I hope you’re sitting down for this shocking (general) admission: I like going to concerts. A lot. It’s second only to pickleball in the list of ways I spend my leisure time.
Last year I made it to 43 concerts. That will probably be my all-time high water mark. But it’s not for a lack of trying. This last stretch of a week-plus has been quite a run.
Last weekend, it was the Nelsonville Music Festival, on a farm near Nelsonville, Ohio. Which is near Athens (Ohio), home of Joe Burrow. It’s about 2.5 hours east of Cincy. Three glorious (albeit extremely hot) days of music on three stages.
The 3-day event Billboard magazine calls “one of the best-kept secrets of the U.S. music festival circuit” offers a diverse lineup of 40+ national, regional, and local acts from a variety of genres in an intimate setting, along with camping, kid’s activities, unique artisan and retail vendors, local food, and more!
NMF is a production of Stuart’s Opera House, a non-profit historic theater and performing arts center in Nelsonville. All proceeds raised at the festival directly support Stuart’s Opera House, including its tuition-free Arts Education programs.
That Friday evening run – MJ Lenderman, The Bug Club, Waxahatchee, and Dehd – was as good as it gets. Waxahatchee’s set was note-perfect, literally and figuratively.
Saturday’s lineup wasn’t as suited to my admittedly-weird musical tastes, but Low Cut Connie always brings the energy, and I also enjoyed the sets from Gardener, Styrofoam Winos, and Being Dead.
Mrs. Dubbatrubba was taking one for the team by joining me that day. (It was our wedding anniversary – she’s a saint!)
You could count on… let’s see… zero… zero fingers… the number of artists she’d ever heard of, much less heard, so we cut out a bit early to grab a dinner at Little Fish Brewing Co. in Athens. (Thanks to the great reco from our friends Matt and Pam, who were at Nelsonville with two of their kids. Food and atmosphere were top-notch!)
On Sunday morning, I managed to sneak in a hike before heading to Nelsonville.
It was heat-advisory hot once again, but one of Nelsonville’s three stages has trees nearby, and another (Creekside) is in the woods, with “hammock zones” even! Very chill.
Garrett T. Capps & NASA Country and Ryan Davis & the Roadhouse Band were the undercard highlights for me. I really wanted to stick around for Taj Mahal’s set, but discretion is the better part of valor. With a 2.5 hour drive ahead of me after a full weekend of music, I headed for home around 5:30.
There’s no rest for the weary: last Tuesday, I saw Devo at an indoor show in downtown Cincinnati. I’d never seen them before, and always wanted to. Their set was exactly what you’d want from those wacky kids from Akron (who are now in their 70s!). I loved every second of it!
On Thursday, it was The Rush Tribute Project at Memorial Hall, a gorgeous Samuel Hannaford & Sons-designed 556-seat music hall built in 1908 and loving restored in 2016.
My buddy Craig and I were pretty much in seats 555 and 556…. the very last row of the balcony. But there truly isn’t a bad seat in the house.
I hadn’t planned to go originally. I’m such a Rush fan that part of me wanted to keep my memories of the countless concerts of theirs that I saw “pure.”
But Craig texted me the day before and I signed on. After all, Neil Peart isn’t coming back, and those songs still mean a lot to me.
Yes, the Rush Tribute Project is a tribute band, but they really nailed the songs, which is no small feat when you’re dealing with Rush’s complex arrangements and time signatures. And they gave fans their money’s worth – 27 songs over two sets.
My tour of tours wrapped up on Saturday, at a barn in Martinsville, Ohio.
The husband and wife who comprise the band Over the Rhine (they got their name from the historic district just north of downtown Cincinnati) bought a farm about an hour northeast of Cincinnati several years ago, and lovingly restored the barn on site to turn it into a really cool performance space.
Mrs. Dubbatrubba, our friend Heather, and I drove up to see Patty Griffin, one of our favorite singer-songwriters.
Over the Rhine did a short opening set too. Such a unique and soul-nourishing experience!
Now, it’s time for a bit of rest from the concert scene.
Although Steve Earle is doing an acoustic tour that’s coming through town on Sunday…
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