The Granite State Music Festival takes New Hampshire's capital city by storm June 23 -24 This first year of the festival promises the state's best bands, with a national headliner. The festival's epicenter: the waterfront at Concord's Kiwanis Park, a riverfront venue with overhanging shade trees, plenty of grass, and parking. By day, the festival features a family-friendly rotation of music by New Hampshire's best bands, playing original music. By night, the action spills into the downtown bars for those who want to keep the party going. Though rock will be the festival's focus, other genres will demonstrate the under-rated persity of the Granite State's music scene. Tickets go on sale in late winter. The festival website, granitestatemusicfest.org, is the best source of information about bands, tickets, and other important information as the event nears.
Granite State Music Festival began as the vision of Executive Director Scott Solsky. Solsky, a professional musician himself, saw the capital city as the perfect location for the festival for a variety of reasons. Easy access from Interstates 93 and 89 and Route 4 make Concord a convenient, central location for a festival that truly seeks to represent New Hampshire as a state. Beyond the obvious logistics, and the capital city status, Concord itself has a growing music scene and creative community. The Concord community has welcomed the infusion of other arts-related events into the city's cultural landscape in recent years and the addition of this type of festival will continue that development.
Concord is also home to the charitable recipient of proceeds from the festival: Concord Community Music School, the largest employer of musicians in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. Benefit to the music school is one of Solsky's primary goals for this inaugural season.
The festival's offerings will be rounded out with the participation of food vendors and an artisan marketplace.
Find out more about the Granite State Music Festival at the festival website, granitestatemusicfest.org. Email ssolsky@granitestatemusicfest.org with general inquiries, or call 534-3592. For information relating to booking, email lgallo@granitestatemusicfest.org. Interested in volunteering? Email ksolsky@granitestatemusicfest.org.
