The Manhattan Beat: Seaport Music Festival 2017

The Seaport Music Festival returned to the South Street Seaport for its 15th anniversary celebration on September 7-10, 2017. In actuality, however, though the annual festival began in 2002, it went on hiatus after the 2010 event. Other similar festivals like 4Knots filled the gap starting in 2011.

The Seaport Music Festival's founder, Stephen Dima, recruited the Village Voice, the South Street Seaport Museum, and Extell Development’s One Manhattan Square, a new 800-foot condominium tower located at 252 South Street, to sponsor four days and nights of film screenings, comedy, dance and indie rock concerts.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists headlined the Saturday event on a makeshift stage on Fulton Street. Leo has a history with the festival; he performed at the inaugural festival in 2002 plus five additional subsequent years. This year, Leo curated a lineup which included rapper Jean Grae, electronic duo Azar Swan, and rock band Big Huge.

New York Night Train disc jockey Jonathan Toubin curated the Sunday concert on Pier 16. The concert headlined a reunion of the Make-Up, plus Martin Rev (the surviving half of Suicide), James Chance & the Contortions, the Wolfmanhattan Project, the Nude Party, Death Valley Girls, Surfbort and Warm Drag.