled water, plenty of shade, and the indoor elements.

Midtopia, the non-profit that organized the event, says in their mission statement that they aim to, “develop a thriving and self-sustaining musical community within and around Wichita, Kansas through the creation of infrastructure, education, and resources focused on musical performance and education, all on a nonprofit basis.” Elsewhere Festival is in keeping with this mission and seems to be the organization’s flagship endeavor towards creating the musical community they set out to foster. With this first iteration, they successfully avoided the pitfalls of other first year festivals and produced a quality event with no major hiccups that would’ve impacted the music being played for attendees.

Done differently, Elsewhere could have been seen by locals and musicians as an invasive cash grab with no interest in the community at large. However, the inclusion of local musicians and stages that were free to all even without a wristband was successful in proving their genuineness. There is yet to be an official announcement of Elsewhere 2025, but a lot has already been done to bolster confidence in the Wichita scene.

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Review by: Mitchell Arias-Elmore, Pictures by: Mitchell Arias-Elmore & Patrick Heath

Elsewhere Festival 2024 Brings Killer Mike, Steve Aoki, Vince Staples & More to Wichita