Culture
Michael Hurley 2022 Nelsonville Music Festival Sycamore Session
By: Lily Manoukian
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Content Advisory: The artist uses explicit language during this performance.
NELSONVILLE, Ohio (WOUB) — Renowned folk musician Michael Hurley brought an impressive crowd to his rainy Sycamore Sessions set at the 2022 Nelsonville Music Festival.
Hurley has played the Nelsonville Music Festival every year since 2008. He started writing songs at age 13, and he still performs the music of his youth at 80.
In this set, Hurley played a variety of his own repertoire, stretching from 1964-2021, along with two covers: Booker T. Washington “Bukka” White’s “I Am in a Heavenly Way,” and Doc Starkes and His Knight Riders’ “Sweet Apple Cider.”
Of his earlier songs, Hurley performed “Slurf Song” from his album released in 1976, “Have Moicy!” (Rounder Records). He also performed “Portland Water” and “In the Garden” of “Long Journey” (Rounder Records), also released in 1976.
SET LIST
1. “When I Get Back Home” (“The Ancestral Swamp”) – 5:47
2. “Your Old Gearbox” (“Weatherhole”) – 11:32
3. “Horse’s Arse” (Unreleased) – 14:23
4. “You’ll Never Go to Heaven” (“Watertower”) – 18:19
5. “I Am in a Heavenly Way” (Bukka White cover) – 23:03
6. “Portland Water” (“Long Journey”) – 26:53
7. “O My Stars” (“Snockgrass”) – 31:33
8. “Wildegeeses” (“Blue Navigator”) – 35:08
9. “In the Garden” (“Long Journey”) – 38:40
10. “Sweet Apple Cider” (Cover of Doc Starkes and His Knight Riders) – 41:21
11. “Slurf Song” (“Have Moicy!”) – 43:40
12. “Me & Red” (“Weatherhole”) – 49:20
The Sycamore Sessions are presented by the Nelsonville Music Festival in collaboration with WOUB Public Media and the Ohio University Scripps College of Communication’s School of Media Arts and Studies. The performances were recorded and produced by Media Arts and Studies students under the supervision of Host and Director Josh Antonuccio and Associate Producers – Director of Photography Andie Walla (Media Arts and Studies Associate Professor of Instruction), Audio Supervisor Adam Rich (WOUB), and WOUB’s Arts and Culture Editor Emily Votaw. All performances took place during the 2022 Nelsonville Music Festival, which is a production of Stuart’s Opera House.