Nothing could be further from the truth just an hour and change north of Huntington where the quaint Hocking College and its historic log cabin village Robbins Crossing – becomes the coolest spot in the Buckeye State as the perennial host of one of the region’s best and longest running camp-out multi-day music festivals – The 14th annual Nelsonville Music Festival.

Called “one of the best kept secrets of the U.S. music festival circuit,” by Billboard Magazine, Nelsonville Music Festival, which is presented by the historic year-round music venue, Stuart’s Opera House, rolls some 60 eclectic music acts from Thursday, May 31 through Sunday, June 3 at Robbins Crossing on the campus of Hocking College in Nelsonville, Ohio.

The four days of live music includes such headliners as: George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic (Saturday, June 2), The Decemberists (Friday, June 1), Ani DiFranco (Sunday, June 3), and The Black Angels (Thursday, May 31), tune-yards, Tank and the Bangas, Deer Tick, Alvvays, Kevin Morby, Mission Temple Fireworks Revival featuring Paul Thorn & Blind Boys of Alabama, and over 50 more including such acts as: Nick Waterhouse, The Gories, Middle Kids, Colter Wall, Earthless, Blueprint, Antibalas, Wooden Shjips, Michael Hurley, Ron Gallo, Charlie

Parr, Sunflower Bean, Bedouine, The Weather Station, Mary Lattimore, Michael Nau & The Mighty Thread, Haley Heynderickx, Birds of Chicago, River Whyless, Caroline Rose, A Hawk and A Hacksaw, Twain,

Combo Chimbita, Dead Horses, Shannon Lay, White Mystery, J.D. Hutchison & Realbilly Jive, Lung, The Worn Flints, Counterfeit Madison, EYE, Bill MacKay, Fred Lonberg-Holm, Larry Yes, Adam Remnant, The D-Rays,

DANA, Radattack, Blanket Boys, Kay Carter Project, Justin Gordon, Coal Cave Hollow Boys, Chris Biester, Megan Bee, Smizmar, Rattletrap Stringband, Weedghost, Aaron Michael Butler, Nicholas Littlehouse, DJ

Barticus and DJ Johnny Clift, Boxcar Square Dance, Hongo Gonzo Liquid Light Show, and the Stuart’s Afterschool Bands: Adam Remnant Tribute Band, Annie May, Evan’s Essence, Kitten with a Rail Gun, and Uh?.

Set in the beautiful rolling hills of Southeast Ohio, this intimate festival offers live music from a variety of genres on multiple stages from national, regional, and local acts. Catch live music on multiple stages: NMF features a main stage, a picturesque Porch Stage, the intimate No-Fi Cabin featuring artists performing with no electricity, and the free Boxcar Stage with music performed from an old train car turned into a stage backdrop and mural. In all, the four-day fest features 60 bands on five stages all weekend long with camping, kids activities, artisan vendors, food, a beer garden, skate ramp, and much more.

Weekend passes for all four days are $160 (with no fees), single day tickets for each day are also available. Weekend passes for Nelsonville residents and teens are only $80, and kids 12 and under are free. Camping passes and VIP weekend passes to the festival are also on sale now. Tickets will be going up at the gate once the festival opens, but will still be available. Tickets and more information can be found nelsonvillefest.org or by calling (740) 753-1924.

The Campground opens up at 10 a.m.Thursday, May 31 and festival gates open at 3 p.m. Thursday, and then at 9 a.m. Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

Nelsonville Music Festival also hosts the Boxcar Stage, an entirely FREE area that requires no tickets or wristbands. 19 sets of music from 17 different NMF acts including Michael Hurley, Charlie Parr, Bedouine, Shannon Lay, Bill MacKay, and many more along with retail vendors, food, beer garden, and our new Mini Ramp for skateboarding!

The volunteer-driven and community-based Nelsonville Music Festival strives to have a positive impact on their community and environment and they are a Zero Waste event, diverting more than 92 percent of the waste created at the festival from the landfill in 2017 with recycling and composting.

All kids 12 and under are free and the festival features a huge kids area with activities all weekend. The AV Club and Ohio Magazine have named NMF as the “Best Music Festival in Ohio,” and Time Out Chicago has called it “one of the Midwest’s best festivals.”

Past performers have included Wilco, The Flaming Lips, Willie Nelson, Ween, Loretta Lynn, Gillian Welch, John Prine, The Avett Brothers, They Might Be Giants, Randy Newman, Merle Haggard, Iron & Wine, Yo La Tengo, George Jones, Emmylou Harris, Courtney Barnett, and many more. The Nelsonville Music Festival is a production of Stuart’s Opera House, a historic, non-profit theater located in Nelsonville that features over 75 events a year including live music, theater, films, educational programming and more.

Tickets and information are available at nelsonvillefest.org or by calling (740) 753-1924, tickets will also be available at the festival entrance gate but will be go up in price.

You can also find the Nelsonville Music Festival on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.