This past weekend I took my wife and two kids out to the Nelsonville Music Festival for our first visit. Not only was it our first time at the festival it was our first time in the Hocking Hills area of Ohio, but for sure it will not be the last time. The area is full of wooded, rolling terrain, along with plenty of little towns along the way. Nelsonville is one of those towns, which is home to the Hocking College, site for the music festival.

Frank Turner

Jason Isbell

The four-day festival kicked off at 6 PM Thursday. After making the less than three-hour drive from Cincinnati, and then settling into the cabin that would server as our home for the next three nights, we made our way to the festival for a couple of hours to enjoy the sounds of Frank Turner and Jason Isbell. I was already a fan of Frank Turner, but had never heard much of Jason Isbell, other than knowing that he used to be in the Drive By Truckers. I left the festival a big fan of his and will be downloading his catalog soon.

Shakey Graves

The Men Porch Sitting

Friday we made our way to the festival site in the mid afternoon. The first act we caught was Shakey Graves, and he made a huge impression on me. I immediately thought his solo performance sounded a lot like Xavier Rudd, who I really enjoy. He had a couple of friends join him for some of his performance, but I actually liked his solo work better. We also caught performances by Grupo Fantasma, The Men, and a local group by the name of Total Blam Blams before retiring back to the cabin to rest up for a big Saturday.

Festival Babies

We’re no strangers to taking children to music festivals, and from what I’ve seen this has to be one of the most family friendly music festivals out there. There is a really interesting children’s zone with various activities throughout the day. Plus the Robbins Crossing Historic Village offers a handful of cabins and trees to escape the heat and explore. There were a ton of kids in attendance and many brought along great toys to share with everyone.

Pokey LaFarge Cabin Performance

No-Fi Cabin

Kid’s Zone

We originally intended to arrive in the middle of the afternoon again on Saturday. But after realizing that The Avett Brothers set wouldn’t end until at least 11:30 or likely later, we decided to hang at the cabin until the temperatures dropped a little bit. We were still able to catch the No BS! Brass Band, Pokey LaFarge, and personal favorite The Head & The Heart before enjoying the entire Avett Brothers set. Our plan worked our really well.

Hula

The Avett Brothers

Group Shot

I was really impressed by our first visit to the Nelsonville Music Festival, and I know everyone else in our group was too. We had six kids between the four couples and everyone one of us has already said that we should make this a yearly trip. The only thing I wish I could change would be the headliners set times, as I wish they were a bit earlier so the kids could try to enjoy them as well.