It’s hard to think of another celebrity as uniquely positioned to pull together an event like this weekend’s ID10T Music Festival + Comic Conival as Chris Hardwick.
The creator of the Nerdist media network has spent the last decade establishing himself as the preeminent pop-culture geek—as comfortable weighing in on philosophical debates about comic books as he is serving as a guest judge on America’s Got Talent.
Through his many ventures in the entertainment world, the multi-hyphenate actor, comedian and talk-show host has interviewed big-name musicians and movie stars—chatting with the likes of Paul McCartney and Daniel Radcliffe on his podcast—penned articles for WIRED, and just last year caught his first big network TV break when he was tapped to host NBC’s The Wall game show. In the process he has compiled a mighty Rolodex that includes indie comedy heroes like Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein of Portlandia and Dan Harmon, the creator of Community and Rick and Morty, as well as indie musicians, like the masters of deceptively simple music videos, OK Go.
All that and he absolutely loves comic books, maker culture and the brave new world of high tech.
“I guess it was kind of a selfish expression of all the things that I want to see,” Hardwick says of the impetus to pull together a two-day festival featuring a totally stacked slate of stand-up comedy, live music, celebrity panels and a comic con-esque bazaar at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. “I was really just trying to pull my favorite elements of all the events that I go to all the time.”
Among the many performances and events planned for ID10T: a live recording of the Harmontown podcast; a panel discussion between Hardwick and Portlandia stars Armisen and Brownstein; a discussion with the crew behind Mystery Science Theater 3000 led by Wil Wheaton; a Mad Decent-sponsored dance music tent; stand-up sets by Demetri Martin, Michael Che, Garfunkel & Oates and Nikki Glaser; plus live music from Weezer, TV On The Radio, OK Go and Animal Collective.
While the ID10T lineup may reflect Hardwick’s personal pop-cultural tastes, he says he hopes many will find the collection of events as exciting as he does. Furthermore, he hopes those who come will discover that they have many more friends interested in the same diverse array of entertainers.
“As corny as it sounds, the festival is such a part of my soul that I really hope people like it,” Hardwick says—going on to say he wants attendees to feel connected with the festival and to each other. To say, in essence: “Hey! We all like this stuff.”
It wasn’t that long ago that it might have been difficult for a single person to say they had any depth of knowledge of all three worlds represented at ID10T. But now—because of the internet—it’s far more common to find people who are interested in a wide swath of the pop culture landscape.
“In a pre-internet era it was about access and time,” Hardwick observes. “If you wanted to be just a music nerd, a lot of your time and energy was consumed with just tracking it down.” Of course, that’s all changed.
“The internet makes everything available to us,” he says. “It’s economized our pop culture consumption”—mainly by helping turn us all on to things we might not have otherwise encountered. Hardwick says that this can be a bit sad. The hunt for the obscure has always been a part of the geeking out process. “But at the same time it’s allowed us to become fans of a lot of different things. I think that’s what the festival represents.”
Listen to the full interview with Chris Hardwick on this week’s SV411 Podcast, which goes live this Friday at SV411.com.
ID10T Festival
Jun 24-25, $65+
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View
id10tfest.com
