Boogie on the Bricks on Court Street in Uptown Athens, Ohio. [Photograph by Joel Prince]

Sounds of June

June is an especially vibrant month in Athens County. The big feature is the Nelsonville Music Festival, June 18-20, a three-day extravaganza featuring more than 40 acts across every genre imaginable. I have multiple friends who make it an annual pilgrimage, traveling down to Athens and camping out the whole weekend to catch as much music as they can. The Nelsonville Music Festival is really a great place to catch up-and-coming acts. Musicians like Tyler Childers and Brandi Carlisle have cut their teeth at the fest before making it big. Even Loretta Lynn once played here.

This year I’m especially excited for headliners like Gillian Welch and David Rawlins, the incomparable Mavis Staples and Columbus’ own Saintseneca. I’m also excited for Mon Rovia, who I saw years ago as an opening act (he played the Grand Ole Opry last year) and for Space Kid – I’ve known one of the band members, who is also an Ohio University student, since he was 10 years old!

Festival Central

That’s not the only festival game in town! From June 4-6 the fourth annual Starbrick Music Festival returns to Hocking College with a full roster of classic rock from the 70s, 80s and 90s. (Wait, are the 90s considered classic rock already?) This year they’re welcoming acts like the AC/DC tribute band Thunderstruck, the classic rock cover band Circa ’79 and the Renée Stewart Band with their mix of blues, Americana and grunge. 

On June 13, Boogie on the Bricks closes down a block of Court Street in Athens for a full day of live music, local artwork, food trucks and family activities. I foresee a Bahama Mama from the Schmidt’s Sausage truck paired with a set from Nick Tolford & Company in my future.

Casa Nueva Restaurant is a worker-owned co-op In Athens, Ohio with a menu featuring Mexican-inspired dishes. Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Any Excuse to Hang Out in Athens

And even beyond the summer months, Athens is hotspot for live music all year-long. I’ll make any excuse to detour there for huevos rancheros at Casa Nueva, the Mata Hari hot dog at O’Betty’s Red Hot or a plate of the good stuff at Miller’s Chicken. And if we get to hang out to catch a local band or two, maybe stop by Jackie O’s Brewery for pint – even better! Casa Nueva regularly hosts live music like bluegrass bands, open mics and even kid-friendly gigs. No visit to Athens is complete without a stop at Donkey Coffee. Its small front room hides the fact that they have multiple floors of study rooms and hangout space, including the back room where they host small concerts, poetry readings and other community events.

Of course, one of the biggest and most storied venues in Athens is The Union. It’s weathered so much over the years; I remember we had visited town a week before it was damaged by a fire in 2014. They host everything from acoustic to rock to bluegrass every week. And just like the Nelsonville Music Festival, it’s a place to see bands before they become famous. One of my favorite “recent” examples is indie-folk band Caamp, which played The Union regularly when lead singer Taylor Meier attended OU.

Athens really is an inspiring town. Meier and Caamp aren’t the only acts to come out of the area. I’m not the biggest metal-head, but I have friends who line up for every rock festival, and they’ve surely seen Skeletonwitch, which formed in Athens when Scott Hedrick and Nate Garnette were at OU. And who doesn’t love Red Wanting Blue? Their shows are always so high-energy. And did you know? Their frontman Scott Terry went to OU.

Speaking of big acts like Caamp, plenty of them have played the bigger venues in Athens County, like Templeton-Blackburn Memorial Auditorium on OU’s campus and Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville. The Memorial Auditorium is nearing 100 years old, and this year alone hosted the Indigo Girls, Aly & AJ and LUCIUS. In the summer months they feature the Under the Elms concert series with an orchestra performing outside the west portico of the building.

Stuart’s Opera House is another grand old theater that’s played host to decades of performances since the late 1870s. It’s really hard to beat the experience in such an historic venue, especially knowing how many famous acts have performed there over the years. I also love how, in addition to big touring shows, they host film screenings, open mic nights and free outdoor concerts in the summer.

Music really is alive in Athens! If you need any more excuses to hang around town, maybe it’s the opportunity to spot some famous faces who live in the area, like Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen or bluegrass guitarist Clay Hess of the Clay Hess Band.

Author: Nicholas Dekker

Nicholas Dekker is a food and travel writer based in Columbus. In addition to writing about Ohio for his blog Breakfast With Nick for the past 19 years, he serves as a marketing and communications manager for the Greater Columbus Arts Council.