Blue Ox Music Festival has announced its initial lineup for the 2020 gathering, which will take place at Whispering Pines Campground in Eau Claire, WI on June 11th–13th next summer. The 2020 iteration of the weekend event will feature headlining performances from Gov’t Mule, Sam Bush Band, The Infamous Stringdusters, Leftover Salmon, and more.
The sixth-annual Blue Ox, which seeks to highlight Bluegrass, Americana, and Roots from across the country, will also feature performances from Yonder Mountain String Band, The Jerry Douglass Band, Charlie Parr, and two nights of Pert Near Sandstone, who will also play host for the festival once again.
Other names on the festival lineup shared on Tuesday include Rising Appalachia, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Charley Crockett, Henhouse Prowlers with Tony Trischka, Lillie Mae, Them Coulee Boys, Legendary Shack Shakers, Sunny War, Julian Davis & The Situation, Nora Brown, Arkansauce, Armchair Boogie, Kind Country, One Way Traffic, Short Round String Band, Feed The Dog, Intuitive Compass, Barbaro, and The High 48s.
This year will also see the addition of The Backwoods Stage which will showcase local artists from 11:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, June 12th and Saturday, June 13th. The first round of artists to play the new The Backwoods Stage include Miles Over Mountains, Nickle & Rose, Good Morning Bedlam, The Thirsty River, Dig Deep, Never Come Down, Pit Wagon, Katey Bellville, Gabe Barnett, and Doug Otto and the Getaways.
In the months leading up to the festival, Nate Sipe and Justin Bruhn (Pert Near Sandstone) will host the Road to Blue Ox Podcast, where each episode will hear the two interview a different artist who will appear at the 2020 festival. The new podcast initiative will also highlight festival features and share information leading up to the 2020 event. Podcast episodes and information can be found on Spotify.
Additional artists will be announced in early January. Details and tickets for Blue Ox Music Festival are available on its website.