2023 Music Lineup Announcement
The Black Swamp Arts Festival (BSAF) is excited to announce its 2023 Main Stage music lineup for the 30th annual event. This year’s lineup showcases incredible national, international, regional, and local musical talent in Bowling Green, Ohio on September 8, 9, and 10. The full lineup is listed below. All events are free and open to the public.
Main Stage music starts at 5 pm ET on Friday September 8 with an incredible up-and-coming gospel and soul family band: The Sensational Barnes Brothers (thesensationalbarnesbrothers.com). The Barnes Brothers evoke the tried and true spirit of a family gospel band combined with roots blues and soul influences. Returning to the Main Stage at 6:30 pm is 2022 Festival closer and 2023 Latin Grammy nominee Making Movies (www.makingmovies.world), a Kansas City-based quintet blending rock and blues with Peruvian roots and world music influences.
Past BSAF headliner and blues soulstress Ruthie Foster (www.ruthiefoster.com) also returns to Bowling Green at 8 pm. Ruthie is a four time Grammy Award nominee and winner of the 2023 Blues Foundation Best Contemporary Blues Female Artist. Co-headlining Friday night at 10 pm is Kaleta and Super Yamba Band (www.superyambaband.com), a Brooklyn-based Afrobeat ensemble. The world music band is led by Leon Ligan-Majek (a.k.a. Kaleta), a singer/guitarist from Nigeria who has toured and recorded with Fela Kuti, King Sunny Ade, and Lauryn Hill.
Main Stage music continues at 12 pm ET on Saturday September 9 with Bowling Green musician Mike Williams on Sax (www.mikewilliamsonsax.com). The Toledo-based alt-folk band The Antivillains (www.theantivillains.com) perform at 1:30 pm. Michigan-based bluegrass supergroup Full Cord (https://fullcord.net) performs at 3 pm. Full Cord were winners of the 2022 Telluride Bluegrass Festival band contest and 2022 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Momentum Award recipients. Rising blues singer and guitarist Buffalo Nichols takes the stage at 4:30 pm, (www.buffalo-nichols.com), followed by Pennsylvania-based funk/rock/jam band Yam Yam (www.yamyamband.com) at 6:15 pm who will be touring in support of their new album Sizzle that will be released on June 23, 2023.
Saturday co-headliner and Grammy nominee Amythyst Kiah (www.amythystkiah.com) takes the stage at 8 pm, showcasing a sound that combines rock, blues, soul and R&B, with an American roots music feel. Dubbed by Rolling Stone as “one of Americana’s great up-and-coming secrets”, her Rounder Records debut album “Wary + Strange” was celebrated by music critics across the country. She is also a member of the all-women supergroup Our Native Daughters. Saturday closes out at 10 pm with past BSAF performers and 2023 Grammy Award winners The Dirty Dozen Brass Band (http://dirtydozenbrassband.com). An American musical institution for decades, The Dirty Dozen Brass Band celebrates their New Orleans roots, touring relentlessly and performing at leading festivals and venues around the world.
The Main Stage continues on Sunday September 10 at 11 am with Detroit-based jazz ensemble the Alex Anest Organ Trio (https://anestmusic.com), whose leader is a Bowling Green State University alumni. Detroit-based jazz/funk/jam band Strictly Fine (www.strictlyfine.com) takes the stage at 12:30 pm, bringing an eclectic mix of instrumental and vocal musical tapestry that evokes Motown, James Brown, and P-funk. Traditional Latin string band (or “orquesta típica”) Lone Piñon (www.lonepinon.com) hits the Main Stage at 2 pm ET. The New Mexico-based group celebrates a wide palate of traditional styles that weaves together Spanish, Mexican, European immigrant, Anglo-American, and Afro-American musical influences.
The Festival closes at 3:30 pm with rising roots country musician Cole Chaney (https://colechaneymusic.com), a Kentucky native whose emotional songwriting and powerful voice have propelled his career quickly. Chaney is featured on the lineups for major roots festivals across this year including MerleFest, Railbird, and Laurel Cove.
2023 Black Swamp Arts Festival Main Stage – Full Lineup
Friday September 8
5:00 pm: The Sensational Barnes Brothers
6:30 PM: Making Movies
8:00 PM: Ruthie Foster
10:00 PM: Kaleta & Super Yamba Band
Saturday September 9
12:00 pm: Mike Williams on Sax
1:30 pm: The Antivillains
3:00 pm: Full Cord
4:30 pm: Buffalo Nichols
6:15 pm: Yam Yam
8:00 pm: Amythyst Kiah
10:00 pm: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band
Sunday September 10
11:00 am: Alex Anest Organ Trio
12:30 pm: Strictly Fine
2:00 pm: Line Piñon
3:30 pm: Cole Chaney
