From the energy of the crowds alone, you would have never guessed the musicians performing at LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival spent any time away from the stage.

The 13th annual LAUNCH event, which began Thursday night and continues through Sunday, brought about 150 to 200 people to Binns Park in downtown Lancaster Friday evening. It's one of the festivals five venues, some of which have multiple stages. 

The Binns Park crowd was sometimes split between the acoustic and York College side stages, sometimes meeting in the middle for the main stage performances.

The festival features a plethora of bands, both local and non-local.

Saturday’s lineup will feature five different venues and all the marquis performers, including Soundcloud rapper Smokepurpp, metal band Ice Nine Kills and more. (For a full schedule, visit launchmusicconference.com/schedule).

LAUNCH Music Conference & Festival

Here are some of the performers we saw Friday night at this year’s LAUNCH.

Big Fat Meanies

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Music filled Binns Park Friday evening as the Launch Music Conference & Festival hosted several bands across three stages. Big Fat Meanies, of Lancaster, play the main stage Friday evening in Binns Park. Lancaster City, September 10, 2021.

The female-fronted experimental ska band, Big Fat Meanies, played the mainstage in Binns Park Friday evening. The energy on the stage – and in the crowd – was tangible.

LAUNCH wasn’t the Lancaster-based band’s first foray back into the music scene post-pandemic, however; they had recently played a two-hour set at Phantom Power in Millersville.

It’s good to be back on stage, nonetheless, said lead singer Brenna Diehl.

“We’re all still getting back to it, and getting used to performing again, but even just being able to play with each other … it sounds kind of cheesy, but it’s like coming home,” Diehl says.

Just before the Big Fat Meanies set, Diehl said she was rocking out to another band at the festival, T.H.E.M.

“I miss that energy … It’s nice to be back," Diehl said.

Islander

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South Carolina-based alternative metal band Islander played at the LAUNCH Music Conference and Festival at Binns Park in Lancaster city, on Sept. 10, 2021.

Islander played on the main stage and commanded the crowd’s attention.

The South Carolina-based alternative metal band has toured with big names in rock, such as Papa Roach, Seether, Korn and P.O.D, among others.

Skylar Love

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Indie pop artist Skylar Love, of Doylestown, played at LAUNCH Music Conference and Festival at Binns Park in downtown Lancaster on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021.

Skylar Love Belisle, who performs as Skylar Love, played at the acoustic stage alone with just a guitar and a piano. The Doylestown native’s sound was a little bit pop, a little bit bluesy, a little bit poetic.

The pandemic didn’t cause her to miss a beat in her career, she was consistently performing, Belisle says.

She even played at Wisconsin's Summerfest, which bills itself the biggest music festival in the world, at the festival's emerging artist stage this year, she says. The same festival features headliners like Miley Cyrus, Twenty One Pilots, Green Day, Megan Thee Stallion and Chance the Rapper, among other artists.

Music has been essential to get through the pandemic, Belisle says.

“Music, I feel like, has been what’s keeping us together,” Belisle says. “It’s very fundamental. I think it’s very important to be around it and listen to it. Look at how connected and together we all are.”

Bobby Gentilo

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Record producer and blues performer Bobby Gentilo played at the LAUNCH Music Conference and Festival at Binns Park on Friday, Sept. 10, 2021.

Award-winning music producer and blues artist Bobby Gentilo played at the mainstage to an energetic crowd.

Those who stood up front, close to the stage, danced and smiled while the blues outfit performed.

The Washington D.C.-native is known for his work with Mississippi blues artists.

Gentilo will be in Lancaster County again for the Lancaster Roots & Blues festival in downtown Lancaster, which will run from Oct. 15-17.

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