This weekend’s 37th annual Green River Festival offers nearly nonstop music – beginning on Friday, June 21 – for three days on the Franklin County Fairgrounds, alongside plenty of food for all tastes, a juried craft fair with handmade creations, and lots for the kids to do.
“There is so much excitement for the musical lineup this year that is a strong mix of indie rock, Americana, international stars, funk, reggae, pop and more. It’s going to be a blast,” said John Sanders, festival director and partner at DSP Shows, who purchased the festival last October from Signature Sounds Presents.
“Some of the festival’s biggest headliners ever will close out each day on the Greenfield Savings Bank Main Stage with Cake on Friday, Fleet Foxes on Saturday and Gregory Alan Isakov on Sunday. The feedback we’ve received from our community is they are stoked to see artists of this caliber headlining Green River,” Sanders said.
The Dean’s Beans stage at Green River has always featured a wide variety of international artists and this year is no different with what Sanders described as some “true global superstars who will keep the audience dancing all weekend long,” including Cimafunk from Cuba, Mdou Moctar from Niger, Dakhabrakha from Ukraine, Son Rompe Pera from Mexico, and Dobet Gnahore from the Ivory Coast.
“Green River is well known as one of the premier American Roots music festivals and while each stage at the festival will feature its share of Americana artists, it’s the focus of the Back Porch Stage,” Sanders said.
S.G. Goodman, winner of the Emerging Artist of the Year at the Americana Music Association Awards, will close out the Back Porch stage on Saturday night. Other artists featured on this stage include The Nude Party, Joseph, Tommy Prine, Mon Rovia and many others.
In all, over 40 artists will be performing on four stages both day and night. For more information on the full lineup, visit the festival’s website.
Sanders noted their investment in big headliners this year is driving more people to the festival. Last year about 13,000 people attended the Green River Festival and they are expecting over 15,000 this year.
“We’ve been tracking ticket sales which are way ahead of last year, so we’ve added more food trucks this year to accommodate a larger, hungry crowd,” he said.
Lynn Merlone and Karl Pruter from Rindge, New Hampshire, take a break from the festivities at the 2019 Green River Festival. (Ed Cohen Photo)
A sampling of the many food trucks rolling onto the fairgrounds, who will be offering everything from ethnic specialties to everyday popular treats such as hamburgers, French fries, hot dogs and more, includes Anon’s Thai Cuisine, All Things Maple, Binge BBQ, Bart’s Handcrafted Ice Cream, Broccoli Bar, Cousins Maine Lobster, Crooked Stick Pops, Dean’s Beans Organic Coffee, Everything About Crepes, Fancheezical, The Food Booth, Forestopia, Ginger Love Café, Gonzalez Food Truck, Holyoke Hummus, Hometown Poke, Jamaican Jewelz, Katalyst Kombucha, La Veracruzana, LemoNates, Mach’s Woodfired Pizza, Mycoterra Farm, P’Frogi, Pinky Toe Chai, Riff’s, Roadhouse Grille, Shree’s Kitchen, Ting Ting Dumplings and Wake the Dead Donuts.
For thirsty festivalgoers, beverage stations will be located throughout the festival pouring different beers from New Belgium Brewers and Bell’s Brewery, as well as hard cider from 1911 Original Cider, wine and hard seltzers, and nonalcoholic beers. Sparkling waters from Topo Chico and Culture POP probiotic soda will also be sold.
In-between performances, festivalgoers can visit the Makers Market filled with craft vendors, many of whom are returning from last year alongside 10 new crafters. Shoppers can get in line for their popular flower crowns at Daisy Stone Studio, then peruse through the vendor row for unique gemstone jewelry, authentic Mexican leather goods, hand-printed T-shirts, creative beadwork, handblown glass art, wild tie-dyes, upcycled clothing, handmade pottery, colorful stickers, and much more. There will also be live glass blowing demonstrations all weekend with Juggernaut Glass and you can treat yourself to some festival weekend flair with fancy hair braids, face painting, and henna body art, or sign up for a massage session after dancing all day.
Sanders noted the Green River Festival has always been a family-friendly event with a newly-expanded family entertainment area offering fun for both kids and adults.
The Art Garden’s tent and barn will be filled with free, open-ended activities for festivalgoers to create, explore, play, and make art. Art Garden volunteers have spent weeks preparing repurposed materials for creative reuse, including thousands of cardboard creatures for people to paint and carry in the Green River Parade.
Also, the Round House Stage will feature late morning and early afternoon performances on Saturday and Sunday, including CactusHead Puppets who will present “The Pied Piper of Hamelin.” Other musical performers include Little Roots, Carrie Ferguson and The Grumpytime Club Band and In the Nick of Time.
The Kidway Stage, next to the Art Garden, will showcase the talents of Henry The Juggler and magician Jonas Cain.
Chelsea Schumm, from left, with her daughter Hadley and Julie Carnes with her daughter Mona Fazzari at the 2019 Green River Festival. (Ed Cohen Photo)
A festival tradition, this year’s Green River Festival Parade will be led by Philadelphia’s beloved seven-piece band Snacktime, who blaze a path cut from their soul, funk, punk, jazz, hip-hop, and R&B influences. The parade will also feature puppets from Muzen Theater, who celebrate enlightenment, community and creative activism through large- and small-scale theater events. To join the parade, meet at the Art Garden at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Gates open at 3 p.m. on Friday, with music beginning at 4 p.m.; and open at 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday, with music starting at noon. The music ends at 10:55 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday.
Tickets, available in advance from TIXR or through a link on the Green River website, are $79.99 for Friday and Sunday and $89.99 on Saturday. Two-day passes are available at $145 and a three-day pass is $199. Kids 12 and under are free, with two children allowed per paid adult admission. Advance tickets can only be ordered until 11:59 p.m. on Thursday night, June 20. After that, tickets will only be available at the door at $85 for Friday and Sunday, $95 on Sunday, $155 for two-days passes and $225 for three-day passes. VIP upgrades are also available. Three-day teen passes with proof of age required upon entry – photocopy of a birth certificate, passport or other form of age identification – are available for $99.99. On-site parking tickets are nearly sold out; however, the Town of Greenfield is waving all parking fees on-street and in municipal lots.
Free shuttle buses are available from Hawks & Reed Performing Arts Center on 289 Main St. in the center of Greenfield. Shuttles will begin running one hour before gates open each day an continue to operate for one hour after the festival ends on Friday and Saturday, and only half an hour afterwards on Sunday.
The Franklin County Fairgrounds is located at 89 Wisdom Way in Greenfield.
For more information, visit greenriverfestival.com.
