Where is the best place to find a winter music festival? You don’t have to ask Siri or Alexa, you don’t even need to book a hotel room, unless you want to take a staycation that weekend. Our very own Peoples Bank Theatre is home to this year’s Undercurrent Music Festival, hosted by Hold the Note Magazine. Undercurrent is in it’s second year with its debut last summer. The premier Undercurrent Festival was held at Parkersburg’s Point Park Marketplace, but this round will be taking Marietta by storm, just hopefully not another snowstorm.

Michelle Waters, of Hold the Note Magazine, the organizer and heart behind this festival has committed herself and her time to showcasing the amazing talent that we have right here in the Mid Ohio Valley and our surrounding areas. In fact, all of the acts featured have some, or all members from Ohio and/or West Virginia. One of the acts making their festival debut, Cutler Station, is the definition of home grown talent. They are a group of neighborhood guys, with a passion for making music, and a recently released record, making a name for themselves in our up and coming music scene.

Hold the Note and the Peoples Bank Theatre have worked hard to put together a diverse lineup spread across different genres of music. The acts performing in the winter Undercurrent Festival fall into such categories as Indie Rock, Folk Rock, Sci-Fi Dad Rock, Americana, Ambient, Hip-Hop, Post Rock, Pop, Garage Country, Psych Rock, Spoken Word and Indie Core. The complete lineup, including performance schedule can be found on the theatre’s website. When I asked Michelle about any returning acts from the first Undercurrent Music Festival, she was quick to reply that there are so many artists that deserve a chance to be heard, that she and the other organizers want to bring attention to, that there are no repeat performers for the winter Undercurrent Festival. She did say, however, that it is not ruled out for future festivals, and that maybe the favorites could be determined by the fans when that time comes.

I asked Michelle about her preference as far as holding the festival outdoors in warm weather, as opposed to indoors in the winter. True to who she is, Michelle gave me the most positive response about both venues. She told me  “I love the Mid-Ohio Valley, and think Parkersburg, where I’ve lived for the past 15 years, and Marietta are both so beautiful, and both have so much to offer to our community. I loved the outdoor vibe at the Marketplace, and I’m also so excited to see and hear a weekend of great local music in such a gorgeous, historic venue (like the Peoples Bank Theatre).” I also asked Michelle what her favorite part about the original Undercurrent Festival was, and what drew her in to taking on such a big endeavor again so soon. She told me that she loved hearing people talk about the artists, and hearing people say that they have found new favorite music in the showcase of talent from the festival.

The winter Undercurrent Music Festival will be rocking the Peoples Bank Theater Friday February 9th and Saturday February 10th, 2018. Tickets can be purchased at the door or or at the theatre box office at 222 Putnam Street, Marietta. Tickets can also be purchased online. Tickets are $18 for Friday, $23 for Saturday, or $35 for Weekend Passes.
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