Today ends my coverage of this years fest. Unfortunately, I was unable to see JD Eicher & The Goodnights and Glenn Pavone & The Cyclones play. I am surprised my kids lasted as long as they did. I am also bummed that I only caught the last few minutes of The Inclines’ set. They sounded sweet from what I heard. Hope to see them soon enough.

These guys pretty much are the definition of ‘rock stars’. They wear their confidence squarely on their sleeves and it comes out through the music. Again, relying on my brother’s opinion, he said they sounded like KISS. Not a bad comparison when you are being a rock star.

These guys rocked out Hartwood. My brothers favorite band of the afternoon. I cannot wait for the two release shows coming up at the T’bird and Warhol. Are you impatient as I am? This article has the link to download the EP right now!

So my recent enthusiasm for this band has not diminished one iota since settling in and familiarizing myself with their music. In fact, it has only intensified with the additional release of a live EP (free to boot!) and having the opportunity to see them play again. They have such a cool vibe going. For some reason they seem to me to be a band that’s best suited playing outdoors. Their sound not only could fill up a room but as they proved at Hartwood, an entire meadow.

This week I will be highlighting the incredible line-up from this year’s Hartwood music fest. I really could not think of a better way to celebrate Father’s Day. First up is my man Ben Hardt.

Amazingly, of the tons of shows I attend here in town, I have never seen Ben play a full set with his symphony. It’s funny, because I have seen him dozens of times in the audience lending support for other musicians, more so than anyone else in town. He and the band sounded so good. There’s a magical quality mixing strings with ‘rock’ music and no one does it better.

He is currently recording new material and could use a little help. I have done this a few times now, donating a couple bucks to help an artist reach their goal. You get the album anyway (in this case three of them), so why not pay for it now? Get more info here.