Now in its sixth year, The Werk Out Festival has grown from a small gathering to a full-fledged festival. With headliners like Umphrey’s McGee, Papadosio, Lettuce, Dopapod, and, of course, The Werks, this year’s festival seems to be the biggest and brightest yet.

Here’s Why You Don’t Want To Miss This Year’s The Werk Out Festival

L4LM writer Jack Sheehan sat down with the Werks drummer, Rob Chafin, to talk about the festival’s growth, and the band’s current state of affairs…

L4LM: The Werk Out Festival looks incredible. How did the Werks and Trickle Productions make it a reality and what will make this year the best yet?

RC: Well it started off as any 1st year festival, pretty much a big party with all of your friends. We had EOTO, Papadosio, we had Johnny Neel of the Allman Brothers, and a bunch more. It was a low key, 1000 person event. We’re huge festival connoisseurs, and at the end of the day, we wanted to bring all our friends over and throw a big party. Its amazing how, fast-forwarding 6 years later, it’s developed to what it is today.

We’re glad that its gotten to that point where everyone is looking out for each other, smiles everywhere, no bad vibes, and everyone’s having a great time. And also to this day, when I book lineups, it’s always our friends’ bands, the people we enjoy and play on the road with. We get to have everyone get together to make music on the weekend. It’s definitely something really special.

L4LM: It seems like an equal amount of awesomeness and pressure to play multiple sets during a festival. How will you differentiate the sets?

RC: Well the first day is always so much fun, we do a main stage set. But this year, Friday we’re playing a late night set after Umphrey’s, it’s going to be full of surprises. Late night in the dance tent. The tent this year is going to be epic. Late nights are going to be Break Science, Dopapod, EOTO, the Floozies late night, and The Werks amongst others so its going to be super awesome this year. I’m so excited about that. Saturday we’re doing two big sets to close out the festival at main stage. One set Thursday, late night on Friday, two big sets on Saturday. The best part about it is that we get to bring up a bunch of our friends and collaborate, we’ll have so many sit ins. Sit ins make it special; each player can come in and add their own flavor into the mix.

L4LM: I saw it written that The Werk Out “brings awareness to musical styles that are the backbone of the vibrant music scene in the Midwest.”  What will I find at a Midwest festival that I won’t on the East Coast?

RC: Especially in the Midwest, there is this strong family community vibes that is very apparent and rubs off on everyone there. That’s the best part about it; I love that. It becomes more than a music festival, but a gathering of friends. That’s the way we want to keep it. That being said, there are bands like us, Papadosio, and Ekoostik Hookah, all Ohio acts. Umphrey’s is from Chicago, the “capital of the Midwest.” Its almost entirely national acts this year, but a lot of those national acts have their roots or home base in the Midwest, so there’s definitely showcasing that. 

L4LM: You’ve been a band for about 10 years, and putting on this festival for six. Is it safe to say you guys are Jam band Music Moguls?

RC: You gotta want it more than water, man. In this industry, you gotta hustle, keep working, and never stop. Were constantly on the road or recording. That’s what it takes nowadays. Are we Jam band music moguls? I’d say I plead the fifth (laughs).

L4LM:  Moving to music, how does a Werks song get written? Or is it an atypical process where there’s no process?

RC: Well, all of us write music. In a lot of our material, we write on a group effort. Someone presents an idea, and we all morph it together. I consider these guys some of the best musicians I know, so its really great that everyone pitches in.

L4LM:  Well that’s something to be thankful for. You guys do a lot of improvisation and, because you play out so much, the band is so tight. I wanted to ask if you had a favorite thing about improvisational jamming and what it would be?

RC: I think it’s the risk taking, because in any live improve setting, you can stay at home or take the risk. Sometimes the risks don’t pan out, but when they do, that’s when the real magic happens. When the players take the risk and the improvist takes a different direction to a completely different feel and you’re playing off each other. When someone takes a risk that is rewarded, that’s what I look for when I watch bands live and when we perform. That’s why I do what I do.

L4LM: What’s your favorite piece of gear?  

RC: I really love my pork pie snare drum. Pearl master series drums have been awesome. I like the Zildjian custom K’s, they’re my shit! I love Moogs and Nords too, really cool companies. 

L4LM: What people find most remarkable about The Werks is how much you’ve managed to do so quickly. I can’t think of many 10 year old bands who have done such touring, festival organizing, and self perpetuating. Do you have any advice to musicians looking to do something similar? 

RC: Yea, definitely: practice practice practice. With touring, you got to get out there. This day and age, there is no record deal that’s gonna sweep you off your feet. It’s the post Napster area. Live touring just took over from record sales. It’s important to get out there. Take every opportunity you can. Network network network.

L4LM:  It goes back to the risk taking, that’s what it takes.

RC: Yea man. And going back to the Werk Out, a lot of these bands we’re playing with, like Papadosio and Dopapod, we’ve been “growing up” together and it’s really cool to see how far they’ve come. They have all taken big risks and made sacrifices, and are both seeing great success because of that. Bands like Umphrey’s McGee and Lettuce, they’ve been doing it for a long time and they know what it takes to be successful. You gotta play out and you gotta grind, and they are perfect examples of successful bands who put in the time. We definitely look up to those guys and they’re perfect examples on how to do it right.

L4LM: Right on man, thank you for your time!

You can enter to win two passes to the festival by entering the contest below: