With a bill that includes the intricate atmospheres of indie rockers Foreign Born and harmonizing pros the Living Sisters, this weekend's Silver Lake Jubilee is certainly launching with a strong local presence, boasting 30 artists spread over two days.  

It could have been, perhaps, even bigger.

"We wanted to have ultimate control over what kind of bands are playing," said Marcus Rodriguez, a member of the Silver Lake Jubilee's music advisory board. "There were three or four people who contacted us, and said they could bring such-and-such people if such-and-such band was featured. That’s not what we’re trying to do. That can be the failure of a festival in its infancy. I don’t want us to lose the reins. This is for the community, by the community."

The initial aims of the outdoor street festival are much smaller than the Silver Lake's August event Sunset Junction, which turns 30 this year and has survived some recent tense moments with local businesses and residents over how the fest has cordoned off streets. With the help of Origami Vinyl's head Neil Schield, Spaceland's Mitchell Frank and Buzzbands blogger Kevin Bronson, the Jubilee has booked a local-centric lineup that does away with the Junction's more mainstream fare -- as well as its $20 entry fee. The cost to get into the Jubilee is $5.

Keeping admission fees low was a goal from the start. It was helped by the fact that every band appearing on one of the Jubilee's three stages is doing so for free. Schield took the lead on booking acts, leaning, he said, on Spaceland's Frank as a "security blanket." 

"It’s an art community festival, and it’s about giving back to the community," Schield said. "That was attractive. As much as I love the Sunset Junction, it’s stepped away from some of the local things it was founded upon. It brings in bigger bands from out of town, and this is going back to what Sunset Junction used to be."