Although the 34th Green River Festival that features music and hot air balloons has been postponed until 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, festival organizers have partnered with Northampton, Massachusetts-based radio station 93.9 The River (WRSI.com) to present Green River Festival On The Air, July 10-12, 2020.
Jim Olsen, the festival’s director, expressed gratitude that 84% of fans who purchased tickets for this year’s festival opted to hold onto them for 2021 and forgo refunds. ”We want to show our appreciation and bring together our festival community by offering an incredible weekend of performances,” Olsen said. Noting that streaming live musical performances will be interspersed artist interviews and fan reflections on festivals past on the campus of Greenfield Community College, he added: “We’re envisioning mini-listening parties in backyards and parks and hope to bring the spirit of the festival into homes everywhere.”
Artists slated to perform include the Avett Brothers, Billy Strings, Birds of Chicago, Deer Tick, Dustbowl Revival Samantha Fish,Michael Franti, I’m With Her, Eilen Jewell, Pokey LaFarge, Lake Street Drive, Heather Maloney, Mandolin Orange, The Mavericks, NRBQ, Old Crow Medicine Show, Chuck Prophet, Josh Ritter, Todd Snider, Mavis Staples, The Suitcase Junket, Tedeschi-Trucks Band, Toots & The Maytals, Lucinda Williams, and The Wood Brothers, among others.To view the full lineup and schedule, visit https://greenriverfestival.com/.
Olsen is also the co-founder and president of Signature Sounds, an indie label on whose roster many of the festival’s artists appear. Earlier this year, the label also established The Parlor Room Home Sessions — a live-streaming portal for its artists and others to share their music online at https://signaturesounds.com/homesessions. Next up are Tracy Grammer & Jim Henry on Saturday, July 18 at 9 p.m. EDT.
A video archive of past performances, dating back to late March, may also be found on the website. Included are such artists as Brooke Annibale, AJ Croce, Kris Delmhorst, Mark Erelli, Melissa Ferrick, Mary Gauthier & Jaimee Harris, Rhiannon Giddens, Caroline Herring, Charlie Hunter, Freedy Johnston, Amythyst Kiah, Sonny Landreth, Patty Larkin, Liz Longley, Leyla McCalla, James McMurtry, Miss Tess & Amanda Anne Platt, Bruce Molsky, Ryan Montbleau, Peter Mulvey, Tim O’Brien, Parsonsfield, Amy Rigby, Chris Smither, Anna Tivel, Twisted Pine, and several of the artists who will be part of Green River Festival On The Air.
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