GREENFIELD — When it comes to enjoying music outdoors, the Green River Festival is tough to beat.

The festival, one of the largest and most anticipated summer events that is now in its 36th year, will take place June 23 through June 25 at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. An annual tradition in Franklin County, the festival will feature more than 30 acts performing roots, Americana, bluegrass, rock, soul, rhythm and blues, and so much more on four stages. In addition, there will be local food, beer and wine, intergenerational crafting, on-site camping and children’s activities.

What began in 1986 as a one-day celebration for the fifth anniversary of radio station WRSI has evolved into one of New England’s leading summer music festivals. Hosted on the lawn of Greenfield Community College (GCC), the Green River Festival started as a combined music and hot air balloon festival. Over time, as world-class acts like Dr. John and Alison Krauss began gracing the stage, the music played a more prominent role.

From the start, Jim Olsen, president of Signature Sounds Recordings of Northampton, was the talent buyer for the event, while the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce was responsible for the overall running of the festival.

That all changed in 2014 when the chamber stepped down, and Signature Sounds assumed the role of sole organizer. In the years to come, the festival became a three-day event, earning rave reviews from publications like Rolling Stone and The New York Times, not only for its stellar music lineups, but also for its family-friendly atmosphere.

In 2020, COVID-19 led to the cancellation of the festival. When it resumed in 2021, its longtime home of GCC was no longer available. Organizers relocated the event to the Franklin County Fairgrounds and discovered the site had more space and better infrastructure for their purposes. The festival has been held at the fairgrounds ever since.

According to Olsen, organizers have settled into the new location and preparation for this year’s festival has gone smoothly. The greatest challenge has been the need for more on-site camping, as passes for both RVs and tents sold out months in advance. This isn’t surprising considering that attendees come from all over the country.

“This year, we have sold more tickets from outside the area than we ever have before,” Olsen said in a recent phone conversation about the demand for more camping. “We are selling from other parts of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York and the Berkshires. It’s really encouraging and speaks to the reputation of the fest.”

Its reputation has been earned, with past performers including Brandi Carlile, Jon Batiste, The Avett Brothers, Emmylou Harris — the list goes on. This year’s lineup, a mix of newcomers, returning favorites and local musicians, will further boost its stature. Music begins Friday at 4 p.m.

“Let’s have a party,” Olsen said about the high-energy quotient in this year’s lineup.

One of the bands the festival director is especially excited to have booked is Thee Sacred Souls, a trio out of San Diego whose career is on the rise. The trio will play the Greenfield Savings Bank Main Stage on Friday night. The band’s music is a blend of 1960s soul with ’70s R&B and manages to sound nostalgic and fresh at the same time.

“I am absolutely obsessed with this band,” Olsen said of Thee Sacred Souls. “They played Fresh Grass last year on Sunday at noon on the main stage, and it was raining a little bit. They had maybe 200 people there. I knew I had to have these guys. I chased them down.”

Following Thee Sacred Souls’ set will be Cory Wong, a guitarist who previously worked with Vulfpeck and now with his band, plays a brand of hard-driving guitar-centric funk. St. Paul and the Broken Bones, an eight-piece soul band from Alabama, will close the night. Friday night will also feature the Americana sounds of Donna the Buffalo and salsa band LPT.

The Green River Festival is about discovering bands, and one act you will want to experience is the high-octane jazz-rock sounds of Sammy Rae & the Friends, who will close the main stage on Saturday night. A relatively new band based in Brooklyn, the group has earned a strong following based on the strength of its live performances.

“They played in 2021 and were the first band on the main stage after we had the little microburst,” Olsen recalled. “In the two years since, things have gone crazy for them in terms of their live shows. They remind me a lot of Lake Street Dive. They have a great female singer, are upbeat and have a retro-pop influence.”

Another new band to check out on Saturday is The Heavy Heavy, which is getting heavy airplay with its retro British pop-rock sound.

One of the most popular bands to ever play the festival is the indie dance-pop band Rubblebucket, which is returning to the Green River Festival for the fourth time and will play the main stage on Saturday. Other returning favorites playing on Saturday are Americana artists The Felice Brothers, Eilen Jewell and The Wood Brothers.

At the end of last year’s festival, organizers sent out a survey to those who attended. One of the questions asked was “Who would they like to see perform at the festival?” The No. 1 response was The Wood Brothers. The roots group, which consists of brothers Chris and Oliver Wood and multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix, was honored to have festival-goers respond so strongly.

“We’re more accustomed to being the underdogs on our very slow rise to the middle,” Chris Wood wrote in a recent email. “It’s an unexpected honor to have people request us like this.”

“We have such fond memories from playing the festival over the years, so it’s a total honor to be invited back by request of the fans,” Oliver Wood added. “We’re especially excited to play songs from our new record, ‘Heart is the Hero,’ for everyone.”

Sunday’s main stage lineup will include roots music from multi-instrumentalist singer-songwriter Sierra Ferrell, and the New Orleans sounds of Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen. The festival will close with Little Feat, which first played in 2002 and has since had some lineup changes, including the addition of guitarist/vocalist Scott Sharrard, who sounds very much like the original singer, the late Lowell George.

And of course, the Green River Festival always offers a selection of local talent.

“We are so fortunate to live in an area with so many great artists,” Olsen said, adding that organizers try to bring in new local artists every year.

Some of those marking their first time playing the festival this year include Sandy Bailey, who just dropped the first single off her upcoming new album “Daughter of Abraham,” country folk rockers King Manzi and folk singer Lisa Bastoni. High Tea, the indie folk-rock duo of Isabella DeHerdt and Isaac Eliot, will make their debut at the festival on Sunday.

“Green River is near and dear to our hearts, both as the major western Mass folk festival and as a gathering of the musical community we’ve come to know and love over the years we’ve lived here,” DeHerdt said of being part of this year’s lineup. “We could not be happier to get the chance to play it. Festivals have always been a goal for High Tea, and we can think of no better place to start.”

Many of the festival’s artists will be playing acoustic pop-up shows at the Green House stage. Concert-goers will be notified via text of these shows that will take place on the tiny stage nestled in a shaded area of the grounds.

The entire festival sold out last year, and low-ticket alerts have been issued for weekend passes and Saturday-only tickets. Parking passes are running low, but shuttles will run from downtown Greenfield.

“No. 36 — I think it’s going to be a great one musically,” Olsen said of the Green River Festival’s 36th rendition. “I’m really pleased that this lineup came together and I think it’s going to be one of our best.”

Single-day tickets, weekend passes, VIP tickets and parking passes are on sale at greenriverfestival.com. Children ages 10 and under are admitted for free.

A free shuttle will run from Court Square in downtown Greenfield beginning at 3 p.m. on Friday and 10 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday. Parking for the weekend will also be free in municipal lots and the Olive Street parking garage starting at 1 p.m. on Friday. Regular parking conditions will be restored on Monday at 8 a.m.

Gates open at 3 p.m. on Friday and 11 a.m on Saturday and Sunday.

Hawks & Reed kick-off show

Even before the Green River Festival rolls out on Friday, the Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center at 289 Main St. will help kick off the big weekend of music with a Thursday performance by the Glen David Andrews Band. A New Orleans native, Andrews fronts his own ensemble that fuses traditions from jazz, gospel, rock, blues and funk.

Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and the music begins at 8. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door, and can be purchased at hawksandreed.com.

Sheryl Hunter is a freelance writer who resides in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national publications. She can be reached at soundslocal@yahoo.com.]]>