Blues Traveler to headline Lancaster Festival

LANCASTER – New Lancaster Festival Executive Director Joe Piccolo said this summer's event will have something for everyone.

That includes country act Mo Pitney and country duo Thompson Square headlining the July 25 show at Ohio University Lancaster's Wendel Concert Stage.

Aug. 1 will find '90s rock act Blues Traveler taking the OUL stage to close out the festival.

"I think Blues Traveler will do well," Piccolo said. "They're southern rock, blues, traditional rock. They're a good combination. I think they'll be great."

The Lancaster Festival Orchestra will open both shows and play several pieces with the country acts. Piccolo said it might play a piece with Blues Traveler, but that has not yet been decided.

"It's going to be fantastic," said Piccolo, who replaced former executive director Lou Ross. "So you're going to have Mo Pitney and Thompson Square and the orchestra all in one night. If you're a country fan, that's going to be the place to be."

He said fans requested a country act based on a survey the Eagle-Gazette was part of.

"We got 230 responses, and almost all of them said country as far as their preference goes for music," Piccolo said. "And we wanted to respond accordingly. WLOH changed their format earlier in the season to country. It does well here, and we want to make sure we're giving people what they want."

Between the July 22 start of the festival with Italian street painting and the concluding night, music fans will enjoy numerous concerts in various genres, including the July 29 appearance of The Police Experience, a tribute act to The Police at OUL.

As usual, the festival also will feature art shows, a 5K road race, plenty of food, children's activities and much more.

Piccolo said the festival has a budget of around $1 million. He said it's tough to find an act that fits in the budget, that will do well and plays with an orchestra.

"The first Saturday I think we hit out of the park," Piccolo said. "The second Saturday, at least the orchestra will play the first half, which will, I think, appease people who want to see orchestra. And then for the second half, it's Blues Traveler, which will appeal to people that want to see Blues Traveler. It's just a tough balance to strike."

Missing last year was the downtown stage that usually hosted several musical performances during the festival. Piccolo said there are no plans for its return this year, but he hopes to bring it back for the 2016 Lancaster Festival. In the meantime, acts will perform on the bandstand.

Piccolo said he released the festival schedule now because he wants to set a different tone instead of gradually leaking out the names of performers in April, May and June.

He said the festival hit a rut the last couple of years.

"People have described it as a bit stale," Piccolo said. "And repetitive. Stale and repetitive. One of my goals is reinvigoration, fresh eyes, fresh ideas. I hope to bring that to the festival and allow us to grow."

He said part of the solution to the festival's problem is to start planning each year's event earlier than was done in the past.

"There might have been a tendency to wait until the last minute, if you will," Piccolo said. "Or delay some of the these contracts, waiting until April, May. And the longer you wait, the fewer your choices are. If you're waiting until May, it's going to limit who you can get out because now (the performers are) scheduled, they're routed, they're not available. So who you have is left over."

The poor weather has been a recent problem for the fair and may have hurt attendance. So Piccolo said he wants to start raffling off a car or motorcycle to help attract people. His idea would be for the musical performer to announce the winner.

Piccolo also said a festival app will be available in May that will include the schedule and allow for the purchase of tickets.

For more information, call the festival office at 740-687-4808.

jbarron@lancastereaglegazette.com

740-681-4340

Twitter: @JeffDBarron

The lineup

The 2015 Lancaster Festival featured acts that will perform on Ohio University Lancaster's Wendel Concert Stage are:

• July 25: Mo Pitney and Thompson Square

• July 29: Police tribute act, The Police Experience

• Aug. 1: Blues Traveler