How do you raise the bar in year three of your festival when the Ozark Mountain Daredevils headlined year two?
That was the question facing Molly Healey and the team that plans Springfield’s Earth Day Festival. The answer came in the form of Langhorne Slim, a singer-songwriter based in Nashville, Tennessee.
“We weren’t sure if we were going to be able to fill those big shoes,” Healey said. “We really think that Langhorne Slim is going to at least keep us at the level we were before. He’s a nationally touring artist, he aligns with our cause and he’s just been great to work with so far. We’re super excited about it.”
That cause is sustainability. The Earth Day Festival bills itself as a “celebration of the earth and nature” and “a plastic-free sustainability event featuring an all-day concert.” Its third edition is scheduled for April 27, 2024, at Jordan Valley Park. Tickets are on sale now on the Earth Day Festival website.
2024 lineup features a wide variety of styles
On Nov. 3, Healey announced the lineup for the all-day concert and it includes nine artists with a wide variety of music styles — ranging across rock, Americana, soul, experimental and roots music. The Earth Day Festival will feature two stages, a main stage and an acoustic stage.
“We are so excited about this lineup,” Healey said. It’s going to be the best one yet, we think. That’s not to say that the lineups we’ve had before haven’t been amazing, but we feel like we’re growing.”
Booking a national artist was a new experience for Healey, who had conversations with a few experts in the industry before diving into the process. She said a couple of “loosely secured” artists didn’t work out and Slim — who has made multiple late-night television appearances and toured with acts like the Avett Brothers, Drive-By Truckers and the Lumineers — was suggested as another option. The answer was an immediate yes.
“I have been listening to independent artists' playlists on streaming platforms and he’s been a mainstay on multiple playlists that I’ve loved over the years,” Healey said. “I’ve been hearing his music for a long time now and so to be able to have him coming is a dream realized.”
Familiar regional and local bands round out the roster
The 3rd Annual Earth Day Festival lineup includes some regional acts familiar to Springfield-area music fans: Ha Ha Tonka from West Plains, Missouri, and National Park Radio from Arkansas. Both bands have made numerous appearances in the Queen City, including Nov. 4, when Ha Ha Tonka opened for the Beach Boys at Drury University.
“They have really strong followings here so it feels like they’re local (bands),” Healey said. “We’re excited about them.”
Healey is also excited about Columbia, Missouri, band Rochara Knight and the Honey Doves.
“They’re a soul band and they’re just going to fill everyone with so much joy,” she said.
Healey’s own band, the Molly Healey String Project, is also making the trip down from Columbia for the Earth Day Festival, while Patti Steel is driving up from Arkansas. Other acts in the lineup are the Shandies, Dallas Jones and Brandon Moore. The day will also include performances from Springfield Aerial Fitness.
“It’s just going to be a fabulous day of music,” Healey said.
Earth Day Festival has raised more than $50,000 for environmental organizations
The Earth Day Festival has raised more than $50,000 for environmental organizations in its two years of existence. Those organizations include the James River Basin Partnership, Ozark Greenways, Ozark Society, Springfield Compost Collective, Springfield-Greene County Park Board and the Watershed Committee.
“This was an idea born out of a conversation with my daughter when I wanted to do something for environmentalism and combine my love for music and my passion for environmentalism,” Healey said. “Between me and my team, we envisioned this plastic-free, fundraising music festival and we didn’t know what to expect our first year. How do you set a goal when you’ve never done something before?
“We set a loose goal, but we didn’t know what we were getting into. So to see it grow, to officially be a nonprofit now, and to be able to say that we’re actually doing something that can be tangible, monetized for our environmental community is just exactly how I wanted this to go. To have something go exactly as you wanted it to go is something that doesn’t happen very often and I think that’s probably what we’re most proud of.”
Springfield Earth Day Festival Lineup
Headline Productions Main Stage
- Langhorne Slim
- National Park Radio
- Ha Ha Tonka
- Molly Healey String Project
- Rochara Knight and the Honey Doves
Dancing Soundman Acoustic Stage
- The Shandies
- Dallas Jones
- Patti Steel
- Brandon Moore and Friends
Special appearances throughout the day by Springfield Aerial Fitness
April 27, 2024
Jordan Valley Park, Springfield
Tickets are on sale now on the Earth Day Festival website. For more information, follow the Earth Day Festival on Facebook.
