GREENFIELD — When the Green River Festival returns to the Franklin County Fairgrounds this weekend, June 19 to June 21, it will mark an extra special year as the beloved event celebrates its 40th anniversary.
This year’s festival, which is shaping up to draw the largest crowd yet, will feature more than 50 bands performing across four stages, along with local food, beer and wine, crafts, camping and plenty of activities for children.
The festival has been one of the high points of summer in western Massachusetts since its inception as a concert at Greenfield Community College in 1986. The first fest was held to celebrate the five-year anniversary of WRSI-FM, and featured NRBQ and 10,000 Maniacs.
That initial concert planted the seed of what would become a music and hot air balloon festival presented by the Franklin County Chamber of Commerce, and it officially become the Green River Festival in 1998. It eventually became one of the major music festivals in the Northeast, a fact confirmed by national media attention in 2015.
Signature Sounds of Northampton sold the Green River Festival to DSP Shows of Northampton and New York in 2023. The festival also moved, post-pandemic, from its home at GCC to the Franklin County Fairgrounds on Wisdom Way, leaving the hot air balloons behind, as the new site was not suitable for them.
Some of the bands that have graced the festival’s stages over the years include Brandi Carlile, The Avett Brothers, Jon Batiste, Emmylou Harris, Dr. John, Richard Thompson and many others.
Festival director and co-owner of DSP Shows, John Sanders, said he is proud to be part of such a special and enduring event.
“The economy isn’t great, and people are having to be tight with their money,” Sanders said. “There are a lot of festivals like FreshGrass and Boston Calling that aren’t even happening this year. And here’s Green River Festival, celebrating its 40th year, and we are going to have our biggest crowd ever.”
Sanders credits the festival’s devoted fans for keeping it going and growing over the years.
“It feels great. It feels like the community has bought into it and loves the festival and always has,” he said. “Also, it is not the secret it once was and people come from all over the Northeast.”
The growth in attendance can be credited to the strong lineup this year, featuring a host of artists, such as The Beths, Ratboys, Tyler Ballgame, Wednesday and more. Headliners are country musician Charley Crockett on Friday, indie rockers Spoon on Saturday, and the experimental, indie rock band Geese on Sunday night.
Sunday is proving to be the most popular day, with tickets nearly sold out. One of the main reasons for this is Geese. The Brooklyn-based band, led by Cameron Winter, formed in 2016 when its members were in high school.
Sanders books the festival acts months in advance, and when he booked Geese, he had no idea the band would take off as it did after its third album, “Getting Killed,” became a hit in 2025 with both critics and fans.
“I was working on booking them right around when the record came out,” Sanders explained. “I had no idea it was going to go through the stratosphere and that they would be on ‘Saturday Night Live’ the week that our single-day tickets went on sale. We just knew they were a great band and would be a good fit for Green River, and were lucky to get them when we did.
“There are so many acts I’m excited to see this year,” Sanders continued, rattling off a list of artists including Ratboys, The War and Treaty, J Mascis, Kurt Vile & The Violators and festival alum Lucius, as well as Hurray for the Riff Raff.
As is tradition, danceable music from all over the globe will be featured on the Dean’s Beans Stage, featuring everything from the soul and reggae sounds of Lila Iké from Jamaica, to the bounce music of Big Freedia from New Orleans. Singer-songwriter Angela Autumn and bluesman Swamp Dogg are examples of the type of Americana and roots music that will be played on the Back Porch Stage.
From the start, the Green River Festival has showcased local talent, even as it has brought in more national acts. This year, the Roundhouse at the fairgrounds will be dedicated to local artists like Mal Devisa, Eavesdrop, LuxDeluxe, Splendid Torch and June Millington.
Millington, co-founder of Fanny and the Institute for the Musical Arts (IMA), will play on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m bringing a group of campers with me, and they sound great,” she said, adding that she will also play guitar with Filipino rapper Ruby Ibarra on Friday night.
The Roundhouse will also feature music for children. Festival favorites The Grumpytime Club band, led by Carrie Ferguson, will host a fun-time dance party on Sunday.
“We love playing the Green River Festival,” Ferguson said. “We’re really looking forward to it — it’s always a good time. I believe this will be our fourth festival and we’re even hoping to debut some new material this year. Can’t wait!”
The festival always strives to make improvements, but it has not implemented any major changes heading into the 40th year.
“With more people, we have had to up the infrastructure with more food vendors and porta potties,” Sanders said. “And we have tried to adjust the gates a little to get people in faster and more efficiently.”
Last year, after requests from attendees, the festival added a selection of local beers. They will once again offer brews from seven local breweries, including Incandescent Brewing from Bernardston, a new addition. There will also be canned cocktails, wine, and plenty of other local food and drink options.
On-site parking passes for Saturday and Sunday and all camping options are sold out, but a free shuttle will run from the Olive Street Parking Garage to the fairgrounds. There will be free parking in the parking garage and at the lots in Greenfield, but the city has asked that people not park at the meters and instead leave those spaces for downtown visitors.
A new offering this year is that for $50, chairs, blankets and other items can be checked in and stored, to avoid having to carry them around.
“I think the ticket sales prove that people are really excited about what we are doing this year,” Sanders said.
Tickets can be purchased at greenriverfestival.com and there will be a pop-up box office at the Iron Horse Music Hall on Thursday, June 18, from 3 to 9 p.m. Tickets and parking passes can be picked up at this time.
Prices increase on June 18 at 11.59 p.m. Children ages 12 and under will be admitted for free. Gates open at noon on Friday, and 11 a.m. on Saturday and Sunday.