It was an incredibly beautiful morning at South Street Seaport last Sunday morning. French tourists filled the area and tour guides could be seen trying to get the attention of various people. On the pier a little bit north of the heart of the seaport was a massive stage that already had occupants hovering around it. When I got there the Fast Years were filling the air with their indie pop chords and vocals, easily pleasing the New York crowd.

The 4Knots Festival was getting started, a free annual festival hosted by The Village Voice. The festival is known for bringing together upcoming acts and also local bands throughout the city. The major standouts for me were Devin, Team Spirit, and Delicate Steve. All three acts played the smaller Skippers Stage on the piers side adjacent to a gigantic boat docked on the pier. A fire consumed the restaurant at the pier opposite of the 4Knots Festival but luckily the fire department was able to hose down the fire in time. Music resumed shortly afterwards and acts such as Hospitality and Crocodiles played truly splendorous sets.

A festival like this was the perfect way to spend the weekend and the final set by indie legends Archers of Loaf was more then fitting. The band played ferociously and provided an incredible array of energy for the crowd to consume. Strong grungy basslines clashed with razor sharp guitar chords and as the 4Knots Festival came to a close you could just tell that nobody wanted to go back home.

This review was written/photographed by Ken Grand-Pierre, a writer/photographer/graphic designer/bear fighter in New York. If you want to see more photos from this show and more be sure to visit his flick (where you can find full photo galleries of this event & others). Also if you like what you see and you want to hear about more than be sure to follow on  twitter and tumblr