Blue Ox Reveals Initial Lineup & Details for 2022 Festival
Find out who’s playing and what’s new at this annual Wisconsin gem.
In August of last year, I embarked on a new-to-me adventure: “glamping” in the woods outside Eau Claire, Wisconsin, for an immersive music and community experience known as the Blue Ox Music Festival. Despite my nervousness about camping, I was drawn by several national acts I’d been wanting to see, plus some regional favorites I can never get enough of.
Over the course of the weekend I also discovered several new favorites, learned how to navigate the huge campgrounds, attended banjo and guitar workshops, and cemented friendships. Even when I wasn’t watching a performance on one of the three stages, I was almost always within earshot of a jam circle or lone guitarist sitting outside their tent playing for whoever happened to come along. (You can read all about my adventures here.)
It was unrelentingly hot, pretty crowded, and utterly magical. I remember one moment just standing in the middle of a field at night, head buzzing from whiskey, sweat finally drying from my skin, the air filled with high-energy bluegrass from the main stage and the roar of the crowd, watching colorful electric light installations dance and flicker over a pond. It felt unreal in the best way.
Blue Ox Festival Main Stage, 2021. Photo credit: Ty Helbach.
This year’s Blue Ox promises to be a bit less crowded, much less hot and just as magical. On Wednesday, Jan. 19, festival organizers announced initial details and a preliminary lineup once again packed with legendary national artists, Midwest mainstays, and loads of indie and emerging acts from all over. The festival will revert to its typical June timing—last year’s August date was a pandemic-driven change—and take place June 23–25, when temperatures tend to be in the 70s in Wisconsin (although it’s the Midwest, so anything can happen!).
The heavy hitters this year are Béla Fleck—supporting his album My Bluegrass Heart with guest stars Michael Cleveland, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Mark Schatz and Bryan Sutton—Old Crow Medicine Show, Sam Bush Band, Punch Brothers and the Del McCoury Band.
Béla Fleck with My Bluegrass Heart collaborators. Photo credit: Alan Messer.
The lineup also includes Railroad Earth, Joseph, Paul Cauthen, Fruition, Samantha Fish, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Cedric Burnside, Daniel Donato, Tejon Street Corner Thieves, Them Coulee Boys, Riddy Arman, Rumpke Mountain Boys, The Okee Dokee Brothers, Armchair Boogie, Fireside Collective, Chicken Wire Empire, Mae Simpson, Good Morning Bedlam, Ryan Necci and The Buffalo Gospel, Humbird, Erik Koskinen, The Pistol Whippin’ Party Penguins, Dig Deep, and Laney Lou and the Bird Dogs.
Of course Pert Near Sandstone, as hosts and ambassadors for the festival, will perform two of the nights as well. And that’s not all—more artists will be announced in the coming weeks!
Old Crow Medicine Show. Photo credit: Kit Wood.
Blue Ox once again promises to be an all-ages, family-friendly multimedia cultural experience, with music workshops, morning yoga and meditation, eclectic arts and craft vendors, kids activity stages, a disc golf course, and a variety of food and drink vendors. And this year, attendance is limited to 5,000 to hold onto the magic of this unique festival.
There are a range of ticket and camping options, from general admission with unreserved camping to a pre-set “glamping” tent with electrical hookup and air conditioning. Children 13 and under are free with a paid adult. More details will roll out as the festival approaches, so sign up for email updates on the Blue Ox website.
We hope to see you there!
Blue Ox Festival, 2021. Photo credit: Scotify.
Carol Roth. Photo credit: Dan Lee.
Carol Roth is a full-time marketing copywriter and the main music journalist and social media publicist for Adventures in Americana. In addition to studying the guitar and songwriting, Carol’s additional creative side hustle is writing self-proclaimed “trashy” novels under the pseudonym @taberkeley!
