I do not typically attend music festivals two years in a row. As a journalist who reviews festivals, I usually choose different ones each season, circling back only every few years to see how promoters have improved things. Yet over the Fourth of July weekend, I found myself once again at Nelson Ledges Quarry Park for the Grassfire Festival—barely a year since my last visit.

Nelson Ledges Quarry Park (NLQP) was an operational rock quarry for nearly 20 years until the late 1950s when mining operations accidentally tapped into an underground freshwater spring. Much like a dinghy with a hole, NLQP quickly filled with water, making it impossible for the miners to continue their work. Operations were shuttered, and local phreaks of all sorts became the only visitors to the 250-acre hidden lake near Garrettsville, Ohio.

Today, the torch-bearing Grateful Dead tribute act Dark Star Orchestra announced the initial lineup for its 11th annual Dark Star Jubilee music festival.

Happening May 24 - 26, 2024 at Legend Valley Concert Venue and Campground in Thornville, Ohio, approximately 30 miles east of Columbus, the Jubilee will host a total of 16 bands anchored by three headlining shows of two sets each of Dark Star Orchestra.
 
The initial lineup for the Dark Star Jubilee 2023 features:

Summer is officially here, and Bill Monroe’s Music Park & Campground is presenting the 2nd annual Hippy Hill Fest happening July 28-30, 2022, in Bean Blossom, Indiana. The music festival features music of the 1960s & 70s, a time where it moved towards an electric, psychedelic version of rock, reflecting the off-beat, psychedelic characteristics of the counterculture itself. Celebrating the music and the 80th birthday of Jerry Garcia, this family-friendly festival is the heart and soul of summer festivals.

Today, the torch-bearing Grateful Dead tribute act Dark Star Orchestra announces the lineup for their ninth annual Dark Star Jubilee music festival. Produced by All Good Presents, the event was created as a band-curated continuation of the ongoing celebration of the music of the Grateful Dead, the Dark Star Jubilee has become a Midwest tradition for kicking off the summer season with three-nights of music, camping and community.

Rumpke Mountain Boys released their newest studio album Know I’m Home, on December 30 in front of their hometown crowd in Cincinnati, OH at Riverfront Live. This is their first studio recording since 2016, which was recorded at the famous Royal Studios in Memphis, TN early last year with the great Lawrence “Boo” Mitchell.

Ben Gourley of the Rumpke Mountain Boys (RMB) released his first solo album Lost in the Shuffle on May 15.  The album was created and recorded  at his home recording space during the quarantine of 2020. The unique feature of this album is Gourley recorded all parts himself, making this album completely his own composition.

The Grammy award-winning Infamous Stringdusters are headlining this year along with The Lil’ Smokies, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades with two sets over the weekend, Rumpke Mountain Boys, Old Salt Union, Fireside Collective, The Sweet Lillies, The Grass is Dead, banjo master Kyle Tuttle as artist at large as well as local favorites Restless Leg String Band and many more.

Cincinnati-based bluegrass band Rumpke Mountain Boys (RMB) begin their fall tour—focusing on regional venues and festivals. This bluegrass, also named “trashgrass” band, starts their journey on October 11 in Bowling Green, KY at the A-Frame with a fan kick-off, two-night run.

Rumpke Mountain Boys take off on a big Summer Tour, kicking things off in Indiana, before heading to the East Coast and then stretch all the way out West to Alaska.

This Summer Tour has stops at some of the premiere Summer festivals such as Smoky Run, Romp, Northwest String Summit and SalmonFest in Alaska. This will be Rumpke’s first time in Alaska, where Summer days stretch into the night, which is perfect for their Trashgrass style, that has them known for picking late into the night.