Black Bear Music Festival set to draw thousands

GOSHEN — Litchfield Hills Road Race President Beth Murphy, who regularly oversees 500 volunteers for the annual event, has had a dream for five years. She wanted to put on a show — a really big musical festival at a really big venue.

For research, she went to the North Carolina music festival known as Merle Fest, which draws a crowd of 75,000 on 13 stages. She learned how to put on a big music festival, and how to do it better. When she returned to Litchfield, the dream team of herself, local musician Ian Campbell, who was in charge of artistic talent and social media; Al Vagnini, of Power Station Events, who produces the Huskies and events at South Farms; and Evan Dobos, who handles design and media marketing, was formed and Black Bear was born.

The line-up of musical performers continues to grow, and at this point includes favorite Ian Campbell and The Lustre Kings, described by Beth Murphy as a cross of Roy Orbison and Elvis, and self-described on their website as having “a devoted international fanbase and continues to perform over 150 dates a year, including regular stops at nightspots, festivals and casinos.”

Boston-based folk singer Adam Ezra, well-known to Connecticut fans, who has performed onstage with Train and Melissa Etheridge and recorded with John Oates, will be performing at Black Bear on Friday as part of the Adam Ezra Get Folked Tour 2018, and characterized as everything from “hillbilly-Pink Floyd” to “folk-pop” to “surreal Americana.”

New York’s Slambovian Circus of Dreams “is a riveting, mesmerizing, crazy, amazing machine of music,” according to Chronogram magazine. As part of its mission, the group will include as many emerging artists as its budget and schedule allow, to give startup musicians the chance to play in front of thousands.

All music is original and will showcase the vast diversity of Americana, such as back-porch blues, southern Cajun, deep-woods bluegrass, folk and stompin’ rockabilly. Local nonprofits are offered spaces on the fairgrounds.

The Black Bear will take place Thursday to Oct. 8 at the Goshen Fairgrounds on Route 63.

The campgrounds available on site can accommodate 600 campers; and there will be unique food trucks and craft vendors, as well as music workshops throughout the three days of music.

For details or to purchase advance tickets, visit blackbearmusicfest.com or call 860-469-5081.

Tom Moore / Contributed photo The Slambovian Circus of Dreams is one of the main attractions at the Black Bear Music Festival in Goshen, which takes place Oct. 4 to 8.