Nelsonville Music Festival: Guide to Saturday Night

The lineup at Nelsonville Music Festival on Saturday is straight up fire! Here are my “don’t miss” picks for Saturday. I’m pretty sure this is one of the best full day lineups I’ve seen at NMF as a veteran attendee, and I’m here for all of it, very likely holding an iced coffee or a pint of Jackie O’s in the signature reusable NMF pint.

Check out our guide to Thursday night here!

Kevin Morby Kevin Morby has been playing in bands since he was 10 years old, so he is no stranger to being on a stage. Formerly of bands like Woods and The Babies, with Cassie Ramone of the Vivian Girls, Kevin released Harlem River in 2013 as a solo singer-songwriter project after moving to Los Angeles. He is now touring on his 4th solo studio album, City Music, released in 2017. Fans of Kurt Vile and Jim James should absolutely plan to check out Kevin Morby while he’s in the midwest at the Nelsonville Music Festival. Alvvays Did you go to the Homecoming Festival in Cincinnati a few weeks back? Then you probably caught Inhailer Radio faves, Canadian indie pop band, Alvvays, who played Sunday night just before The National took the stage. Alvvays is traveling to Hocking College for the fest in the midst of a huge summer tour and I can’t wait to see them again because they are so good live. I saw them open for Spoon in Columbus this past December, so this will be my third time in months seeing Alvvays and I still can’t wait to see them again, they are that good. Check out “Dreams Tonight”, “Plimsoll Punks” and “In Undertow” from 2017’s Antisocialites on regular rotation on Inhailer Radio on your way up to Nelsonville, and then we can sing along together at the show, cool?

Tank & The Bangas For some reason, every time Tank & The Bangas has played in the Tri-State, I’ve been working or out of town or something, I’m not totally sure, but I always end up missing them. And then my friends go on and on about how good the show was and then I get a real bad FOMO situation, and it’s not good. Not this time. New Orleans natives and NPR Tiny Desk Concert winners in 2017, Tank & The Bangas beautifully blend soul, funk, and hip-hop into fun, upbeat song after song, with spectacular live shows that are full of energy. I will not miss this band this time, I can promise you that, and I hope you won't either.

George Clinton 1994-era Jill got to see Rock and Roll Hall of Famer George Clinton and Parliament Funkadelic at Lollapalooza and I had no idea what I was in for, but I was blown away as soon as the first song started. 2018-era Jill is JAZZED. as. heck. to get to see this legendary singer, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer perform a signature blend of weirdo/psych/sci-fi funk another time. As if seeing this legendary performance wasn’t enough, a brand new 23-track, two-hour album from Parliament entitled Medicaid Fraud Dogg unexpectedly dropped on streaming services just last week, and the internet lost its mind with rejoicing. I am so very, very excited about this one. Lung So, I am going to set aside my personal feels about the good people of Lung (they really are great people), and just kind of geek out on this band for a sec: Lung is a gift to Cincinnati. Dark, smart, haunting while also kind of sexy, Lung is made up of former opera singer and animated electric cellist Kate Wakefield and Daisy Caplan, formerly of Foxy Shazam. They are touring everywhere all summer on their Bottom of the Barrel EP, so go see them defy genres and blow some minds (like yours) at Nelsonville Music Festival early on their tour so you can see them later on the tour somewhere else because you will very likely want to see them again. And again.

Kate Wakefield is also playing a solo performance at 12:45 this same day at the No-Fi Cabin, and trust me when I tell you that you also really don’t want to miss this voice and that cello in that cabin. The Gories Every garage band that you like likes The Gories. Formed in 1986, they put out several LPs and singles, one produced by Alex Chilton, on Sub Pop until 1993, when they disbanded. In 2009, the Gories reunited to play a handful of shows with their former sister band, the Oblivians, who were also re-forming after a lengthy hiatus, bringing the band into a state of semi-activity. In late 2013 a live album entitled The Shaw Tapes surfaced, comprised of gritty audio from a sparsely attended 1988 gig at a rented storefront outside of Detroit. The live album was released on Third Man Records, label of the White Stripes’ Jack White, an outspoken fan of the Gories and someone whose music was deeply influenced by the band. Another can’t miss, clearly.

Bedouine Azniv Korkejian, who makes music under the moniker Bedouine, draws on '60s folk and '70s country on her 2017 self-titled release. Born in Aleppo, Syria, to Armenian parents, Korkejian spent her early childhood in Saudi Arabia before she moved to the U.S. at the age of 10. Her sound is vintage and effortless: like Leonard Cohen meets Joan Shelley with hints of classic lady-country in this gorgeous balance so delicate that it’s somewhat hard to believe this is her first album. Sounds like something not to be missed, for sure, and this 2 PM main stage time slot is one of my absolute favorites. It’s the perfect way to sit in the grass under a tree and really listen to something new and fresh. That wraps up our recommendations for Saturday. Stay tuned for the remaining day of the 2018 Nelsonville Music Festival lineup! Check out more about Nelsonville and the full line up here!

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