Pictured from left to right are the six members of alternative band Cellar Dwellar, Adi Mars (standing), Nico Linik, Nick Partridge, Kade Weinmann, Jesse Lung (standing) and Jayci Kaufman. Credit: Mick Martinez
Local band Cellar Dwellar is set to play in this year’s 10th annual Midwest Psych Fest Saturday.
The Midwest Psych Fest will feature two days of live music, art, poetry and vendors, Benjamin Ahlteen, one of the festival’s co-organizers, said. Of the festival’s three stages, Cellar Dwellar will play the indoor stage at 11:10 p.m., according to Midwest Psych Fest’s website.
Before Cellar Dwellar was fully formed, the band started as a solo project, vocalist and guitarist Kade Weinmann said. Following the death of their sister in August 2020, Weinmann said they penned songs to cope with extreme grief.
“That kind of just sent me into a period where I had no other outlet besides music,” Weinmann said. “I went into a period where all I was doing was writing and playing music, it was the only thing I had.”
Weinmann said they were later joined by drummer Nico Linik, guitarist Nick Partridge, bassist Jayci Kaufman and saxophonist Jesse Lung over the course of roughly three years from July 2020 to January 2023. Most recently, Adi Mars — guitarist in local band JAYUS and a musical inspiration for Cellar Dwellar — joined the band in June 2023.
“Back in June, I wanted to stop playing guitar, I just wanted to sing,” Weinmann said. “I started posting around looking for guitarists and Adi asked, and it was a no-brainer because we are massive fans of his band.”
Over the years of writing and making music, Cellar Dwellar has also come into their own when performing live, Kaufman and Linik said.
Kaufman said being “in the pocket,” a term that describes the thrilling feeling of playing instruments in perfect cohesion with others, is his favorite part of playing live shows.
“I love being in sync with my bandmates, and when we can look around at each other and smile,” Kaufman said.
While every live show is different, Linik said he feels the most joy when the band performs as a strong unit.
“There is an unparalleled feeling to getting on stage and performing songs we’ve spent months writing and rehearsing to a receptive audience,” Linik, also an Ohio State alum, said. “Every show is a different experience in social and musical aspects, you never know who you’re going to meet or how songs might change based on how everyone in the band feels and plays that night.”
The 2023 Midwest Psych Fest, which is embracing an “alien welcome party” theme, will also showcase an array of homemade arts and crafts, Ahlteen said.
“We’ve been literally building spacecrafts,” Ahlteen said. “There’s going to be a lot of fun things to stumble upon and little paths to take around and explore.”
With this being the festival’s 10th year, Ahlteen said Midwest Psych Fest has no plans of leaving anytime soon.
“We’ll probably end it wanting to already plan the next one,” Ahlteen said. “I think we’re going to start planning right away.”
The 2023 Midwest Psych Fest will kick off at 5 p.m., Friday, with local band Teratogen at Troubadour Farm in Galena, Ohio. More information about the festival can be found on its website.
