The 18th annual Ohio Fish and Shrimp Festival, Sept. 20-22, will treat guests to a musical feast of top regional bands they can enjoy while treating themselves to mouth-watering seafood and other delicious food by the festival’s outdoor stage.
Eleven bands are scheduled to play a menu of musical stylings – rock, jazz/funk, Celtic, folk, salsa, reggae and rhythm and blues – over the three days of the festival at Freshwater Farms of Ohio, a mile north of Urbana, at 2624 N. U.S. 68.
The live performances are included in the festival’s $5 general admission ($2 for ages 3-12 and free for 2 and under).
“We fill the bill with top acts from around Ohio and beyond. Because of the growing popularity of the festival, some of the bands contact us,” says Dr. Dave Smith, president of Freshwater Farms of Ohio.
The lineup includes four returning festival crowd pleasers, the Bastard Bearded Irishmen, the Devil Doves, Flex Crew and Kick-N-Flava.
Friday, Sept. 20
4:30-6 p.m. – The Devil Doves of Columbus have released their second album, “Also Playing,” and are touring throughout Ohio, entertaining audiences with their rocking, energetic performances and creative songwriting.
6:30-8 p.m. Fo/Mo/Deep, which will release their fourth album, “Syzygy,” in October, blends jazz, soul and funk in sizzling performances that feature bursts of improvisation, making their music live in the moment. They perform at a wide range of jazz clubs and festivals in central Ohio, the Midwest and beyond, including the Columbus Jazz and Rib Festival, the Jazz Café in Detroit and the South by Southwest Festival in Austin. And they have opened for jazz, funk and blues luminaries like Roy Ayers and Mavis Staples.
8:30-10 p.m. – Bastard Bearded Irishmen, voted Best Rock Band in Pittsburgh four years in a row by readers of the Pittsburgh City Paper, are returning to the festival with their original, ferocious blend of traditional and contemporary Celtic music, mixed with punk, gypsy and high-energy rock n’ roll.
Originally formed for a one-night tribute to a departed friend, the Bastard Bearded Irishmen have since released three records, toured the country, and shared the stage with the likes of Dropkick Murphys, Street Dogs and Gogol Bordello.
Saturday, Sept. 21
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. – Locking Up Otis, a three-piece ensemble playing ‘60s to ‘80s music, is made up of members who have opened for a wide range of artists such as Alice Cooper, The Turtles, Dr. Hook and the Medicine Show, Jonny Lang, Foghat, Iron Butterfly, Johnny Paycheck and the Edgar Winter Group.
1:30-3 p.m. – Dulahan pays homage to traditional Celtic music, while incorporating the varied musical influences of its four members into a unique sound that contains subtle hints of roots/Americana music. In its original compositions, the band features masterful acoustic instrumentation with powerful three- and four-part vocal harmonies.
3:30-5 p.m. – Year of the Buffalo is a central Ohio folk band that performs widely in and around Columbus. In 2012 the band released their first album, ‘Darling Laney,’ named for the daughter of a friend of the band.
5:30-7 p.m. – Al Son Del Iya is a Columbus-based salsa band founded in 2007. The band of culturally diverse musicians plays year-round at local businesses, private events and festivals, including the 2017 Dayton Hispanic Heritage Festival.
The band’s name, translated to “the beat of the iya,” is inspired by the iya, an African drum brought to the Americas by the Yoruba people of Nigeria. Salsa is a direct descendant of these rhythms, born in Cuba, then enriched by Latino immigrants in New York during the ‘60s and 70’s with an upbeat, contagious groove.
7:30-9:30 p.m. – The Flex Crew mixes lover’s rock, roots and dancehall styles of reggae with funk, rhythm and blues, soul and hip hop. Accomplished singers, musicians, producers and songwriters in their own right, the Columbus-based band has shared the stage with an array of reggae superstars.
Sunday, Sept. 22
11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. – The Blue Leaf’s of Tipp City perform classic ‘60s, ‘70s and ‘80s tunes by The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Eagles, Chicago, The Who, Queen, Billy Joel, The Police, and more, as well as playing original material from their two albums.
.1:30-3 p.m. – The Usual Suspects and The Repeat Offenders Band has been performing in central Ohio since 2009. The nine-piece band includes a four-piece horn section – two saxes, a trumpet and a trombone – that anchors the band’s fat, full, danceable sound, featuring music of The Blues Brothers, Bruno Mars, Eric Clapton, The Commodores, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Etta James, Tower of Power and Chicago.
3:30- 5 p.m. – Kick-n-Flava, a returning crowd favorite, delivers a versatile mix of soulful ballads, danceable R&B, smooth jazz, high-octane funk and contemporary pop. The band was voted “one of Dayton’s must-see bands” by NiteScene Magazine.
About the Ohio Fish & Shrimp Festival
Where: Freshwater Farms of Ohio, 2624 N. U.S. 68, one mile north of Urbana
When: Friday, Sept. 20, 4-10 p.m.
Saturday, Sept. 21, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Sunday, Sept. 22, 11 a.m.-5 p.m.
Daily admission: $5; ages 3-12, $2; and 2 and under, free. Free admission for anyone dressed in costume — like sea critters, pirates, mermaids and other merfolk. Admission provides access to live music, the sturgeon petting zoo, fish and critter displays, bounce houses and kid’s play zone. Free parking.
Other features:
Booths featuring nonprofit organizations
Farm’s retail store open
Freshly harvested shrimp on ice for sale beginning 11 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 21
For more information, visit ohiofishandshrimpfestival.org.
