Back Porch Bluegrass Festival slated for AugustDate: 8/3/2021 NORTHAMPTON – Signature Sounds will be hosting its first-ever Back Porch Bluegrass Festival at the Pines Theater in Look Memorial Park.
The festival will start at 12 p.m. and run through 7:30 p.m. on Aug. 15.
Jim Olsen, president and co-founder of Signature Sounds, said after the Back Porch Festival for 2021 was canceled, there was an opportunity with Look Park to host an outdoor festival.
“The Back Porch Festival usually happens in early March; it is an indoor festival and we have always enjoyed that. We missed 2021 and we had an opportunity with the folks at Look Park, so we decided to try it,” he said.
While the outdoor event will be a continuation of the Back Porch Festival’s bluegrass night, Olsen said the bluegrass festival will be their first outdoor event.
“This is the first time we have done an outdoor festival, usually as part of the Back Porch Festival we do a bluegrass night at the Academy of Music, which is one show with several bluegrass acts, so it is a continuation of that tradition,” he said.
The festival will be all about bluegrass music, which is acoustic country music.
“It is all going to be bluegrass and related music. Bluegrass music is acoustic country music, its roots go back further than traditional country music. It is really its own genre,” Olsen said.
Between the venue and the music, including the Grammy-winning Del McCoury Band, Olsen said he is excited for the outdoor event.
“We are excited because the Pines is a great venue for this kind of event. We were able to get the Del McCoury Band, who are generally thought of as the best band in bluegrass, to headline so we are really excited to have them there, they are bluegrass legends,” he said.
In addition to the Del McCoury Band, attendees will be treated to performances from Sierra Hull and Justin Moses, Po’ Ramblin’ Boys, Mamma’s Marmalade and more.
Along with the music, attendees can purchase food, alcohol and ice cream at the park.
“We have a number of food vendors, there will be ice cream and the park will be selling wine and beer. Since it is an all-day event, people will be able to come and go from the theater and enjoy the rest of Look Park, so we feel like that is a big feature,” he said.
While there will be no specific COVID-19 restrictions for the event, Olsen said the festival will draw in about half the normal crowd the Pines usually brings in for events so there will be room to distance.
“We do not expect it to be a jam-packed crowd, it will be closer to half capacity of what the pines usually does for a concert so there will be room for distancing. Masks are optional if people want to wear them, we just want to keep everybody comfortable,” he said.
Anyone interested in attending the festival can purchase tickets online at signaturesoundspresents.com.
Tickets for adults are $59.99 and Olsen said children under 10 can enter the festival for free.
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