Underground Sounds with Chad Miller: Nelsonville Music Festival Edition 2025
By Chad Miller - Summit FM Music Director
Since way back in 2005, the Nelsonville Music Festival, founded by Stuart's Opera House, has been a recognized leader, albeit on a smaller scale, as one of the country's most successful and musically diverse annual music festivals. Three years ago, over Labor Day weekend, it first appeared in its current home at the Snow Fork Event Center camping site just outside of town, and it was my first year attending as well. I absolutely loved it there, from all the great artists performing over the weekend to the beautiful surroundings of its new location, and really just everything in between. While there that weekend, I kept telling myself that as a music nerd and avid concertgoer, why hadn't I ever been to this before?!?!
This year's Nelsonville Music Festival will return to the Snow Fork Event Center from June 20-22, and I'm so excited to get down there, take it all in, and see as much live music as possible! Below are some of the acts I'm most looking forward to seeing.
Who else is going? If so, who are YOU looking forward to seeing? Check out the full lineup and more details here: nelsonvillefest.org
Like what you hear? Please email me at chad@thesummit.fm and let me know what you think!
Waxahatchee "Mud"
Headlining the Friday, June 20th portion of the festival, Katie Crutchfield and her band Waxahatchee are coming off a terrific year with the release of their album "Tigers Blood" which racked up much critical acclaim on many year-end best-of lists. Several non-album singles followed last fall in addition to this song at the beginning of the year.
Crutchfield's distinct voice, with a hint of southern drawl, carries through this quick yet punchy country-rock song that includes MJ Lenderman on backing vocals. She has such a way with words in her songs; this one is no exception. Even with the drawn-out inflection, for example, in how she says "per-son-a-lee," which I love! Certainly a favorite artist of mine from her beginnings, and as she's evolved her sound, Waxahatchee might be the artist I'm looking forward to seeing the most all weekend.
BALTHVS "Year of the Snake"
Appearing as part of the Friday, June 20th portion of the festival, this fascinating new group BALTHVS out of the South American nation of Colombia will be guaranteed to make a splash. If you're like me and love the psychedelic instrumental groove rock sounds of artists like Khruangbin, as they've inspired a movement of similar artists in that vibe, you can now add BALTHVS to that growing subgenre.
Honestly, when the NMF lineup was announced, I wasn't familiar with the band, but I loved what I heard. They're right up there with other similar groups like Altin Gun, Hermanos Gutierrez, Glass Beams, and La Lom. One of the best things about this music festival is that they always seem to have late-night jam sessions from acts on the side stage after that night's headliner, which quickly turn into full-on dance parties. That late-night timeslot would be perfectly suited for them!
Black Lips "O Katrina"
Appearing as part of the Saturday, June 21st portion of the festival, this classic garage rock band out of Atlanta had some pretty epic moments at their peak in the late 2000s being very much known for their wild and crazy onstage antics during live shows that have to be seen to be believed. No spoilers on that here, but... they get pretty wild!
As for the music, though, this classic song of theirs off their proper debut album, "Good Bad Not Evil" from 2007, captures the perfect blend of raw, grimy, dirty, scuzzy garage rock paired with their youthful energy at the time and is a standard of the late '00s under the radar music scene. A late addition to this year's lineup only a month ago, I'm stoked to finally see these true wild men in a live setting as they get the crowd all riled up and rowdy while doing their thing.
Esther Rose "New Bad"
Appearing as part of the Saturday, June 21st portion of the festival, this outstanding and certainly underappreciated roots rock Americana singer-songwriter comes into this year's festival in support of her new album "Want" available now on New West Records. But her previous album and the accompanying tour took a lot out of her. Two years ago, while out on the road (which included a stop here at The Summit FM for a recorded interview and performance with myself), she had what she described as a "mental health crisis." She almost considered quitting music altogether. In addition to giving up drinking, she's come out of that period with a confident album and a renewed emphasis on what she wants and how it works best for her. Sometimes, getting back to basics is all you can do, and I look forward to hearing about this new era in her songwriting at NMF.
Ocie Elliott "Like a River"
I don't remember how I stumbled across this song several years ago. Maybe at the recommendation of a friend, maybe messing around while finding something else on YouTube? But, oh my… for me, it's become one of the most peaceful songs I can remember discovering in a very long time.
Appearing as part of the Sunday, June 22nd portion of the festival, Jon Middleton and Sierra Lundy, from Victoria, British Columbia, together are the beloved duo that is Ocie Elliott. They join their voices and melodies for some of the sweetest and most tender-sounding music you'll ever hear. This song, released four years ago, is a touching and emotional ballad and something I'll remind myself to put on if I'm ever feeling stressed or anxious. It wraps me up in a peaceful sense of calm. Here's hoping they'll be performing on the Creekside Stage in the secluded backwoods, which would be a perfect spot for the music they create.
Pachyman "SJU"
Appearing as part of the Sunday, June 22nd portion of the festival is an artist who's sure to bring the party. One of the things I've always loved about this music festival is how they always seem to find artists whose sound is straight-up FUN, whose stage presence and live performances effortlessly get a crowd up and dancing even in the middle of a very hot mid-afternoon.
Puerto Rican-born, Los Angeles-based Pachy Garcia, who performs under the name Pachyman, excels in the Caribbean reggae-adjacent "dub" sound. He specializes in manipulating reggae sounds by removing the vocals and emphasizing the rhythm section while dubbing in other beats. Basking in all this layered instrumentation and nostalgic vibes is this absolute JAM from his new album "Another Place," out now on ATO Records.