The 8th Annual Blue Ox Music Festival Invites a Stellar Lineup to the Stage

Eau Claire, Wisconsin – January 19, 2022

From its inception year, Blue Ox Music Festival has brought top-tier musical artists to play on the stages at The Pines Music Park.  This year’s lineup ranks once again at the top of the announcements for bluegrass music festivals in 2022.

The 8th Annual Blue Ox Music Festival will take place June 23 – 25, 2022 in Eau Claire, WI.  The lineup includes Béla Fleck: My Bluegrass Heart, Old Crowe Medicine Show, Sam Bush Band, Punch Brothers, Del McCoury Band, Railroad Earth, Joseph, Paul Cauthen, Fruition, Samantha Fish, Cedric Burnside, Daniel Donato, Tejon Street Corner Thieves, Humbird, and many more.

If you’re a long-time reader of Festy GoNuts, you know how much passion we have for this family-friendly festival.   Our luck brought us to their first annual festival in 2015, and we instantly fell in love with the shaded campgrounds, the tight-knit community, and the mind-boggling lineup.

When we started Festy GoNuts in 2016, Blue Ox Music Festival was (of course) included on our 6-Festivals-in-6 Weeks kick-off series.  We learned that the weather can be a bit peculiar, but somehow that is what made this music festival in Wisconsin even more special.  We bonded with new friends, reconnected with old friends, and felt like we built a bridge that spans from Colorado to Wisconsin.

Fast forward to 2022, and it looks like festival-hosts Pert Near Sandstone called on some of the best in bluegrass, folk, and Americana to join them at The Pines.

For the folks that haven’t caught Béla Fleck’s bluegrass tribute, you’re in for a treat.  Béla Fleck is a legendary banjo player known for his unique stylings that reach far beyond traditional bluegrass.  This tribute brings him back to the roots with just a few acclaimed musicians along for the ride.  His My Bluegrass Heart session at Blue Ox will also feature Michael Cleveland, Sierra Hull, Justin Moses, Mark Schatz, and Bryan Sutton.  But expect the stage to be filled with plenty of star-studded sit-ins and jams.

The 2022 lineup continues to bring the high caliber of musicians and bands for which Blue Ox has become known.

Festival-founder Mark Bischel shares, “We feel that this year brings a good variety of high caliber artists reaching into the Blues with Cedric Burnside and Samantha Fish, hitting some country and western notes with artists such as Paul Cauthen and Buffalo Gospel, and satisfying our faithful bluegrass fans out there with the likes of Bela Fleck’s Bluegrass Heart, the Del McCoury Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, and the Sam Bush Band. We also have some more progressive members of the bluegrass community coming out with Railroad Earth and the Punch Brothers. ” 

Bischel is also proud to announce that there will be a dozen bands from Wisconsin and Minnesota on the 2022 Blue Ox lineup.  “We have Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Them Coulee Boys, Armchair Boogie, Chicken Wire Empire, and Buffalo Gospel from Wisconsin. Then west of the river over there in Minnesota we have not only our host band Pert Near Sandstone, but Mae Simpson, The Pistol Whippin Party Penguins, the Grammy-winning Okee Dokee Brothers for all the kids and kids at heart, Good Morning Bedlam, Humbird, and Erik Koskinen,” Bischel adds.

At this point, there are probably only a few of you still reading as most have headed over to the Blue Ox Music Festival Website to buy your tickets.  Attendance is capped at 5,000 to ensure an intimate and safe experience for all festival-goers, so we suggest you get your tickets today! 

In the world of music festivals, we seek out those magical places where the lineup and venue are equally spectacular.  That magical place is Blue Ox Music Festival.  Hope to see you there. 

The 2022 lineup continues to bring the high caliber of musicians and bands for which Blue Ox has become known.

Festival-founder Mark Bischel shares, “We feel that this year brings a good variety of high caliber artists reaching into the Blues with Cedric Burnside and Samantha Fish, hitting some country and western notes with artists such as Paul Cauthen and Buffalo Gospel, and satisfying our faithful bluegrass fans out there with the likes of Bela Fleck’s Bluegrass Heart, the Del McCoury Band, Old Crow Medicine Show, and the Sam Bush Band. We also have some more progressive members of the bluegrass community coming out with Railroad Earth and the Punch Brothers. ” 

Bischel is also proud to announce that there will be a dozen bands from Wisconsin and Minnesota on the 2022 Blue Ox lineup.  “We have Horseshoes & Hand Grenades, Them Coulee Boys, Armchair Boogie, Chicken Wire Empire, and Buffalo Gospel from Wisconsin. Then west of the river over there in Minnesota we have not only our host band Pert Near Sandstone, but Mae Simpson, The Pistol Whippin Party Penguins, the Grammy-winning Okee Dokee Brothers for all the kids and kids at heart, Good Morning Bedlam, Humbird, and Erik Koskinen,” Bischel adds.

At this point, there are probably only a few of you still reading as most have headed over to the Blue Ox Music Festival Website to buy your tickets.  Attendance is capped at 5,000 to ensure an intimate and safe experience for all festival-goers, so we suggest you get your tickets today!

In the world of music festivals, we seek out those magical places where the lineup and venue are equally spectacular.  That magical place is Blue Ox Music Festival.  Hope to see you there.