What: Second Annual Northside Music, Art and Film Festival
When: Thursday, June 24th – Sunday, June 27th
Where: 25+ venues in various locations in Williamsburg and Greenpoint
Why: Since L Magazine’s first announcement of the return of last year’s instant-indie hit—The Northside Festival—we’ve stayed poised for its four-day lineup jam-packed with bands, art walks, and film screenings. Thanks to the new Northside Radio stream at Radio23.org, we were able to sample some of the 300 and counting bands to present our highlights for the best authentic sounds to look out for at the fest this year. Grab your badges and come join us.
We’re ready to stand up, clap, whistle and get swept away by the likes of Harper Blynn’s “Loneliest Generation,” Real Estate’s “Beach Comber,” Bermuda Bonnie’s “HouseBoat,” World Atlas on “The Winter Stories,” The Canon Logic’s, “Nights at Armour Mansion,” and Forest Fire’s “Slow Motion” with Oberhofer on “Away From You.”
In addition to the music programming, the new FilmFest feature will screen a daily duo of films at 8 and 10 p.m. at the nabe’s art house theater IndieScreen. Mark your calendars for Friday night’s later screening “NY Export: Opus Jazz” and Sunday’s early viewing of the “Brooklyn Shorts” series curated by Rooftop Films at 6 p.m.
Before seeing evening shows on Saturday and Sunday, head to Brooklyn a little early to enjoy a car-free Bedford Avenue for the annual Williamsburg Walks, organized by the Willamsburg Gallery Association, which is also curating 25 galleries worth of narrative, abstract, and multimedia art.
It’s what summer’s all about: venue hopping, trolley riding, and tweeting our discoveries while traipsing along Bedford, drinking discount beers at featured bars, and huddling happily with hundreds at Barge Park.
How to get there: All participating places are accessible by subway, bike, trolley or foot. For Trolley service and route click here. For a complete lineup, artist list, pricing, and venue locations visit NorthsideFestival.com.
Sarah Knapp is a Brooklyn based entrepreneur whose love for the outdoors and community building led her to the October 2013 creation of OutdoorFest. She has a BA in History, is a Wilderness First Responder and a NY state hiking, camp and boating guide. Her proudest achievement to date is reading the Aeneid in Latin. 
Allison was one of our first top writers and Chief Editor but is no longer working with offMetro. Allison is a native New Yorker, who has lived in Rome, Tuscany, Melbourne, Toronto and Los Angeles. She frequently contributed travel pieces to Family Travel Forum, using her own children as guinea pigs as they travel the globe. She never missed a chance to sample local delicacies, as her love for travel goes hand-in-hand with her love for food and wine. 
Josh Laskin is a freelance travel writer and photographer based in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. When he is not at work or on the road, you can find him in the mountains snowboarding, climbing, hiking, fly fishing, mountain biking, and eating bagel bites.
Annie is a travel writer, environmentalist, and surfer based in Venice, CA. She heads up our West Coast team, keeps our grammatical errors in check, and makes sure our California writers always have a plan for their next adventure. Follow Annie’s travels @annelisemcb.
Carly Pifer is a freelance writer who has been known to follow whims inspired by romantic movie scenes or colorful street style shots to India, Japan, Tunisia and Argentina. After stints living in Seoul, Boston, Paris and Los Angeles, writing and searching for something intangible, she landed somewhat steadily in Brooklyn and has begun to find inspiration in her more immediate surroundings. 
Kate E. O’Hara is a New York based freelance writer and photographer who loves all things food—especially the people who make it and market it. Her writing aims to capture the essence of the food experience; the stories that go well beyond a plate of ingredients. In addition to her love of food, Kate is also known to have a hankering for red wine and craft beer. You can also find Kate on Instagram