CONCERT REVIEW: NORTHLANDS MUSIC & ARTS FESTIVAL

June 13-15, 2025, in Swanzey, N.H., a town located 5 miles to South of Keene; Northlands Music & Arts Festival welcomed this summer thousands of fans who came together to celebrate the three-day event. It was more than music; it was a celebration of community, creativity, and faith. With three full days of carefully curated live music over two stages, art installations, local food and beverage vendors, artisan crafts, and more, people came all around the New England area to experience the joy of personal connection through music & arts.

Over three days and two main stages that were built side by side, the community enjoyed phenomenal class bands ranging from local to national groups.

"If you like Jam bands this is the best festival. With 24 bands at the main two stages over 3 days the atmosphere was electric with a very friendly and enthusiastic audience from New England and further away such as Canada and the Midwest. From the minute the first band went on, the audience of many thousands were ready to rock with their special dance moves, crazy costumes, all smiling with endless good vibes."

The fourth edition lineup featured: Brass Queens, Squeaky Feet, Mountain Grass Unit, Dirtwire, Lettuce, Eggy, Karina Rykman, Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country, Kitchen Dwellers, Soulive, Andy Frasco & U.N., Cory Wong, Moe, Holly Bowling, Tank, Lamp, Neighbor, Lespecial, Terrapin Family Band, Lotus, Umphrey's McGee.  

Day 1

MOUNTAIN STAGE

Squeaky Feat (1-2)

Supersonic Shorties (3-4)

Lettuce (5-6:30)

The String Cheese Incident (8-11)

ECHO STAGE

Brass Queens (12-1)

Mountain Grass Unit (2-3)

Dirtwire (4-5)

Eggy (6:30 - 8)

Day 2

MOUNTAIN STAGE

Karina Rykman (1-2)

Kitchen Dwellers (3-4)

Andy Frasco & The U.N. (5-6:30)

Moe (8-11)

ECHO STAGE

Sneezy (12-1)

Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country ( 2-3)

Soulive (4-5)

Cory Wong (6:30 - 8:00)

Day 3

MOUNTAIN STAGE

Tand (1-2)

Neighbor (3-4)

Terrapin Family Band (5-6)

Umphrey's McGee (7:15 - 10:00)

ECHO STAGE

Holly Bowling (12-1)

Lamp (2-3)

Lespecial (4-5)

Lotus (6-7:15)

First Day

The event started and continued with great performances from Squeaky Feat, Supersonic Shorties, Lettuce, Eggy, Brass Queens, Mountain Grass Unit, Dirtwire, and The String Cheese Incident as the headliner. Playing  music that has elements of bluegrass sounds, as well as rock, electronica, calypso, country, funk, jazz, progressive rock, reggae, and psychedelic, The String Cheese Incident hit the stage at Northlands Music & Arts Festival with a group of talented musicians. Formed in 1993, the band is composed of Michael Kang (acoustic/electric mandolin, electric guitar, and violin), Michael Travis (drums and percussion), Bill Nershi (acoustic guitar, lap steel guitar, and electric slide guitar), Kyle Hollingsworth (piano, organ, Rhodes, and accordeon), Keith Moseley (bass guitar), and John Hann (percussion).

Lettuce

Dirtwire

Eggy

String Cheese Incident

Second Day

After a high level of performance from Karina Rykman, Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country, Kitchen Dwellers, Soulive, Andy Fransco & Un, Cory Wong, Andy Fiasco & the U.N., Moe was the band that ended the second day of the festival. The American jam rock band, formed at the University at Buffalo in 1989 was fantastic. That’s partly due to their deep and sincere collaborations. The members: Rob Derhak, Al Schnier. Chuck Garvey, Vinnie Amico, Jim Loughlin and Nate Wilson, played with passion and eloquence. 

Kitchen Dwellers

Cory Wong

Soulive

Andy Frasco & The U.N.

Moe

Terrapin Family Band

Umphrey's

Third Day

The last day of the festival welcomed a long list of artists including: Tand, Neighbor, Terrapin Family Band,  Holly Bowling, Lamp,  Lespecial, Lotus, Umphrey's McGee as the headliner. The American rock band originally from South Bend, Indiana finished the night and also ended the festivities with good vibes coming from a phenomenal line up. The band performed with many musical styles, including rock, emtal, funk, jazz, blues, reggae, electronic, bluegrass, country, and folk.The members are: Brendan Bayliss, Joel Cummins, Ryan Stasik, Andy Farag, and Jake Cinninger. 

Neighbor

Lespecial

Umphrey's McGee

Conclusion

Well organized and full of ambiance, Northlands Music & Arts Festival welcomed once again this summer several thousands of fans. In just four years, the festival has established itself as a jam-band bastion to the fans, most of them from New Hampshire, Vermont, and Massachusetts. With a reputation for being as authentic as it gets while offering good vibes, cozy camping, and great live music, the three-day event in the mountains of southern New Hampshire ( Swanzey) was pretty phenomenal.

It was such a fabulous group of bands and the audience loved them. Many artists jammed with other bands. The next great star is Ryan, Holly Bowlin's six year old child who plays a killer guitar and drums.