Presented here is both the flyer and the booklet that was given to attendees of this fest, which was sponsored by WRSU radio and took place in New Brunswick, NJ on the campus of Rutgers University in early May 2002. My buddy Sean and I went to this jawn, and the two main draws for us were Rhode Island masters of weirdness and uncomfortable ambiance Arab On Radar, and Jersey City's Rye Coalition, who actually had to cancel their appearance here if my memory serves me well. Even though I never dug any of the music I had heard from him before (or since) this weekend, I really dug Joe Preston's set as Thrones. Furthermore, I also recall that both Risk Relay and Ex-Models played really solid sets that weekend. If I remember correctly, Sean and I had seen Ex-Models for the first time not long before this fest took place, so we were looking forward to seeing them rock here too.
Some other bands who played but aren't listed on the flyer included Orthrelm, Capital City Dusters and Palomar. I could have sworn I saw Aspera Ad Astera / Aspera play Cinco De Secret Fest, but maybe my brain is completely making that memory up...maybe I can get Sean to confirm or deny that for me. Getting old sucks.
Cinco De Secret Fest flyer:
Fest booklet: