Departed Season 4: Episode 1 Recap

Miranda attending Departed S4, E1 at The Ave Live.

Departed is back and bigger than ever, Philly.

Ben Arsenal and friends’ Philadelphia-underground labor of love, Departed Together, made its return to The Ave Live on Saturday, March 8th, marking the event’s fourth season and first (as they call it) “episode.”

The creators of this live music and art event self-describe it as an, “immersive experience inspiring our higher selves,” and I think that’s a spot-on description.

This season’s kick-off event featured musicians, visual artists, and performance artists from all around the east coast, featuring for the first time ever at Departed DJ Eran Hersh.

The event also featured some familiar faces such as Sage, The Philly Bubble Man (because who doesn’t love bubbles?!), local flow performers, visual art installations, and additional musical performances by Katerina Sky, Fawziyya Heart, and the creator of the Departed movement itself, Ben Arsenal.

Something that always galvanizes me about this event is the pure, energetic vibration that always runs as an undercurrent from when the first DJ mounts the booth to the wee hours of the morning — the crowd of folks who contribute to and attend Departed keep a high-vibrational, zero-drama, expressive energy going for hours on end, and it’s rare to find an event in which a collective group is encouraged to merge together in such a positive way.

I definitely can’t wait for S4E2, and I hope you all join me next time at The Ave Live!

Xoxo, MM.