Culture
Gladden House Sessions Return for NMF 2016
By: Emily Votaw
Posted on:
For the past three years, the Gladden House Sessions have been making the Nelsonville Music Festival an increasingly personal experience for attendees.
The series, the product of a partnership between WOUB Digital and the Ohio University School of Media Arts & Studies, allows a team of students handpicked by the event’s host (and OU faculty) Josh Antonuccio to produce a series of videos that star various acts from the NMF line up performing a small set in an open air setting. Besides kicking out a few jams, the artists also engage in a brief question and answer session with Antonuccio.
“What’s incredible is that we’re at about 200,000 views for both seasons right now,” said Antonuccio, who said that his team of students has grown each year; from six in 2014 to seven in 2015 to a fuller crew of 10 people this year. “Tim (Peacock) and (Brian) Koscho do such an incredible job finding great acts for the festival, and this series allows us to spotlight those acts in a more intimate setting.”
Last year the series sat down the likes of Scandinavian folk duo My Bubba, Yep Roc Records’ Americana act Mandolin Orange, Colorado-based six-member Elephant Revival and many more. All of those particular sessions have garnered more than 10,000 each, alone.
“The sessions really provide a way for audiences to learn about their favorite acts in a more relaxed, unique environment,” said Antonuccio.
This year’s Gladden House Session schedule will be as follows:
Thursday 6/2:
4:45 p.m. – Aoife O’ Donovan
6:15 p.m. – Water Witches
Friday 6/3:
12:15 p.m. – Swarming Branch
1:45 p.m. – Daniel Bachman
3:15 p.m. – Angela Perley
4:45 p.m. – Son Little
Saturday 6/4:
12:15 p.m. – Joan Shelley
1:45 p.m. – Lake Street Dive
3:15 p.m. – Suitcase Junket
4:45 p.m. – Chris Forsyth
6:15 p.m. – Fruit Bats
Sunday 6/5:
10:45 a.m. – Steve Poltz
12:15 p.m. – The Wild Reeds
1:45 p.m. – Town Mountain
3:15 p.m. – Zeb Dewar
Antonuccio emphasized that the schedule is subject to change, and that those attending the festival this weekend perhaps can look forward to a surprise (or two.)
“I think that a lot of times, people who are organizing a music festival are just thinking in terms of how they can set everything up so that the largest number of people can see an act play onstage,” said Adam Rich, a producer for WOUB Public Media and also the sound technician for last year’s Gladden House Sessions. “So they put them on a 30-foot stage, and a lot of people see them – but there just isn’t a lot of interaction. Nelsonville is very different, and the people who are coordinating the acts care a lot about that personal interaction, and the Gladden House Session provide a very intimate sense of connection with the musicians who are playing at the festival.”
You can check out WOUB’s archive of Gladden House Sessions from previous years here.