Festival gives locals excuse to explore EaDo
Without his ticket, purchased on a whim, Jake Bracher might not have solved a mystery just outside of his usual stomping grounds.
A resident of Houston’s East End, he has come to know many of the popular places: BBVA Compass Stadium, the breweries, the hole-in-the wall restaurants. But he hadn’t had a chance to explore the small cluster of clubs and bars near the corner of St. Emanuel and Polk, and one held particular intrigue.
“I’ve driven past The Secret Group a million times, and it really is like a secret,” he said. “I have no idea what’s in there.”
Bracher at last had the chance to find out Saturday at the annual Whatever Festival, a two-day lineup of live music, standup comedy and quirky vendors in the neighborhood just east of downtown known as EaDo. Now in its third year, the event has grown to entice thousands of people to visit a lesser-known part of Houston now in the midst of a major renovation.
This year the festival attracted several big-time headliners, including Cold War Kids, AWOLNATION, Judah Friedlander and T.J. Miller. Jason Price, the festival’s founder, said he expected as many as 7,000 attendees during the weekend, more than twice the number who attended the first one.
Price recalled the time, years ago, when the area was filled with little more than warehouses operated by Asian wholesalers. That’s all changing, he said, and fast.
Since he began booking talent for Warehouse Live about a decade ago, the soccer stadium opened. Apartments and townhouses went up for lease. Bars and breweries began pouring drinks.
“It almost feels like not even the same place,” he said.
Just blocks away from the festival’s tents and stages, a sprawling Asian import warehouse sat seemingly dormant on a weekend afternoon, a relic of the time when the area was still Chinatown. But many of the surrounding buildings, covered with art from the annual Houston Mural Festival, showed evidence of a renaissance.
Derek Ketch, who has lived in EaDo for four years, arrived at the festival to see a friend’s band. He reflected at how much the area is changing, gesturing at a restaurant under construction in an old building several blocks away.
“It’s a night-and-day difference,” he said. “It used to be kind of scary, but now you see everyone out and walking their dogs and stuff.
By early afternoon, festivalgoers had claimed many of the bar stools at 8th Wonder Brewery, which had thrown open its doors right outside the gates. Taproom manager Bobby Mireles said that business had surged during last year’s event, and his crew was bracing for another rush.
“It exposes the brewery to a new clientele,” he said.
Robert Phillips and his wife spotted the news of the Whatever Festival online and decided to venture to EaDo from their home in West University Place, a trip they rarely make. The murals reminded them of trendy warehouse districts they had come across in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Beijing on recent trips.
“I like that they’re revitalizing it,” Phillips said, admiring the wall of art near back entrance to The Secret Group.
Melissa Franch and Chris Miller drove from Montrose to check out the festival for the first time. They often hang out at EaDo bars and restaurants, but they’d never come across the Paul Revere Rum Distillery, situated just on the edge of the event.
“I don’t know what that is, but I’m definitely going to check it out,” Franch said.
That was good news for Katherine McDonald, a bartender at the newly opened distillery. She said the owners had worked for years to perfect their colonial-style rum before finally opening a tasting room on the corner of Dallas and Hutchins.
“The whole area has really grown,” McDonald said. “They didn’t know it was going to spring up like this.”
Bracher and his friend gave the festival a onceover before heading toward The Secret Group, a music and comedy club with dim lighting and eclectic art. They walked past the sunlit murals and artisan vendors and ducked into the dark.
“It’s developing into a very artsy place to be,” Bracher said. “It’s really cool.”