Comedy? Check. Craft beer? Check. Entertaining & informational content? Check. Local comedians, Ed Bailey & Day Bracey check all of these off the list and more with their Drinking Partners Podcast.
Day was born & raised in the Burgh (Braddock to be exact) and Ed is a Cleveland transplant – needless to say there’s some good banter that stems from the city rivalry. The two met at a comedy open mic night at Pleasure Bar in Bloomfield. “Day already had an entourage composed of a photographer and street team,” per Ed but it seems like Day may have been fan-girling himself since he’s “been chasing that level of stage excellence since.” And that’s where history started.
After connecting and talking the two decided to start up the Drinking Partners Podcast for reasons including alcoholism, a desperate need for attention (lol – Day’s words, not ours!) and the need to expand on the comedy world and make a bigger impact.
The two then took on a new venture with some other partners and created Fresh Fest in 2018. This event shined a light on the lack of diversity in the brewing business and brought black brewers from around the US to Pittsburgh and paired it with great music and local food. Since 2020 has been anything but normal, they’ve had to adapt to what’s been going on and take Fresh Fest digital and we’re here for it!
This year, your digital ticket includes six channels of live podcasts, forums, art, brewing, cooking, musicians, and deejays streamed in HD through YouTube. Anyone with a screen, internet connection, and $10 can join. You can also participate by checking out the 8 brewing collaborations with local and Black owned breweries that will be shipped to your door (via our friends at Beverages2u in PA). You can download the app and that will make it all make sense. This is a great way to support local business and black-owned business through the pandemic.
This will be the first time you will be able to have a mixed six pack of Black owned beer shipped to your door. We’re very proud of that. All artists/speakers will be paid. We will also display donation information for each artist so that people can tip on top of that, given the scarcity of gigs available during this pandemic. We made the ticket cost low enough so that most people can join, and give a little extra directly to the artists if they can. We are NOT selling tickets to a 9 hour Zoom call. Nobody wants that shit.
Day Bracey
Get your tickets here and follow them on Facebook & Instagram to stay up to date on everything.
Finally, you can’t get to know someone without knowing their favorite drinks, beers, etc. so we have your answers here:
Who has been your favorite special guest?
Day: That Mikey & Big Bob episode might be the greatest. I’m also fond of Summer Lee and Sara Innamarato’s passion. The Troegs episode put us in a different league. I think you get a good sense of who we are and what we do best through those three casts.
Ed: Khamil Scantling, Founder of Cocoapreneur – I totally support her mission, passion & vision. I was excited to be able to lend my platform to promote what she’s doing. Doesn’t hurt that I got a few brownie points at home.
Favorite local beer?
Day: My favorite style is milky stouts. In the summer, when those are rare, my favorite is whoever is brewing it.
Ed: I always get excited to find a good Tartshake IPA. It’s like an IPA smoothie. Current favorite is Strange Radiant by Cinderland’s.
Favorite mixed drink?
Day: Does single batch whiskey mixed with ice count as a mixed drink?
Ed: Hennessy and Coke, don’t know if it counts but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
What else do you guys have going on?
Day: I spend a lot of time contemplating whether or not I have enough sweatpants (I don’t).
Ed: Outside of Fresh Fest, just trying to stay COVID free. Stand up comedy has ground to a halt and with the D.L. Hughley incident, I’m probably not going to see a stage until 2021.
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.Stay safe, stay sanitized, WEAR YOUR MASK! It’s not about putting restrictions on your life, it’s about saving the lives of others.
Ed Bailey
