Northern Wyoming News - Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years

WORLAND – This weekend, Ten Sleep will be hosting its 18th annual Nowoodstock festival in the park.

Nowoodstock is a three-day long music festival that happens in Ten Sleep park once a year featuring plenty of artists who provide a wide range of musical sounds.

Festival manager Pat O'Brien has looked into spicing the festival up with a mix of different sounds and genres. With nine artists performing throughout the weekend, festival goers will be sure to hear something new.

In addition to the live music for listening and dancing, Miss V the Gypsy Cowbelle returns for her homespun instrument workshop for children from noon to 6 p.m. Saturday at the front gate.

"It's a fun thing for the kids," O'Brien said.

Having the venue at the park also gives children the opportunity to play in the playground equipment at the park

O'Brien said this year he has six food vendors and eight craft and commercial vendors.

New this year, O'Brien said, is that they will be recording Nowoodstock memories between acts on Saturday and Sunday. O'Brien said the memories won't be on the livestream but will be recorded, edited and shared on the Nowoodstock YouTube channel later.

LIVE MUSIC

The live music kicks off tonight at 5 p.m. with 10 Cent Stranger, a band out of Fremont County. Their music is all acoustic and has some bluegrass instruments, but isn't bluegrass. According to band member, Bob Lefevre, it (the music) "...has a lot of harmonies going on, and has a drummer. We're kind of country, and kind of folk."

Ten Cent Stranger has been a band since 2015, and is new to playing Nowoodstock together.

Following their performance will be Rimrock Hot Club at 6:30 p.m.

Also performing tonight will be David Gerald, a blues-soul rock artist at 8 p.m. The David Gerald band has been in existence since 2009, and has experience playing in a few Wyoming cities. This is Gerald's first time playing Nowoodstock and is very excited to be doing so.

Wrapping up Friday performances at 9:45 p.m. will be Dodgy Mountain Men. Jed Nussbaum, mandolin and electric guitar player, and vocalist of the band, refers to their music as "home-brewed montana stompgrass." According to Nussbaum, the band's music started off more folk/bluegrass, but has developed over the years to incorporate more elements of rock, funk, jam, county, and even hip hop. "I suppose you can just call it "Americana," but we probably even push the boundaries of that. Still, bluegrass rythms and themes definitely form the basis of much of what we do," Nussbaum said. Dodgy Mountain Men has been a band for about eight years, though they have experienced a few lineup changes since.

They're not familiar with the Ten Sleep area, though recently, they have played the annual Antelope Butte Summer Festival. This is their first appearance at Nowoodstock. However, fellow artists have spoken highly of it to them and they are thoroughly excited to be part of this year's lineup.

Opening on Saturday at 10 a.m. will be Prairie Wildfire, a definite twist on what the locals are used to seeing. The band is out of Buffalo and performs original songs, hugely differing in the fact that the band is consisted of three teenage girls.

The band is brought together by 12th-grader Morgan Blaney, 11th-grader Holly Qualm, and 10th-grader Sage Palser, all who have been invested in music since they were young. The all-girl band takes part in a mix of both country and bluegrass music. They've performed at plenty of places, their most famous being at the Big Horn Mountain Bluegrass Festival, in which they will be performing at for their third year in a row.

Following their performance will be Sugar Still at 11:30 a.m. Sugar Still is an acoustic duo featuring violin, guitar and vocal harmonies, played with a blend of roots blues, gypsy jazz, and folk.

According to band member Charlie Cheney, they've been a band since 2015 and have toured over 140 dates a year for the past three years. In Cheney's words, they're "road warriors."

Sugar Still played Nowoodstock las year and are thrilled to be back this year. "Last year was our favorite gig of the whole year, 80,000 miles worth," Cheney said.

Other gigs by the band have been out of Wyoming, in Colorado, and New Mexico.

Following another performance by 10 Cent Stranger at 12:45, Anthony Smith will be performing at 2 p.m.

Smith is a famous songwriter, who has had plenty of his own songs performed by big-hit music artists, such as "Cowboy's Like Us" for George Strait, "My Worst Fear" for Rascal Flatts, and "Kristofferson" for Tim McGraw.

Performing after Smith, at 3:30 p.m. is the band Low Water String Band of Lander. Low Water String Band plays a unique style of Bluegrass they call "Wyoming-Indie Bluegrass." The band was formed in 2011. This is their second time playing Nowoodstock, their first time in 2016. They've also played the Ten Sleep Saloon in 2015 after Nowoodstock.

After their performance, Jaland Crossland will be performing at 6:30 p.m. Crossland is an acoustic guitarist, as well as a banjo player, singer-songwriter and engaging showman. Crossland's music doesn't fit into just one or two genre's, but interprets a wide variety of pretty much everything.

Nowoodstock continues on Sunday with these artists from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The festival's schedule is as follows: Friday – 5 p.m., 10 Cent Stranger; 6:30 p.m., Rimrock Hot Club; 8 p.m., David Gerald; 9:45 p.m., Dodgy Mountain Men.

Saturday – 10 a.m., Prairie Wildfire; 11:30 a.m., Sugar Still; 12:45 p.m., 10 Cent Stranger; 2 p.m., Anthony Smith; 3:30 p.m., Low Water String Band; 4:45 p.m., Rimrock Hot Club; 6:30 p.m., Jalan Crossland; 8 p.m., David Gerald; 9:45 p.m., Dodgy Mountain Men.

Sunday – 10 a.m., Sugar Still; 11:30 a.m., Prairie Wildfire; 12:45 p.m., Jalan Crossland; 2 p.m., Low Water String Band; and Anthony Smith at 3:45 p.m.