It’s been two years since Ohio jam band The Werks has graced the stage of Jackie O’s Pub & Brewery, 24 W. Union St., and it may be too late to see the band in the intimate brewery space this time around.
The show sold out this week as dedicated fans flocked to buy pre-sale tickets. There is good news for fans who were not able to secure a golden ticket to Thursday’s show: the band has announced dates for the fifth-annual Werk Out Music Festival. This three-day event will be held at Legend Valley Music Center in Thornville, Ohio and will run Aug. 7-9. Drummer, vocalist and sampler Rob Chafin said the official lineup will start to roll out in the coming weeks and said he promises this will be the biggest festival yet as the band makes plans to go back in studio.
The Post: How long has it been since you’ve played in Athens?
Rob Chafin: It might have been two years since we’ve played Jackie O’s. So it’s been since 2012.
Did you or the band come to school here?
Well, we’ve played there enough times that it seems like we did. I went to school at the University of Dayton. But we used to play at Jackie O’s when it was O’Hooley’s, the small side of Jackie O’s. We’ve been going there since 2007.
We got a long-storied history in Athens; it’s one of our favorite places to play.
This is one of the few shows that the band requested we play even though we knew it would sell out before people could get to the doors.
Why do you keep coming back?
We just absolutely love Athens, we love the vibes, and personally it’s one of my favorite cities in the country. And the fans are so receptive to the live music.
Some of our most dedicated Werks fans are in Athens so we had to come back.
Your last album was the self-titled album The Werks, released back in 2012. Do you have any plans to…
Yeah, we’re going back in the studio in March. … We’ll just keep it there for now.
Any tour plans lined up?
We have a massive national and international tour coming up here. We’re going out to Costa Rica in a few weeks. Going all over the country February, March, April and May. We’re definitely very busy heading right up to the festival season.
And definitely The Werk Out Music and Arts Festival, we’re aiming for it to be the biggest year yet.
Any acts announced yet?
Three nights of The Werks (as always). We haven’t released the lineup yet. The past couple of years we’ve had Lotus, Rusted Root, EOTO, Dark Star Orchestra etc. … We’ll really be expanding the arts part of the festival this year more than ever before, and we’re expanding the lineup this year more than ever before.
The Werk Out Music and Arts Fest will be in its fifth year, and we’re going to make it the biggest one yet by far. We’re very excited for what’s to come.
When can we expect to hear more of the lineup?
The announcement will be here in the next few weeks.
And one last question, did you have any opinions about the Grammys?
We are so happy that our friends, Snarky Puppy, won best R&B Performance. And we are aiming to win the best R&B act next year, so look out kids.
@wilbur_hoffman
wh092010@ohiou.edu
