The sixth annual Nelsonville Music Festival will kick off at 5:30 this evening when Drakkar Sauna plays the porch stage and conclude some time after 5 p.m. Sunday when The Swell Season, of Once fame, leave the main stage.
In between, there will be performances by Loretta Lynn, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings, Man Man, Southeast Engine, Todd Snider and nearly 40 other bands on three different stages.
"The thing that's changed from last year is we've gotten in a few bigger acts and spread it out a little bit. Where last year Willie Nelson was the main big act, this year we have ... a spreading out of headliners," said Brian Koscho in a late-March interview. Koscho is the promotions and marketing coordinator for Stuart's Opera House, which is presenting the event.
The abundance of headliners has even begun to excite other bands. As Kelley Darlin of Those Darlins said, "We're playing two spots before Loretta Lynn
who's been a huge influence, and we respect her so highly. so that's a huge honor. And then two spots after Loretta Lynn is Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings.
"We played with them at a festival two weeks ago in Oxford, Miss., and they blew our minds. ... Both of those performances are going to be incredible."
The celebration has grown from a one-day festival at the square in Nelsonville during summer 2005 to a weekend-long festival format at Robbins Crossing at Hocking College.
As the length of the festival has increased, so has the festival's attendance
which Koscho said was 1,250 the first year and 5,000 last year.
Those 5,000 people can expect a similar feeling if they choose to return.
"Each year, you learn things you do differently, and last year we learned some things we needed to do better. But overall, we thought last year was a very successful festival, so the general feeling and flavor of it will be very similar," Koscho said.
