At a time when music festivals all feel like generic clones of each other, the 39th Green River Festival stood out as one of the best “small” festivals in the USA. The festival took place from June 20th to June 22nd in a beautiful, green space in the Pioneer Valley at the Franklin County Fairgrounds in Greenfield, MA. Green River only has four stages (two of which feature music most of the time) and runs for only two and a half days. Still, the festival seems to uncover an impressive number of young, talented musicians on their way up, in a way other festivals don’t. The music focuses on Americana, but strays into rock, soul, and world genres. This year featured several Cumbia bands. The festival has a strong camping contingent, which adds to its laid-back atmosphere. Still, the core of the festival vibe comes from the numerous volunteers who ensure everything runs smoothly, including the “Green Team,” whose composting and recycling efforts make this festival one of the greenest in the country.
Another component that makes this festival so enjoyable is its accessibility for families with young children. It is a very contained festival, so kids can run free here. You see kids of all ages finding each other on bikes, roller skates, and skateboards; playing frisbee, soccer, and catch; making lanyards, animal placards, and paintings; and joyously running through sprinklers. At one point on Saturday, the entire festival comes to a halt, and the kids are led in a New Orleans-style second line, proudly showing off the art they have made, while all audience members give them a standing ovation as they pass by.
Of the 50 bands that played over the three days, these were the sets that impressed the most..
Friday, June 20th
Mt. Joy – They lit up the warm summer night with an inspiring 90-minute, 23-song closing set that showcased their folk-inspired indie rock. They opened with two slower songs (“Sheep” and “Orange Blood”) and spent the middle part of their set playing five songs from their new album, Hope We Have Fun. They did a nice job of featuring each member of the band, especially Jackie Miclau (keyboards & vocals). By the time they got to “Silver Lining” (3rd to last song) and “Astrovan” (closing song) they had the whole crowd rocking out and singing along proudly.
Ali McGuirk – Although her band was tasked with playing at the same time as Mt. Joy, McGuirk, who has been showered with local accolades, delivered on the promise of her rising career. The four-piece band sounded great, but the ingredient that kept the audience’s attention riveted to the stage was McGuirk’s rich and powerful voice. Some of her songs feel like stripped-down jazz numbers, while others have a more folk-rock feel. She featured some songs from her new album, Watertop, which will be released on September 12th, and they sounded great, including a smoldering closer, “Where Does All The $ Come From”. She will likely tour in the fall to support the new release, and I expect her accolades will take on a more national nature.
Dogpark –This young band from the University of Richmond played two sets (one in the mid-afternoon and another 90-minute “party set” just for the campers. Singer Eamon Moore fronts the band, and they were all having a great time on stage. Their youthful enthusiasm was refreshing and drew the crowd into the indie rock party that was unfolding on stage. The real standout here was Moore, who has a rock and roll voice that could range from sounding like the Strokes to Sting. He bounced around the imaginary rectangle created by his bandmates like a Roomba haphazardly cleaning a small living room. Their late-night set contained several covers ranging from The Rolling Stones to The Strokes to The Police to Stevie Wonder, and Moore’s voice handled them all effectively.
AJ Lee & Blue Summit – They are a solid bluegrass band that feels ideally suited for murder ballads, as evidenced by the dust-covered “When You Change Your Mind” and “Tear My Stillhouse Down”. AJ (lead vocals and Mandolin) did a nice job of sharing the stage with her band members, letting each one lead and sing a song. It was notable that everyone in the band had outstanding singing voices.
The Gaslight Tinkers – A fun, danceable band with a fun mischievous quality in their eyes. They sound like a blend of world music and a traditional Celtic band. Their heavy, danceable three-piece rhythm section fronted by I-Shea, lays down a steady groove which is pierced by the spritely Celtic fiddle playing of Clara Constance Stickney. Even though they played the first set of the festival, they had assembled a decent crowd by the time they were halfway through their 45-minute set.
Saturday, June 21st
Courtney Barnett – Everyone who sees Barnett and her band live for the first time is pleasantly surprised by how hard they rock. This trio filled up the sound board and kept the audience rocking by stretching 18 songs into a 90-minute closing set with full-on, hair-swinging, guitar-rock solos sandwiched in between Barnett’s signature quirky verses. They played songs from all of their albums, including three new songs (“Stay In Your Lane”, “Over My Head” & Mantis”) which fit nicely into the rock vibe of the set. The crowd ate it up and was sorely disappointed when 10:30 rolled around, but they left with a happy rock buzz, a new appreciation for live music and the hopes of a new album sometime soon.
Jeremie Albino– This Canadian export is in the afterglow of his November 2024 release, Our Time In The Sun, and played his heart out for the entire 60-minute set. His country-twinged songs came across as earnest and meaningful; from the easygoing anthem “Rolling Down The 405”, to the more wistful “Amelia”. With his strong vocals and professional band, it is no wonder that he is starting to get plenty of US airplay.
Kathleen Edwards – A true professional, Edwards had a great band with her and although she is known as a folk singer-songwriter, her rocking party side shone through in her set. She was eloquent and strident in her praise for the Green River Festival, noting that it is one of the few festivals that has no qualms about booking female-fronted acts as headliners. The songs that stood out to this reviewer were the revenge-seeking “When The Truth Comes Out” and “Say Goodbye, Tell No One”. She played a few songs from her upcoming album Billionaire which will be released on August 22nd.
Olive Klug – It is a minor miracle that Klug got to the gig at all given the story they told regarding all the transportation calamities they experienced on their not-so-direct travels from Colorado. Klug was joined by a keyboard player and a musician who played fiddle and percussion with tap shoes on a dance-platform. Klug’s voice and songwriting were the stars of the show, including their rendition of the bouncy “What To Make Of Me” and the thoughtful “Cold War”. Klug wears their heart on their sleeve and their newest album Lost Dog seems to be a diary-full of introspection and thoughts of moving forward. Those who made it to that early set were rewarded with one of the most honest performances of the weekend and surely left smiling.
Stephen Kellogg – He is a seasoned, mostly autobiographical singer-songwriter who produced one of the most sentimental moments of the festival when he performed the song “How To Say Goodbye”, written about his oldest daughter, Sophia, leaving home, with his daughter Sophia. Kellogg is a singer-songwriter through and through, and does a great job of laying the groundwork for each song with a personal anecdote that describes what the song is about. At one point, he introduced the song “I Could Forgive” by telling a story about running into an old schoolmate who bullied him, whose car and possibly life were broken down. He decided to forgive him right there and felt a great weight lift off his shoulders. He finished the anecdote by saying, “I forgave him, but didn’t give him a jump start – I’m not Jesus.”\
Leyla McCalla – A great singer and multi-instrumentalist (cello, banjo, guitar) who has an easy way about her music. She lives in New Orleans and has just returned from a gig with Our Native Daughters, a Smithsonian project she worked on with Allison Russell, Rhiannon Giddens, and Amythyst Kiah. She spoke passionately about her Haitian roots – her parents emigrated to the US during the Haitian revolution – and that passion came through in her comments about the current US government and in her songs “Take Me Away” and “Sun Without The Heat”.
Danielle Ponder – There is no denying the greatness of Ponder’s voice and story (she started her music career after 10 years working for a legal firm in Rochester, NY. Unfortunately, her performance suffered because she was playing with a local band that she had picked up for this gig. The musicians were good, her voice sounded great, but they seemed a bit out of sync.
Sunday, June 22nd
Balthvs – Every year there is one band at Green River that turns the mostly-white New England audience into a sweaty dancing mass with little regard for anything but shaking their collective ass in a way that seems antithetical to their beings. This year’s band was a Colombian psychedelic cumbia funk trio called Balthvs. They eased into their set with a few slower numbers, but by the fourth song, the whole crowd was gyrating through the grass in the 90-degree heat. They played mostly originals, but midway through the set, they demonstrated they knew who their crowd was and launched into the funkiest version of “Shakedown Street” this reviewer has ever heard. Their recorded music seems much tamer (a bit like Khruangbin), but this live 75-minute set hit all the right dance pressure points.
Truman Sinclair– This 19-year-old songwriter prodigy turned to folk music about five years ago and seems to be able to write solid songs effortlessly. He had the audience waiting on every lyric and guitar chord as he played some songs from his 2025 release American Recordings. His convincing guitar work and emotive vocals made it easy to picture and feel what he was singing about. At one point in the set he threw the audience into hysterics when he outro-ed the song he had just played as a song he wrote a long time ago which he later clarified as “nine months ago”. He followed that with a new song he wrote “last week”. There is no doubt you will be hearing more from Mr. Sinclair soon, who is an eerily polished folk singer-songwriter at such a young age..
Waxahatchee – As 7 pm rolled up, a tired, but still enthusiastic crowd gathered for the final 90-minute set of the weekend and Waxahatchee didn’t disappoint. Kathryn Crutchfield’s clear vocals and Americana sensibilities captured the heart of the Green River Festival. She started by playing the first three songs from her 2024 release Tigers Blood. By the end of her 24-song set, she had played 11 of the 13 songs on that album. Crutchfield gave plenty of praise to her band and brought MJ Lenderman up to the stage for three songs. She also paid homage to Kathleen Edwards by covering her song, “Six O’Clock News”. Her music falls right into Green River’s strong suit – thoughtful folk rock with a country tinge.
MJ Lenderman & The Wind – Lenderman has a calm, laid-back stage presence. He never seems uncomfortable or nervous on stage, which makes him seem like a veteran entertainer and makes it easy to forget that he has only been doing this for a few years. Sometimes he looks so at ease that the audience takes his guitar playing and vocals for granted. He focused almost entirely on his 2024 release, Manning Fireworks, and performed the entire album live. He has worked on Waxahatchee’s last album and, much to the delight of the crowd, brought their lead singer, Kathryn Crutchfield, to the stage to help him sing “She’s Leaving You”.
Chicha Libre – They are a solid six-piece chicha band from Brooklyn and Peru with a diverse set of songs. Their psychedelic cumbia flavor relies on a strong three-person percussion section, enhanced by the surf guitar stylings of Vincent Douglas and the front-and-center accordion and keytar playing of Joshua Camp. The audience was highly engaged, swaying to songs that had a light tropical feel and dancing more energetically to the band’s more upbeat numbers. They garnered additional applause following the anti-ICE comments the band made.
Chaparelle – They are a hard-working Texas country outfit that plays on the vocal counterpoints of Zella Day’s higher-pitched warbling with Jesse Woods’ smooth crooner sound. At times, Day’s vocals had a hint of a Patsy Cline sound, as seen in “All Things Considered”, while at others, she belts them out, as in “Baby Jesus”. They produce a kind of country music that is more accessible to a Northeastern audience, as their songs focus more on people than pickup trucks and six-packs. Day projects a sultry demeanor while singing, making it clear that Woods is the object of that affection.
Orchestre Tout Puissant Marcel Duchamp – This experimental band from Switzerland featured 12 members, including two vibraphones. Some of their songs tilted toward free-form jazz, while others had a more Afrobeat quality to them. The band feels like a true artist collective and had moments of musical greatness mixed with moments of ok-ness.
Given the current political climate, many artists made direct or indirect statements about the current US administration. Many focused on the erosion of LGBTQ+ rights and safety, others on immigration or the environment, but all encouraged us to take care of each other. The crowd responded to each statement with audible and enthusiastic support.
Every year, this festival reminds one of the pleasure of simple joy and the joy of simple pleasure. It is impossible not to marvel at how much community can be built and how much pleasure can be derived from a random group of 2 to 60-year-olds sharing a sprinkler on a hot, sunny day.
Photos by Nancy Lasher
