10 Highlights From Blue Ox Music Festival’s 10th Anniversary
JamBase’s Andy Kahn recaps another music-filled weekend in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
By Andy Kahn Jul 2, 2024 • 11:23 am PDT
The 2024 Blue Ox Music Festival was held last weekend at The Pines Music Park in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The independent festival marked a milestone in 2024, celebrating the 10th anniversary of the three-day fest that for a decade has brought top-tier bluegrass, Americana and similarly aligned musicians to the rural Midwest each summer for music, camaraderie and community.
Set in the scenic confines of The Pines, Blue Ox 2024 was my second time attending the festival after my first experience in 2023. Just like before, I left this year’s Blue Ox filled with joy and anticipation. The joy stemmed from the pleasurable and comfortable time I had with my family at this year’s Blue Ox, coupled with the outstanding music that was presented across its three easily accessible stages. The anticipation stemmed from what is hopefully another +10 years of success for this thriving indie fest in Eau Claire.
In honor of the 10 anniversary of Blue Ox Music Festival, I compiled 10 highlights from this past weekend. Scroll on to see what were this year’s standout moments, both on and off stage.
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Musical Friends & Family
When Del McCoury exited the main stage after the Del McCoury Band’s set on Saturday, Sam Bush was waiting at the bottom of the stairs with arms spread awaiting a hug. Del was still holding his guitar but managed to embrace his old friend. Soon, Del’s sons/bandmates Ronnie McCoury and Rob McCoury and their mother, Del’s wife Jean McCoury (who sat onstage during the band’s set) were all catching up with Bush, taking turns snapping pictures together. The friendship between the bluegrass titans was apparent to anyone witnessing the special moment. The sweet exchange was a perfect example of the essence of community fostered each year at The Pines Music Park shared among festival attendees and musicians alike.
1st Timers
The 10th anniversary of Blue Ox was mentioned often on the stage this weekend, and rightly so given the impressive milestone for the sold-out independent festival. Justin Bruhn of Pert Near Sandstone was busy all weekend long, pulling double duty performing with the band and doing an excellent job serving as one of the co-emcees. At one point, Bruhn was talking up Blue Ox’s 10th anniversary and asked how many in the crowd were attending for the 10th time, drawing a noticeable smattering of responses from across the field. Perhaps more impressively for Blue Ox’s 10th anniversary was the larger reaction from those in the crowd when Bruhn asked how many were attending the fest for the first time. While not a musical performance, hearing the response from first-timers was unexpected – like I noted last year, the sheer amount of Blue Ox gear from past years worn by this year’s attendees was everywhere I looked – for such a well-established event.
Songs To Fill The Air
Thursday’s Leftover Salmon set featured fellow Blue Ox performer Daniel Donato sitting in with the band. The guest guitarist joined LoS for a twangy, sped-up take on the Grateful Dead’s “Black Peter,” previewing an upcoming Workingman’s Dead show at The Capitol Theatre. Donato helped usher in a segue into a song closely associated with the Dead as they stormed through “I Know You Rider.” The music of the Grateful Dead continued to be heard from the Blue Ox stages across the three days. Watchhouse’s gorgeous and brooding performance of “Dire Wolf,” another Workingman’s Dead tune, fit well among their original songs while misty rain fell during their set.
Smaller Stage Standouts
One of my favorite aspects of Blue Ox is the back-and-forth volleying of performances between the two stages in the concert area. The smaller Saloon Stage (as well as the Backwoods Stage in the campground where bluegrass supergroup The High Hawks got rowdy late-night on Thursday) offered the opportunity to hear quite a few new-to-me acts and a few others I was seeing for the first time. It was cool to see loyal fans flooding the smaller stages for many of the non-Main Stage performers. Humbird, a late addition to the Saloon Stage lineup, was one of the groups I was most excited to see. The local project fronted by singer-songwriter/guitarist Siri Undlin was one of those that drew an impressive crowd to the Saloon Stage. Backed by drummer Nate LeBrun and bassist Pat Keen, Undlin kept the audience’s attention with songs from their new album, Right On, eliciting a loud roar of appreciation when the rain-washed set ended.
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Sun Shines On Sierra
Sierra Ferrell’s appearance on Saturday, the penultimate Main Stage set of the weekend, was the one I heard frequently cited when the question of the most anticipated performance was posed around the park. Ferrell and her excellent matching-suit-wearing backing band presented a thoroughly entertaining set built around tracks off her standout 2024 album, Trail Of Flowers, aided with some light choreography and other pageantry. Though Saturday was mostly dry, it was somewhat chilly as clouds kept the sun hidden, which is not at all a complaint given the potentially severe weather alternatives. The clouds broke during Ferrell’s set, adding an extra atmospheric vibe to the thrilling performance. The crowd singing along to “American Dreaming” and her cover of “Me & Bobby McGee” were just two of Ferrell’s highlights-filled set.
Lindsay Lou Comes To Fruition
While watching Lindsay Lou’s set on Thursday I was immediately impressed by the caliber of musicians sharing the Main Stage with her. The group included Fruition’s Mimi Naja playing guitar and mandolin, bassist Heather Gillis laying down a smooth low end and (an unidentified) drummer keeping the right kind of groove. Lou’s setlist was built around songs from bold 2023 album, Queen Of Time, including her Billy Strings co-write “Nothing’s Working.” Falling in that sweet spot between tightness and looseness, the quartet played with a confident and relaxed vibe, revealing during the set that they had little-to-no time to rehearse prior to stepping on the Blue Ox stage together. The newly formed foursome was joined by Leftover Salmon mandolinist Drew Emmitt on “Love Calls” and “Rules,” the latter also with banjo player Andy Thorn, who stuck around for “Criminal Style.”
Daniel Donato’s Blue Ox Burner
Having previously highlighted Daniel Donato’s Dead-centric sit-in with Leftover Salmon, I’d be remiss not to give the guitarist his own entry. After “burning down the stage” at last year’s Blue Ox (which was Donato’s tour manager’s accurate assessment of their 2023 set), Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country had a self-imposed high bar set for their Thursday evening performance. The band opened with one of their newest songs, “Lady Justice” as the crowd around the Main Stage swelled in size. “Weathervane,” a standout track from Donato’s 2023 album Reflector, followed and segued into the band’s sweet arrangement of Irving Berlin’s “Blue Skies.” The Blue Ox crowd immediately picked up the well-known melody and sang along with the classic tune. The well-executed return to “Weathervane” drew cheers from the attentive audience. From there the band was locked-in, showcasing their improvisational skills with some of the weekend’s best jams through their signature blend of country, rock and funkiness.
Molly Tuttle Turns Blue Ox Golden
There were many colorful aspects to Molly Tuttle’s performance at Blue Ox. Her band Golden Highway consists of the mighty talented and entertainingly chatty Kyle Tuttle (sporting neon green streaked hair) on banjo, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes on fiddle, Shelby Means on bass and Dominick Leslie on mandolin. Kyle talked about his past Blue Ox experiences, including a conversation with Molly about forming a band together that helped bring about Golden Highway. Keeping with the family vibe, Del McCoury Band fiddler Jason Carter, who is engaged to Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, sat-in with Golden Highway. The colorful performance featured a bluegrass-tinged take on Juice Newton’s “Queen Of Hearts” and a rousing run through The Rolling Stones’ “She’s A Rainbow,” selections from the group’s Grammy Award-winning 2023 album, City of Gold and more.
Bubbles Everywhere
“I see you here every year,” I heard one kid say to the other when they bumped into each other in the family campground. When Pert Near Sandstone’s Nate Sipe responded to a pre-fest question about the importance of providing a family-friendly environment at Blue Ox, the fiddler stated it was “extremely important” to the host band. This was my second time attending Blue Ox, but my first time bringing my two young daughters. A plethora of activities were available to youngsters all weekend long. My kids were particularly enthralled with the seemingly ubiquitous and — at times huge — bubbles that colorfully floated over the festival and the interactive shadow puppet screen lit up at night. Extra thanks to the festival helpers who squeezed in a final face painting for us and the Sound Beauty team for the flower crowns and glitter.
Pert Near’s Party
The final Main Stage set on Saturday was billed as “Pert Near Sandstone & Friends” and was a proper celebratory finale for the 10th anniversary of Blue Ox. Sam Bush, Them Coulee Boys and others were part of the joyous festivities that capped the weekend and stirred up memories of years past. There was plenty for Pert Near and the rest of the team behind Blue Ox to celebrate this year, including the weather cooperating across three terrific music-filled days and nights in a cozy enclave in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. The band’s friends-assisted set was nothing but fun from start to finish, serving as both a fitting end to another successful weekend at The Pines Music Park and the milestone 10th anniversary of Blue Ox.
Blue Ox Music Festival’s 10th anniversary was a reminder of the past while continuing to stay present in the now. The landscape of music festivals has evolved over the past decade and will continue to present new challenges over the next +10 years. For one weekend each summer in the rural expanse of the Midwest, the Blue Ox Music Festival draws music lovers to a three-day event that places the music at the forefront, with all of the other amenities and activities falling in with equal attention to quality. Here’s to the first timers that will be coming back to Blue Ox next year and 10-timers who will get to start a new decade of memories as well.
