Delaware’s mini-Woodstock gears up for another year

By CLAUDIA BROWN
Big Shout Magazine, May 1994

On Saturday, May 7, 1994, eight of Delaware’s finest underground bands play at the 11th annual Wilburfest, an all-day benefit concert to celebrate spring and raise money for homeless people in the area.

Adam Shaw, co-organizer and the concert’s MC, describes this year’s gathering as “the wildest range possible of local bands. There’s something for everyone.”

They include Homegrown and Gangster Pump, two hardcore bands; Grinch, a mellow, highly instrumental group; Mother Nature’s Black Light Rainbow, “a hardcore band with an edge,” says organizer Rebecca Conk; Mustard Seed, a jazz fusion group, The Verge, a dreamy sound with echoey guitars, reminiscent of early Cure; Montana Wildaxe, traditional Southern rock, and No We Are Not Food, a University of Delaware bebop jazz band.

Andy, the event’s treasurer for three years, explains that there are two divisions of music in Delaware now. One, with Mother Nature’s Black Light Rainbow at the forefront, is hardcore. The other is more mellow and instrumental, like Grinch and Mustard Seed.

From the 60 that auditioned, the eight bands were chosen by 40 residents of Wilbur Street in Newark. “It’s a definite honor to play Wilburfest,” says Conk.

The concert sells buttons as tickets for $6 per person, and sponsors East End Cafe, Ganello’s, Domino’s Pizza, and Margarita’s will sell food at the event to raise money for the Emmaus House, which helps local homeless people. Andy says that last year everyone got serious about making money. They raised $15,000. This year he projects $20,000 to $25,000.

“It’s not just a party. It’s a charity,” says Conk, getting serious herself. “Now [students] don’t understand that; maybe some day they will.”

People affectionately refer to Wilburfest as Delaware’s mini-Woodstock, and there may be parallels other than music. Because of reckless behavior last year, the City of Newark and the Newark Police this year set rules punishable by arrest such as no public urination, no throwing things at people, no littering or climbing roofs or trees. Due to lack of parking, people are also urged to walk to the concert.

“The amount of people is already overwhelming,” says Charlie Nazarella, an organizer from the University of Delaware. They have sold 4,500 buttons in three days, and at press time had completely sold out of their supply.

The gates open at 10 a.m. The rain date is Saturday, May 14. There will be a speaker from Emmaus House at 3:30 p.m. the day of the show.