By Ashley Bunton APG Media,

11 hours ago

On stage on Thursday, Athens singer-songwriter Chris Biester opened the early show at the Nelsonville Music Festival as hundreds of Mudville campers arrived for the weekend at the Snow Fork Event Center.

“A long time ago feels like a million years,” Biester said on the Campground Stage before performing a song about an earthquake that caused the Mississippi River to flow backward.

Strumming a guitar beneath purple and blue lights and joined by Nate Brite with a standup bass and saxophonist Ted Harris, Biester’s song lyrics touched on old towns, best friends, heaven and overcoming hard times.

“Please don’t let me be a lonely old man,” Biester sang in the song, “Dee’s Diner.” It was written on a napkin at the diner in Nelsonville “back when they used to have a jukebox,” he said.

A crowd of Athens locals whistled and cheered “Yeah, yeah, yeah!” as he performed.

“It was nice to see the Athens legend Chris Biester play with a full band at Nelsonville,” Athens resident Kyle Lyons told The Athens Messenger after the show.

There were about 350 early arrivals on Thursday, the Nelsonville Music Festival staff said.

Among the early arrivals was Abby Waller, who was picking a few of the four-leaf clovers that dot the festival grounds.

“I ended up eating one of the four-leaf clovers to get the good luck inside,” Waller said. “I gave two away to share the luck.”

She said the trick to finding four-leaf clovers on the ground during the shows each year is by being “observant of the ground” when dancing and walking around.

“You’ll meet a lot of magical people at this festival and a lot of local townies from Athens, too,” Waller said.

The rain didn’t last all day on Thursday, but as the show went on, a car became stuck in the mud by the Campground Stage, prompting cheers and applause from audience members as the vehicle was pushed out.

Biester’s 8 p.m. set was followed by the Athens-based Mill Creek Mile duo of guitarist and vocalist Jerrod Goggans and guitarist Bailey Ries.

“Let it rain,” Goggans sang. “Let it pour… a whole lot more because I’m dealing with the blues.”

As the music continued, audience members blew bubbles and parents got together with their children in front of the stage to dance.

Jason Gepperth from Columbus said he’s happy to return to the Nelsonville Music Festival each year.

“This is a feel-good music festival,” he said. “I love how it supports the region and I love the people, this crowd, and the vibe and music. It’s the most exciting, community-driven weekend and I look forward to it every year.”

JP Harris, the last act on Thursday, opened his set at 10 p.m.

He performed his song “East Alabama,” which he said he wrote, “in memorial of all the fellas who came before me.” Born in Alabama, Harris said he left home as “a young fella” and tries to explain the story behind that decision through his songwriting for “some folks who really wanted to know…”

“It’s not going to be muddy forever,” Harris said.

In the song, “To The Droves,” he sang, “A fantasy of flowers, just time in simple hours… That we spent among the stars above… But my heavens, they have come and gone, take your heart and carry on.”

Midway through the set, Harris picked up a sparkly black guitar and finished the night around 11 p.m. with a performance of his song “Beautiful World” from his new album, “JP Harris Is A Trash Fire.”

“It’s a beautiful world we live in,” Harris sang.