In January we found out that the beloved Americana festival Whispering Beard was moving from the small town of Friendship, Indiana to Smale Riverfront Park along the Ohio River. Yesterday the initial lineup for the music fest’s riverfront debut Aug. 22-24 was announced.
National acts performing at the 2019 Whispering Beard Folk Festival include M. Ward, Ryan Bingham, The Felice Brothers, Peter Rowan, Lost Dog Street Band, Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band, Charlie Parr, Chicago Farmer, Possessed by Paul James and The Wild Reeds.
As always, there are also several Greater Cincinnati acts on the bill, including The Tillers, Frontier Folk Nebraska, Maria Carrelli, Slippery Creek, Krystal Peterson and Chalk Eye.
Taking advantage of the new locale, area artists like Whiskey Bent Valley Boys, Buffalo Wabs and the Price Hill Hustle, Joe’s Truck Shop, Whiskey Bent Valley Boys and the Comet Bluegrass Allstars will play “exclusive riverboat shows,” according to the event poster.
See the full lineup (so far; more acts will be announced) below.
Weekend, daily and “VIB” (Very Important Beardo) tickets for 2019’s Whispering Beard Folk Festival are on sale now. Visit whisperingbeard.com for more info.
A free new music series at Pendleton’s Lucius Q in the lead up to Whispering Beard has also been announced. The Beardo Brunch events will feature brunchtime performances from WBFF artists. The first one is this Sunday, April 28, with Maria Carrelli and Ray Vietti playing beginning at 11 a.m.
This article appears in Apr 24 – May 1, 2019.