This month has been a bit quiet. I haven't played a whole lot of music in May. I had hoped to go to a couple jams, but my plans fell through. However, the weather is finally starting to turn summerlike, and that means music festivals are on the way.
I know lots of folks travel far and wide to places like Mount Airy, Clifftop, and Galax to get their banjo and fiddle groove on, and there are several smaller, regional events like the Indiana Fiddlers' Gathering, Rockbridge, Brandywine and more. Here in Northeast Ohio, we have a small slate of banjo-friendly music festivals that I try to attend every year.
Coming up next month, in fact just nine days from now, is Banjos and Bigfoot 3 at Salt Fork State Park in Cambridge, Ohio. I wrote about this festival a couple years ago, and I just love the concept. It definitely seems to lean more toward bluegrass, but I'm hoping there'll be some old-time picking represented. I'm not sure if there is any jamming involved, or whether it's just bands and vendors, but how can you not love the combo of sasquatch and five-strings?
In July is the the 51st annual Music in the Valley festival at Hale Farm & Village in Bath, Ohio. Organized in cooperation with FolkNet, this event has ebbed and flowed over the years, mostly because of the turnover at Hale Farm, where some years there have been excellent music workshops held during the event, but no matter what there are always different groups (old-time, bluegrass, Irish, etc.) playing in different areas on the property.
The Raccoon County Music Festival at Century Village Museum in Burton, Ohio, used to be my favorite local festival until they cut ties with the event's longtime organizer a couple years ago. I haven't been back since, but I know some of my people still attend, so I might try to go again this year to check the vibes. Slated for Aug. 1, this is another event that used to have some great workshops, but the new organizers seem more interested in focusing on the bands performing on the main stage.
Later in August is a festival a little closer to home, like literally in my neighborhood. The annual Porch Rokr festival on Aug. 15 brings a diverse lineup of bands throughout the day, scattered around Akron's Highland Square neighborhood. There's usually some folk-ish band playing somewhere. One year there was an honest-to-goodness old-time group playing, in the form of the Blue Eagle String Band, which once counted Christian Wig as a member. I might just sit on my own porch with my banjo and scare the riffraff away.
Finally, in September, there's the Music on the Porches festival in Peninsula, Ohio. This year's date has yet to be confirmed, but last year it was on the 20th, which makes Sept. 19 a good possible date for 2026. Again, this event caters to all brands of music, but more than once Doug Unger has given a presentation on his gorgeous banjos, and one year Erynn Marshall and Mark Olitsky were part of the program.
So, if you find yourself in Northeast Ohio in the next couple months and you're in need of some musical revelry, check out these local festivals. What festivals are on your hitlist? Let me know in the comments!
Ohio festival guide:
- June 6 - Banjos and Bigfoot 3 - 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Salt Fork State Park
- July 11-12 - Music in the Valley - 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Hale Farm & Village
- Aug. 1 - Raccoon County Music Festival - 12 to 5 p.m. - Burton, Ohio
- Aug. 15 - Porch Rokr - 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. - Akron, Ohio
- Sept. 19* - Music on the Porches - 12 to 7 p.m. - Peninsula, Ohio
*Date not confirmed.
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