Fort Mitchell's Cripple Creek Music Festival released the lineup for year 2 on October 5, headlined by Melvin Seals & JGB w/ John Kadlecik, Revel in Dimes, and local folk artist Casey Campbell (Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle) and his band. Once again, the festival will take place on the DCCH Fairgrounds and feature music on 3 stages to be enjoyed alongside a full-service bourbon bar, local craft beer, and other activities. If you didn't get the chance to make last year's event, the fairgrounds make for a perfect festival setting with plenty of room to wander between stages, have a conversation away from the music, and let the kids run free and play. The festival is hosted by Winning With ALS, a nonprofit started by local music-lover and ALS diagnosee Tom Miller. Corporate sponsorships and ticket sales will go toward the group's $60,000 fundraising goal, which will fund grants for school aged children who have a parent diagnosed with the disease.
But the centerpiece of the day will be the music. Melvin Seals spent 15 years as Jerry Garcia's right-hand man on organ/keys in Jerry's solo act the Jerry Garcia Band. Melvin has carried the torch of the Jerry Garcia Band's music since Jerry's death in 1995, keeping the sans-Jerry band together under the simple moniker of JGB. John Kadlecik certainly won't feel like a stranger standing in for Jerry in the group, as he has toured with Seals in the past and most notably played Jerry Garcia's role in one of the most beloved post-Jerry Grateful Dead continuations, Furthur, the last band to feature all four living members of the Dead. Before the night dips into the psychedelic wanderings of JGB, Revel in Dimes will bring their hard-hitting hill country blues infused rock and roll show to the main stage of the festival. Soaked in slide guitar and powerful vocals from front-lady Kia Warren, Revel in Dimes will have everyone dancing as the sun sets. Earlier music focuses on acoustic acts such as the Casey Campbell Band and the impressive 'newgrass' quartet from Yellow Springs, Blue Moon Soup.
Last year's festival was the perfect cap to outdoor festival/Oktoberfest season in the Cincinnati area. You simply won't find a better collection of food, drink, music, and people hosted on a beautiful piece of land anywhere else in the city, and that thought already has me looking forward to swapping swim trunks for flannel and bourbon this October.
Tickets are available at this link, and kids 12 and under are free.
