Culture
The Nelsonville Music Festival: Connecting the Community With the Arts Since 2005
By: Emily Votaw
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Every year a blister of incredible music, gorgeously rendered artwork, and an undefinable yet undeniably palpable community spirit erupts in all it’s ephemeral glory all over Robbins Crossing at Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio, a four-day experience known as the Nelsonville Music Festival, produced by Stuart’s Opera House. This year headliners include George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic, The Decemberists, The Black Angels, and Ani DiFranco, just to name a few. If that sounds like an eclectic lineup, that’s because it is, and that’s something the festival has excelled at dating back to its humble roots as a one-day affair in the square in Nelsonville some 14 years ago.
Now a four-day festival, the event draws acts from all over the world, and thousands of attendees from all walks of life. A stroll through the festival will provide one with a glance at a family chowing down on some regional food, basking in the shade near the porch stage; a couple of young punks squeezing their way into the no-fi cabin; cool guys in Hawaiian shirts setting up their lawn chairs in perfect daytime viewing of the main stage; and even some bona fide music nerds, rummaging through the record bins at some of the vendors set up on the festival campus — and that’s just an incredibly simplified description of the festival.
WOUB’s Emily Votaw spoke to Brian Koscho, the marketing director of the festival in the interview embedded above. The two delve into the unique personalities of each festival day, the multitude of acts lined up for the four-day weekend (check out the recently released day schedules below) and the unnamable charm that is essential to the event.
Speaking of charm, Stuart’s Opera House is working on setting up a mini skate ramp at the festival that will be free and open to the public. In 2016, the festival successfully funded the boxcar stage, which allows anyone to catch some of the musical acts at the festival, regardless of whether they can afford a pass into the event.
The festival is planning to have skating demonstrations, open skating for kids and adults, and more. There are lots of awards available for donors, which you can check out on the Indiegogo campaign for funding the ramp.
Tickets are still available to the Nelsonville Music Festival at nelsonvillefest.org. Make sure to keep tabs on WOUB Culture as we dive deep into the festival May 31 through June 3 to provide you with video, photo, and editorial content! Our Twitter and Facebook pages will be alive with Nelsonville Music Festival content, so keep your eyes peeled and your ears open.