B.G. celebrates 20th annual Black Swamp Arts Festival

9/6/2012

BOWLING GREEN -- One of the best things about summer winding down in northwest Ohio is that the shorter days and moderate temperatures signal that it's time for the Black Swamp Arts Festival, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary.

A celebration of eclecticism, truly great music and art, the festival this year features the usual stellar lineup of bands such as Booker T. Jones, Bright Light Social Hour, and Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars that combine cutting-edge cool with mainstream acceptance.

More than 100 visual artists will have displays and sell their works along the downtown area of Bowling Green from Friday through Sunday. A juried show will be held along with the Wood County Invitational Art Show that features artists from a 30-mile radius around Bowling Green, and a student exhibit.

The art exhibits will be on display from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday and from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.

The festival starts Friday night with music, including headliners Bright Light Social Hour, a high-energy Austin band that combines Southern rock, dance, and psychedelia in a potent mix that bleeds over into an explosive stage show. They will be on the Main Stage at 10 p.m.

Saturday's lineup features the great Booker T. Jones, the organist who helped define the '60s Memphis sound with songs such as "Green Onions" at 6:20 p.m.; vintage soul powerhouse Charles Walker and the Dynamites at 8 p.m., and the reggae and world music Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars at 9:50 p.m.

Sunday's Main stage acts culminate at 3:30 p.m. with Paul Cebar and the Milwaukeeans, a band that plays a diverse mix of Americana, funk, and world music.

The festival hours are 5 p.m. to midnight on Friday.

Here is the main stage music lineup for the festival:

Friday -- Joshua Panda, 5 p.m.; Mississippi Heat, 6:30 p.m.; Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside, 8 p.m.; Bright Light Social Hour, 10 p.m.

Saturday -- The Casey Driessen Singularity, 12:20 p.m.; Doko Benjo, 1:45 p.m.; Ellen Jewell, 3:15 p.m.; Akina Adderley and the Vintage Playboys, 4:45 p.m.; Booker T. Jones, 6:20 p.m.; Charles Walker and the Dynamites, 8 p.m.; Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, 9:50 p.m.

Sunday -- Cameron Bedell and the Skunks, 11 a.m.; Wheels, 12:20 p.m.; Sanctified Grumblers, 2 p.m.; Paul Cebar and the Milwakeeans, 3:30 p.m.

As always there will be food vendors and a beer tent set up around the Main Stage and bands will be playing on auxiliary stages throughout the festival. Attendance is free.

Information: blackswamparts.org.

Contact Rod Lockwood at rlockwood@theblade.com or 419-724-6159.