With summer skies and salt spray on ocean breezes serving as a backdrop, the inaugural Nantucket Music Festival is set for this Saturday and Sunday, August 2 and 3, featuring a stellar lineup that includes Dispatch, Guster, Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros, Alya Brown, Entrain, Steel Pulse, Donovan Frankenreiter, and nearly a dozen others.
“Too many years have passed since fans of rock music, blues, and folk could enjoy an open air concert on Nantucket,” said NMF co-executive director Cynthia Dareshori, who founded the event with her friend and fellow islander Cheryl Emery. Dareshori and Emery were inspired to start the NMF after attending several other festivals, including the New Orleans Jazz Fest.
“Cheryl and I saw so many happy people at those festivals,” said Dareshori. “We knew in our hearts that the time was right to bring that kind of happiness to music lovers on our island.”
Daytime, open-air performances will take place both days from 11 am to 4 pm. In the evenings, sponsor dinners will be held under a tent with separate tickets and net proceeds to benefit the Celebrate Music Foundation, designed to support local musical performance and education initiatives.
The festival will be held at Tom Nevers Field on Nantucket’s eastern side which has plenty of space to accommodate thousands. In addition to great music played on 2 stages, more than 50 tents spread out over 9 acres will sell food & crafts, and offer activities for kids. Guests can even ride a ferris wheel.
Get Tickets While They Last
Some Music Festival events are expected to be sold out by Thursday, but as of press time, general admission tickets are still available in advance at NantucketMusicFestival.com and from the new NMF office at 6 Sea Street, open daily from 9 am-7 pm. Day passes are $85; children age 12 and younger admitted free. Any remaining tickets will be available at the festival box office in Tom Nevers on Saturday and Sunday. Parking is not offered at Tom Nevers Field, but permits to park on New South Road are $15 online and first-come, first-served on Saturday and Sunday. Shuttles will transport festivalgoers to the event.