The Pawpaw Festival, one of Southeast Ohio’s classic events, returned for its 27th year in Albany, Ohio, at Lake Snowden, bringing some wonderful musical performances. In the scorching heat of a Saturday afternoon, artists displayed musical talent and crowd interactions that kept the day cool despite the temperatures.
Local artist Trey Hedrick kicked off the afternoon with his classic Appalachian and bluegrass-influenced music. The singer-guitarist was joined by upright bass player Pete Mendenhall and fiddler Matt Opachik. The trio provided the crowd with all original songs, including ones written by Hedrick, which he stated were “for my Mamaw,” and a fun fiddle tune.
The set would finish with Hedrick’s song “Passenger,” which switched out the slower tempo that had been present throughout the set with a more upbeat song that livened up the crowd. Hedrick has recently been in Nashville, Tennessee, prepping to release his project “Passing Through” on September 19.
The afternoon would continue its local influence as Athens-based duo Drawknife provided a mix of original songs and covers, holding to their sound that is influenced by “many different genres and old-time roots.”
Kyle Lyons would provide lead vocals and bring energy with his banjo. His companion George VanFossen added upright bass and supporting vocals, as well as occasional lead vocals on songs with a deeper tonal range. Drawknife is performing with the previously mentioned Trey Hedrick trio as well as the Local Honeys on Nov. 7 at the Union Bar in Athens at 8 p.m.
Huntington, West Virginia, based artist and Ohio University alum, Corduroy Brown brought an uptick in the energy on the stage, firing up the crowd with his “Feel Good Appalachian Music.” While the sound may have been different, he incorporated classic Appalachian sounds while also incorporating mental health advocacy.
This was highlighted by his self-written song “Medicine,” written while he was in the hospital after dying and being resuscitated during a battle with COVID-19. The performance also included an unexpected first for him as he tried his first ever pawpaw while on stage, with a verdict that it was “really sweet, it’s really good.”
Although the afternoon provided classic Appalachian sound, the last music performance of the afternoon offered something a little bit different. Garage-pop band Leggy from Cincinnati delivered a punk-pop-inspired performance on a stage it had long been waiting for, sharing that “we manifested this over a year ago.”
It brought a high-energy performance with songs like their “Grrrls Like Us,” which is the band’s most-streamed song on Spotify. Its song “Prosper” was accentuated by the screaming line of “wait, I love you, babe.” Leggy performed many new songs, including one described as, “Much like the paw, this one will be messy, it will be native to Ohio, and it will be delicious.”
The pawpaw eating competition, a festival staple, capped off the afternoon, showcasing participants' ability to stomach down a whole pound of pulp and 10 seeds that they needed to clean off.
The participants reflected the impact that this festival has, with participants from local communities like Athens, but also big cities in Ohio, and one participant from Seattle, Washington.
The competition was won by a participant from Cleveland who took down a very sizable and creatively decorated trophy and was celebrated with chants of “Pawpaw,” ringing out from the crowd.
The Main Stage at the Pawpaw Festival, during the afternoon of day two, delivered music representative of the local industry and overall great crowd energy. It was a wonderful show that showed talented musicians as well as their perseverance playing through the sweltering heat of the afternoon.
