On April Fools’ Day, Stuart’s Opera House announced the final additions to this year’s Nelsonville Music Festival, but the acts taking the stage are definitely no joke.
Among the 15 bands and musicians added to the lineup was Cat Power, a veteran indie rock singer-songwriter, who is slated to be the headliner on Friday, May 31. She released her most recent album, Sun, in 2012.
“She fits in really well with (the type of) headliners that we’ve had in the past,” said Brian Koscho, marketing and promotions coordinator for Stuart’s Opera House. “She’s been around for some time; this is her ninth album. She’s under the radar of most Top 40 stuff … We’re pretty excited.”
He added that Cat Power, along other musicians and bands in the lineup, including Wilco, either don’t tour very often or are only playing a few dates this summer. As a result, the festival will provide a valuable opportunity for attendees, he said.
Tim Peacock, director of Stuart’s Opera House, said the booking for the festival, which will run May 30 through June 2, aims to span a wide range of genres and to create a lineup music-lovers will enjoy.
The new crop of announcements includes numerous bands with Athens roots: Wheels on Fire, J.D Hutchinson, Unmonumental, J.J. Reed and Weedghost.
Other artists taking the stage will be Tift Merritt, Shilpa Ray, The Honeycutters, William Tyler, Todd Burge, Catherine MacLellan, Wussy and The Sundresses.
“Most of our bands (diverge) from the mainstream,” Peacock said. “Most of our artists are … original, quality artists, and that’s what excites us.”
He added the rest of the bands for the ninth annual festival fit in with the event’s philosophy and cover an array of genres, which sets the festival apart from others.
Along with booking the rest of the bands, the organizers are in the process of finalizing the festival’s logistics, including the artists and vendors who will be present at the four-day event.
“It’s crucial, and it’s something that we’ve been doing with the festival since it started,” Koscho said. “We operate as a community event. We’re only as strong as the people that we work with. We see this festival as something that has an economic impact not just on our area, but also our entire state.”
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