The Nelsonville Music Festival has been showcasing local and national music sensations for 20 years, bringing attendees from across the country to camp and enjoy the weekend of activities. Some took to the Nelsonville stage for the first time, including Space Kid, the band born out of Columbus and friendship.
Riley Morgan-Boucher, Liam Keron and Pat Gallaugher make up the band and are frequently seen at The Union and other venues around Athens.
The three members are normal college students, heading into their sophomore years at different institutions. Keron is studying music production in the recording industry, Gallaugher is studying outdoor recreation and education at Ohio University and Morgan-Boucher is studying wildlife sciences at Hocking College.
Gallaugher said they threw their “name in the bucket” for this year’s music artists and thought they didn’t make the cut. They were elated to get the email confirming their performance.
Morgan-Boucher said they have played big stages before, but being able to see their name next to big names such as Marcus King Band is “surreal.”
The band performed twice Friday at 1 p.m. on the Porch Stage and a late show at midnight on the Mudville stage. The band welcomed Evan Seurkamp from The Laughing Chimes to perform the guitar during each performance.
After their first performance, Gallaugher said he was feeling exhausted, but enjoyed Seurkamp’s addition, as did the other members of Space Kid. Morgan-Boucher said she’s been enjoying their song “Booze” recently due to Seurkamp’s sound.
“We've been looking to not drift from the garage rockstar, but to combine it with something,” Morgan-Boucher said. “We like to use the word jangly, pavement and things like that, and Evan has been doing really good at adding in that extra layer of guitar.”
Space Kid introduced a couple of new songs they’re ready to release, including “Take A Bite.”
“My favorite was 'Rock All Over You,’ because it's so satisfying to play,” Keron said. “It’s another new one, so it’s not released.”
The trio said they were planning to watch Geese perform, and recalled fondly the time they were driving to record “Stay Gold,” and how Gallaugher introduced them to the band.
“We were driving to the studio, I was like, ‘I saw his band, they're wild,’” Gallaugher said. "We listened to '3D Country,' and anytime I hear that record, I think about that experience.”
Out of all the performances they witnessed Friday, Gallaugher said it was special to see Wednesday perform. The alternative country band is from South Carolina, and performed on the Creekside Stage during the 2023 Nelsonville Music Festival. This year, Wednesday played on Howard’s Stage at 7:30 p.m. Thursday before Geese.
“Nelsonville is very special to me,” Gallaugher said. “And so to get to see (Wednesday) here after I was here when they played a couple years ago, (it’s) just very special to see them on the big stage, and they were killer.”
As for the atmosphere of the Nelsonville Music Festival, Morgan-Boucher noticed how it exudes a sense of community, unlike other festivals she’s experienced.
“It definitely feels like a community because almost everyone’s camping, everyone wakes up in the morning together and goes and sees all the same bands as you together and eats the Island Noodles and all the good food,” Morgan-Boucher said.
Space Kid said they were thankful to Nelsonville Music Festival for letting them play, and they’ll be around creating and recording more music.
