COLUMBUS – About 60 musicians and their fans have transformed a quaint 19th Century opera house into a modern-day Woodstock for the weekend.
The Nelsonville Music Festival got underway Thursday and continues until Sunday at the town’s Stuart Opera House and features artists as diverse as Randy Newman, Gillian Welch and Thomas Jefferson Slave Apartments.
The festival’s eclectic lineups are one of the reasons Billboard magazine referred to it as “one of the greatest secrets in the U.S. music festival circuit” and TimeOut ranked it No. 4 on its list of best Midwest summer music festivals.
Past festivals have drawn the likes of Willie Nelson, Yo La Tengo, and the Flaming Lips.
The event raises funds to support the opera house, which is the cornerstone of Nelsonville’s downtown square, and provides free art and music classes and a performance space for students and free concerts.
Locally-based Rocky Boots sponsors a VIP experience, including a bar, food and a VIP-only viewing area.