As sunsets become earlier in the evening the sky is painted with the red, orange, and yellow, the hues of leaves reaching up from the trees as a cool breeze blows through the peaceful afternoon. Autumn has just begun, and it’s time to celebrate with Roots n Blues, a local music festival and one of Columbia’s premiere fall events. 

Roots n Blues is a fixture of Columbia as a community. It represents this city at its truest self. As people come together to make something greater than the sum of its parts. It combines all the things I love about this town. The music. The community. The food. And of course, all the rad dads. 

Rad dads, more formally referred to as “DILHNADTYPs” (Dads I’d Like to Have a Non-Alcoholic Drink with and Talk to about Youth Problems), are an essential part of any indie rock concert. These past few months, I have conducted extensive research on this group through multiple field studies. After having immersed myself in their culture, I am excited to share with all of you this informal ethnography. 

This project of mine began this July with my first expedition to the Animal Collective concert at Rose Music Hall. 

Animal Collective 

7/22/2022

Animal Collective is known for their experimental sound which sounds a little bit like putting The Beach Boys through a blender, sifting out the ties to the Manson family and adding in a hefty dose of electronic noises (or as my roommates so elegantly described it: “kling-klang”). In this spirit of uniqueness, I quickly noticed one thing: everyone at this concert looked the same. The crowd consisted mostly of couples ranging in age between their early thirties to fifties. All of them had a signature look of a slightly dorky man with a woman dressed in alternative attire. My research assistant suggested a term for this phenomenon: “copy, paste” which suited it quite well as despite the overall variety of people at the event the pattern amongst the rad dad population was worthy of note.

The Decemberists 

8/13/2022

Deciding to continue my research, I learned of another rad dad gathering in Kansas City in the Decemberists. This expedition was the longest I spent at the research site. My research assistant and I stayed overnight and explored the city and saw the rad dad settlements within. We dined on the most artisanal of brunches and marveled at the brick, murals, and the vintage that so characterizes the rad dad culture’s appearance. Upon arriving at the concert, I noticed a passing resemblance between myself and the lead singer. This sentiment was echoed by my research assistant. This warrants further research…

Pavement 

9/20/2022

Following some time reflecting on my previous observations, my team and I opted to take a visit to another rad dad event. If there was one event which would draw rad dads into one location, it would be this concert. It was Pavement, a nineties indie rock sensation which is notably well-loved within the community. This expedition marked my first participation in one of the ritual sacraments rad dads perform at these events: The drinking of beer. While many rad dads in these crowds prefer a different kind of brew known as an AyePeeYeh, I opted instead for a typical domestic to keep my wits about me. I also learned that the temples at which these events occur are prone to extortion after seeing the price to participate in the drinking of the beer. 

Wilco

10/7/2022

Luckily, extensive travel was unnecessary for this final case study, as the yearly rad dad festival Roots n Blues has come to town with Wilco as a headline act. On this journey I was accompanied by my ever reliable research assistant as well as a young member of the press who rode with us to the ritual site. While there, my research assistant and I once more partook in the drinking of the beer, with me gritting my teeth as I asked the friendly man by the cooler for two of their AyePeeYehs and found their flavor to be surprisingly agreeable. As the cool October weather has set in, my research assistant and I are clothed in warmer attire. The crowd at this event was bigger than any of the prior ones I had attended in my research. Various stalls where traveling merchants pedaled their wares. The event was practically its own city, even rejecting our normal forms of payment in favor of some strange contraption worn on the wrist. This felt like a final pilgrimage for this journey to understand the rad dad people. When the band took the stage, I was shocked. I looked to the stage and saw lead singer Jeff Tweedy. I looked and with horror realized that we were dressed in the same outfit. At this moment it struck me. I had become so obsessed with authenticity and immersing myself in the culture that I had started to unconsciously adopt rad dad behaviors with me and my research assistant, even contributing to the previously mentioned “copy, paste” phenomenon. I have decided to take a break from my research for the time being to readjust to the outside world once again. 

Final Thoughts

After this months long research process, I feel I have learned so much about rad dad culture, but still have so many more questions to ask. This research led me to experience really memorable and amazing shows, and while I went to these shows to find rad dads, I never expected to find myself.

To better understand Rad Dad Culture, you can check out this playlist to immerse yourself in their traditional music.