The 17th Annual Ogden Music Festival is the closest we’ll come to Woodstock on the Wasatch. Blue skies and great vibes greeted the festivarians who gathered to celebrate three glorious days of peace, music, and the multifaceted roots of Americana.
The gala featured 26 performances, a second-line-style parade, jam sessions, workshops with featured artists, and nearly 24 hours of music. The Ogden Music Festival is the signature event of The Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music (OFOAM), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization whose mission is to enhance our community’s quality of life through music. They’re also dedicated to getting musical instruments in the hands of our kids and developing the next generation of musicians and music lovers.
It’s a tall task to boil down such a mammoth affair into a short review. Let me start with recognizing the OFOAM leaders and volunteers who put on an amazing and well-run event. Bravo!
The festival began on Friday, May 30, 2025, with five eclectic acts. Salt Lake City’s own Hot House West Swing Orchestra kicked off the weekend with “I’m an old cowhand,” a 1930s classic. The 14-piece western swing and gypsy jazz orchestra dazzled us with a dozen high-energy tunes covering everything from Bing Crosby to Patsy Cline and included original compositions like “Saguaro Serenade.” Melissa Chilinski joined the orchestra as a guest vocalist, and her Pompe n’ Honey bandmates took the stage for the final number, “Side Saddle” complete with a trippy Lawrence Welk-inspired bubble machine.
The music never really stops at the Ogden Music Festival. When one main stage act ends, another begins. “Tweeners” keep the music flowing during the interludes when roadies (always dressed in black) ready the stage for the next performance. Megan Blue delivered a fine bluesy solo set once the Hot House West’s bubbles dissipated and before the next act plugged in.
Pokey LaFarge, sporting a slicked back pompadour, delivered a fabulous 75-minute, 12-song rock-a-billy tent show revival set. Grooving to all that retro-coolness, the audience rose to their feet and communed with the musical spirits conjured by LaFarge and his band. He opened with “So Long Chicago” from his stellar 2024 release Rhumba Country. He reached back into his deep catalog with “Get It ‘Fore It’s Gone,” “End of My Rope”, and “Fine to Me.” He closed his set with “Something In The Water.” Though not the headliner, the crowd demanded more, and he encored with “La La Blues.”
Primera Linea, a youth band from Havana, Cuba, travelled the furthest to entertain us. They blended Afro-Cuban funk, hip hop, and New Orleans-style jazz into a short but energetic “tweener” set. It warmed my heart to see the next generation of artists expanding the Americana songbook.
Cimafunk and his band La Tribu (Spanish for The Tribe) headlined the evening. Cimafunk, a multi-Grammy-nominated artist and musical mixologist, blends Afro-Cuban funk, American retro soul, Latin rock, and hip hop to create a diverse and highly danceable sound. Though I don’t speak Spanish, I am fluent in funk and the universal language of soul. The crowd didn’t need any translation either. They abandoned their low-back chairs and turned the space into a ground-shaking dance party. Cimafunk brought out the members of Primera Linea to jam alongside him on “Me Voy,” ramping up the energy and giving the kids a wonderful moment to shine on stage with the master musicians. The remarkable evening ended with a spirited version of Parliament’s “Give Up The Funk.”
Rumor has it that the U.S. Geological Survey, the folks who detect earthquakes, might have noticed the seismic activity coming from Ogden Friday night. But we will never know, since a certain Ketamine-infused maniac fired all the weekend staff (joking, not joking).
Saturday’s noon to nearly midnight showcase started with Mariachi Fuego, an 8-piece mariachi band decked out in their splendid regalia. They set a festive tone for a warm afternoon embrace of roots-based music.
With a jam-packed schedule of artists on the docket, I had a full bingo card of must-see favorites.
Margo Cilker topped my list. Since reviewing her March 2024 show at The State Room, I’ve been eager to see her again. Her style is country-folk with a West Coast edge. It’s outdoorsy, pack up the Subaru and head to the hills kind of music. She opened with the catchy “Low Land Trail” followed by “Barbed Wire (Belly Crawl)” and “Tehachapi.” On her fourth number, she took us on a journey in a “‘64 Mercury Comet.” I hope she records this lovely coming-of-age banger on a future album. She managed to squeeze in a dozen songs in an hour, including “Keep it on a Burner.” Cilker is a rising star, and I hope she finds her way back here next year (if not sooner).
John Craigie with the Coffis Brothers. When Bob Dylan went electric at the Newport Folk Festival back in 1965, his fans called him a traitor. Craigie didn’t get the same reaction in Ogden. Fans were delighted to hear his electrified music. (He did, however, play a song called Judas.) Craigie usually dazzles audiences as a solo performer armed with his acoustic guitar and his comedic wit. But this summer there’s less standup and more music. Joining him on his tour is the five-piece Coffis Brothers band, who make his finely-crafted tunes pop (and rock). They opened with “Damn My Love” and followed it with “Part Wolf.” Craigie records his songs with multi-instrumental backing, so hearing the larger production of a full band didn’t seem out of place. He gave the band a break and did “I Wrote Mr. Tambourine Man” solo. When the band returned, they performed an unexpected cover of Don Henley’s “Boys of Summer.”
“I Am California” included captivating guitar and keyboard solos that enhanced his signature tune. He ended the show with a rockin’ rendition of “Nomads.”
Craigie and the Coffis Brothers returned on Sunday for another full set (with 80% different material). On their final festival run, they closed with a spirited version of “Laurie Rolled Me a J.” These two performances were a true festival highlight.
New Dangerfield is a relatively new quartet that is reinvigorating the black string band tradition. I particularly enjoyed their original organic “Put No Walls Around Your Garden.”
Nashville’s Newest Bluegrass Ambassadors East Nash Grass just won the International Bluegrass Music Association’s New Artist of the Year award, so of course, the OFOAM crew had to bring them out to our festival. They uplifted the crowd with their 11-song set of fresh-cut grass.
Sister Sadie is a six-piece, all-female band that blends bluegrass with ‘90s country. Their performance of “Let The Circle Be Broken,” the latest single from their upcoming album, created the most powerful musical moment of the festival. The beautifully harmonized tune about breaking the cycle of generational trauma and abuse received a standing ovation from the crowd for its sheer beauty and the courage it took to play it.
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives headlined the Saturday show. Stuart is a country music legend, multi-Grammy winner, and inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame. He started his career at thirteen years old touring as a mandolin player in Lester Flatt’s band. He later joined Johnny Cash’s band as a guitarist before moving on to a highly successful solo career. Stuart draws on a depth of musical influences and styles to produce a beautifully rich, timeless sound. He opened with a hard-driving retro country number, “Tear The Woodpile Down.” His country music fans were delighted with “The Whisky Ain’t Workin’.” They played a cool surf rock instrumental, “Space Junk,” and the rockin’ “Tomahawk.” They flawlessly mixed genres through their impressive 18-song set and encored with a surf rock guitar jam before ending with the trippy Doors-esque “Space.” Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives were the perfect headliner for the festival. He connects the dots from many of the genres that make up American roots music.
The great vibes continued on Sunday with local grassers Theoretical Blond, who welcomed festivarians with their uplifting sound just as the morning caffeine started to kick in.
Fretless, a Canadian string quartet, featured the ethereal vocals of Madeleine Roger. As festivarians sat under a scorching sun with cottonwood snow falling all around them, Fretless played tunes that conjured up mental images of both an Appalachian holler and an Irish peat bog. Their cover of Bruce Cockburn’s “Wondering Where The Lions Are” transcended space and time. As the haunting sound of a cello played, two violins and a viola wailed as Roger’s otherworldly voice sang the lyric “some kind of ecstasy got a hold of me.”
Lone Piñon, a string band from New Mexico, blended styles such as Cumbia, Bolero (and so much more) into a masterful set that reached from North to South America and to the Caribbean, highlighting the Latin roots of Americana music.
AJ Lee and Blue Summit closed out the 17th Annual Ogden Music Festival as the Sunday headliner. Their blend of spirited California grass served as a sonic exclamation point on the wonderful and diverse three days of music. Opening with “Hillside,” they played many fan favorites from their hefty catalog, which included “Seaside Town,” “City of Glass,” “Tear My Stillhouse Down,” and “Bakersfield Clay.” I particularly enjoyed their rendition of New Riders of the Purple Sage’s “Glendale Train.” It had all the psychedelic undertones of the original but with a punchier tempo. They also covered Sheryl Crow’s “Soak Up The Sun,” which captured the essence of the day. They ended their set with “Lemons and Tangerines” and returned for a remarkable encore with a beautiful version of Neil Young’s “Harvest Moon” and ended the fest with “To Mine.”
Throughout the three-day festival, we enjoyed the contributions of the mostly local “tweener” contingent of artists who played between main stage setups. The length of each tweener set depended on the speed of the transition, but the quality of their performances never wavered. So thank you to Megan Blue, Primera Linea, Dylan Clough, The Last Wild Buffalo, Pepper Rose, Debra Fatheringham, Cooper Lavallee, Finch and the Magpies, Love Juliet, and Riley Rawlins for keeping the great musical vibes going all weekend.
The Ogden Music Festival is a music lover’s dream. The crowds are right-sized to bring in marquee acts, but small enough to keep it intimate and approachable. Festivarians can see award-winning musicians in all their on-stage glory and then jam with them, up close and personal, at “Jam Camp.” The festival runs like a well-oiled machine, and the vibe is always joyous.
Mark your calendar. The 18th Annual Ogden Music Festival runs from June 5-7, 2026. There will be a variety of ways to participate: Camping, a single-day outing, or grab a full three-day pass. This year, the Sunday ticket cost $25 for 8 hours of great music and fun activities. Follow them at www.ofoam.org. Early bird tickets usually go on sale in December. It’s the perfect Christmas gift for the musician or music enthusiast in your family.
Who: Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music (OFOAM)
What: 17th Annual Ogden Music Festival
Where: Fort Buenaventura (Ogden)
When: May 30, 2025- June 1, 2025
Info: ofoam.org
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