MidWest Friends Fest is now a 2-Day event happening on May 30 and May 31 at The Southgate House Revival in Newport, KY.
$20 Friday and $30 Saturday single-day tickets are available here, and here, until May 29. Prices increase May 30.
2-Day Passes are on sale for $40 until May 29. Price increases May 30.
Daily lineups have been announced, featuring 42 bands from Cincinnati, NKY, Dayton, Columbus, and across the country.
Signals Midwest, Mike Adams At His Honest Weight, Kat and the Hurricane, Leisure Hour, Cinema Stare, The Tisburys, and Super City are some of the featured national acts.
Bear The Moon, Bandages, Mall Witch, Tooth Lures A Fang, and LayLow are a few of the featured local acts.
Several community partners have been announced, including SofaBurn Records and Start Today Harm Reduction, SofaBurn, Inc, and Abortion Fund of Ohio, with more to come.
Daily lineups have been announced for Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31
Now entering its second year, MidWest Friends Fest 2025 is doubling down on all the things that made their first year efforts a success. With more bands, more community partners, and more collaborations, this year’s MidWest Friends Fest is happening on Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31 at the inimitable Southgate House Revival in Newport, Kentucky.
Featuring bands from as far away as Madison, Wisconsin, Brooklyn, New York, Boston, Massachusetts, and Atlanta, Georgia, as well as 16 bands from Cincinnati and NKY, not only is the fest expanding to two days, it’s expanding its reach and connections, bringing together bands from all over the eastern half of the United States. With genres ranging from post-hardcore to math rock, emo, alternative, power pop, and even a little Americana, the fest is bringing together 42 like-minded, forward thinking, and incredibly talented bands and musicians for an energetic, inclusive, and positive weekend of music and community.
Friday, May 30 will feature: Alex Kasznel & The Board of Directors, As It May, Bandages, blucone, Half Nelson, Heist, National Barks, Nightmarathons, Nowhere Fast, Old Pictures/News Pictures, Signals Midwest, Sleepy Drums, Stokelys, Super City, and The Tisburys
Saturday, May 31 will feature: 2-22’s, Abandoned Malls of America, Bear The Moon, Boy Bandicoot, Boy Clothes, Caitlin Edwards, Cinema Stare, Dad Hats, Ghost Town Remedy, Glassworld, Honeycrush, HummusVacuum, Kat and the Hurricane, LayLow, Leisure Hour, Life In Idle, Mall Witch, Manor Gates, Middle-Out, Mike Adams at His Honest Weight, Nick Dittmeier & The Sawdusters, Over Anna, Take The Reins, The 1984 Draft, Tooth Lures A Fang, Year Twins, and Young Animals
For the full list of local bands performing at this year’s MidWest Friends Fest, please follow this link.
For the full list of regional, national, and touring bands performing at this year’s MidWest Friends Fest, please follow this link.
Stages and set times will be announced in May.
In addition to the bands who will make the fest such an exceptional experience, MidWest Friends Fest will be partnering with Dayton, Kentucky independent music label SofaBurn Records and NKY non-profit Start Today Harm Reduction, as well as returning community partners PFLAG Cincinnati, Red Wine & Blue, and Abortion Fund of Ohio. New this year, the fest will also be working closely with SofaBurn, Inc., a non-profit focused on the independent music community – their mission is to help provide healthcare to musicians in need.
The fest is also collaborating on a series of concerts with local booking collective Burrito Boys Booking, sibling event Say It Louder Fest, a women’s and LGBTQIA+ rights centric event happening at the end of June at The Southgate House Revival, as well as Start Today Harm Reduction and new booking entity Daytonnati Booking. Three shows have been announced, with four more on the way.
Interviews with MidWest Friends Fest 2025 showrunner Jared Bowers, MidWest Friends Fest Community Partners, and all bands playing the fest are available upon request.
Please reach out to midwestfriendsfest@gmail.com for any press inquiries
