Nasewaupee….Music Festival?

Little Marsh Overflow at 2009’s Steel Bridge Songfest. LMO is one of the 17 bands playing as part of the Nasewaupee Music Festival on September 11 – 13. Photo by Dan Eggert.

For a community as small as Door County, it’s always a promising sign when there’s a chance to increase the visibility of the live music and nightlife scene on the peninsula. Many bands, venues, and organizations have been enterprising in this endeavor, and the advent of the county’s Steel Bridge Songfest proves that we can rock right along with other communities, even if they are a bit larger than us. So, it isn’t surprising that another Door County music festival would be soon to follow – one that promises three days of live music in the town of Nasewaupee from September 11 – 13.

Like most beginning music festivals, the ides of the Nasewaupee Music Festival was conceived of years ago, with planning for the event officially beginning at this year’s Steel Bridge Songfest. “Our friend John [Cofrin] actually thought of the idea,” said Wade Coisman, who, besides helping to plan the festival, is also the bass player for Little Marsh Overflow (LMO), one of the highlighting bands scheduled to appear over the festival weekend. “I think this is our third summer of scoping out potential venues. When we met Brian [Willis, owner of The Fishing Hole,] it all began to come together.”

The other members of LMO (Mark Weber on guitar, Josh Gregory on keyboards, and drummer Kai Andersen) were on board from the beginning. “It started out with [LMO] playing with a few bands that we knew,” Weber says. “How it got to be 17 bands spanning three days is beyond me, but we’re pretty excited about it.”

The bands included in the festival represent a great cross-section of pop, rock, jam, bluegrass, blues, and Americana. All of the bands participating in Nasewaupee have been handpicked by Pressure Wall Productions, which has expanded from being Weber’s production company to an all-encompassing booking and promotional company for the festival. In an effort to keep things local, all of the bands (with the exception of Chicago-based Todd Carey) are based in Wisconsin.

“We wanted a good mix of bands that locals knew, as well as out-of-town bands that would promote themselves well,” said Gregory, listing county favorites such as Elf Lettuce, pat mAcdonald & melaniejane, and The Nicks alongside of other lesser-known acts such as 4th Street Elevator (a gypsy jazz band from Milwaukee), and Greyleaf (a roots/rock/jam band from the Fox Valley). Also included in the weekend’s festivities are a Sublime tribute band and an Allman Brothers tribute band.

All of the live music will take place at The Fishing Hole, where Willis has built a 90-foot outdoor stage especially for live music efforts. Willis built the stage earlier this summer, and the setting proves to be more than ideal for an outdoor music festival.

The festival is going to great lengths to promote safety, which is why the organizing group is urging people to “party smart and pitch a tent.” Camping is available at Debroux Cottages, just down the road from The Fishing Hole on Sawyer Harbor on County Road M. For anyone who wants to come for the music but doesn’t want to stay for camping, a shuttle pick-up is being offered at Stone Harbor Resort. The shuttle will be running all weekend. Area motels, such as the Holiday Music Motel in Sturgeon Bay, will be running specials for anyone attending the festival.

“We can’t stress the safety factor enough,” says Gregory. “The festival is also for 21+ only.”

The festival organizers hope to make the festival an annual event, and say if the enthusiasm of everyone participating is any indication, they’ll be around for years to come. “From the bands to the volunteers to our sponsors, the excitement has been obvious,” says Coisman. “Everyone is just excited to be a part of it.”

Day music passes for the festival are sold separately for Friday and Saturday at $10 each, Sunday is free. Weekend passes (three days of music as well as two nights of camping) are $35. Tent camping only on a first come, first serve basis. For more information on the Nasewaupee Music Festival, please visit http://www.nasewaupeemusicfestival.com.

Nasewaupee Music Festival Schedule of Acts

Friday, September 11:

• The Bar Tab Band, 6 pm

• Elf Lettuce, 7:15 pm

• pat mAcdonald & melaniejane (aka Purgatory Hill), 8:30 pm

• Jose & Sumlimes (Sublime tribute band), 10 pm

Saturday, September 12:

• Oncken Jazz Expression, 10 am

• 4th Street Elevator, 11 am

• Dead Horse, Noon

• Ryan Thompson & Deep Fried Grass, 1 pm

• Mark Croft w/ violinist Julia McConahey, 2:15 pm

• Greyleaf, 3:30 pm

• Soul Shaker, 4:45 pm

• The Grasshoppers, 6 pm

• Todd Carey w/ members of LMO (Little Marsh Overflow), 7:15 pm

• Little Marsh Overflow, 8:30 pm

• Allman Brothers Live at the Fillmore, featuring Clovis Mann & King Cruiser (Allman Brothers tribute), 10 pm

Sunday, September 13:

• 4th Street Elevator, 10 am

• Oncken Jazz Expression, 11 am

• The Nicks, Noon

• Jeremiah Nelson & the Achilles Heel, 1:15 pm