Some of this year’s firsts: It’s entirely all-ages for the first time with free childcare from day to night. An outdoor stage for three days of music. A full non-alcoholic drink menu and our own beer. Subsidized passes. Better accessibility, including live captioning. Free bike rentals and donuts. Real bathrooms.
But there are some things we won’t change: we’ll still fill it to bursting with as many interesting indie people and projects as we can. We’re still committed to making sure the audience is diverse, welcoming, and focused on creators. And we won’t let it collapse under its own weight, capping attendance at the same 1,000 passes as last year.
Four years in, XOXO is looking less like a festival and more like a community—a group of like-minded people, supporting each other through the challenges that come from making something new and putting it into the world on your own.
Independence can be really hard, but it matters. So let’s stick together and make it a little easier, okay? Welcome to XOXO.
Hugs & kisses,
Andy Baio & Andy McMillan