Philadelphia -- The 2002 Philadelphia Underground Music and Culture Festival will be coming to Mt. Airy's Sedgwick Theater on June 1st. This event will be a celebration of the vital,subterranean currents of arts, philosophies, and politics roiling ceaselessly beneath the unsuspecting, mass media-munching denizens of the surface. As Victor Hugo once wrote (albeit in French, of course!): "so many different underground levels, different objectives, different harvests. And what comes of it all? The future." 

The bands scheduled to perform come from all over the United States and cover a variety of genres: Land of Chocolate (www.landofchocolate.net), The Red Masque (www.theredmasque.com), Persephone's Dream(www.persephonesdream.com), and Church of Hed (featuring members of Quarkspace -www.quarkspace.com/coh.htm). For more information on each of the bands, as well as to download music samples, please visit their individual web sites. 

The Philadelphia Underground Music and Culture Festival will also showcase interesting and unusual vendors, and other things of interest to seekers everywhere. More information will be announced in the weeks and months preceding the event. 

Tickets will be available in advance by phone from the Sedgwick (215-248-9229), and via the web through the Persephone's Dream website (www.persephonesdream.com), as well as at the door. Admission is $10 and will be limited to 300 people. For $20, a package including a T-shirt and ticket can be purchased. More information on T-shirt sales TBA. Festival start time is 7pm. For additional details, press inquiries or questions about the event, please email festival organizers, The Red Masque, at theredmasque@yahoo.com. 

SEDGWICK ADDRESS & CONTACT INFORMATION: 7137 Germantown Avenue, Philadelphia, PA 19119; 215-248-9229; info@sedgwickcenter.org; www.sedgwickcenter.org. 

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In other news, The Red Masque would like to welcome newest member Brian Vonorn. Brian is a multi-instrumentalist (drums, keys, woodwinds, guitars, percussion, celtic harp) who is replacing drummer Kevin Kelly, who has decided to pursue other interests. The Red Masque wishes Kevin best of luck with future endeavors. Brian's first show with The Red Masque will be on Thursday, Feb. 28 at the Pontiac Grill in Philadelphia. Other acts include Stendhal (www.stendhalnoise.com), Signal to Noise, and Lotus. Other upcoming shows include an April 27 concert with Land of Chocolate at Doc Watson's in Philadelphia. Please visit www.theredmasque.com for more details.