Folk-rock singer Tim Easton will return to Columbus to play at this year’s ComFest. Easton’s slot, set to begin at 3:10 p.m. Saturday, will be held on Goodale Park’s Gazebo Stage. Credit: Courtesy of Madison Thorn
Though Columbus musicians cultivate electrifying energy year-round, there’s no better time than a summer weekend to catch a host of lively local performances.
In addition to hosting local artisans, serving up tempting treats and nurturing the Columbus community’s overall sense of spirit, ComFest — an annual volunteer-run festival, which will be held at Goodale Park Friday through Sunday — spotlights Columbus’ music scene with myriad musical performances.
Nashville-based, folk-rock singer-songwriter and Ohio State alum Tim Easton doesn’t currently call Columbus home; even so, the Akron native said he always feels welcome and is thrilled to play at ComFest this year. Easton’s set will unfold on the Gazebo Stage Saturday starting at 3:10 p.m.
Performing in the city prompts nostalgia, Easton said, because the “mean streets of Columbus, Ohio” are where he learned to play live music as an Ohio State student.
“It was the first scene I became a part of, and so I enjoy it,” Easton said. “I love ComFest. I love the people that started it, that whole beatnik vibe and community festival attitude.”
While being based in Columbus on and off for about 10 years, Easton played in bands such as the skiffle, “trad folk” group Kosher Spears — with whom he played his first ComFest as a college student in the ‘80s — and folk-rock band Haynes Boys. Since Easton’s college years, performing at ComFest has become increasingly meaningful.
“The community spans generations, and this festival brings generations together. So, you got the old guard, which I am now starting to represent,” Easton said. “Now, it’s not about the party for me anymore. It’s not about drinking and all that stuff. It’s more about music and being of service to your community. And I don’t live in that community anymore, but I always feel part of it because it’s always been so good to me.”
Beyond ComFest, Easton said he is scheduled to perform two other shows while in town.
The first is part of a “Songs and Stories” event at Lost Weekend Records, which will kick off at 6 p.m. on Friday. The second is a standard 10 p.m. show at local music venue and bar Dick’s Den, also on Friday.
Indeed, ComFest illuminates the city’s vibrant, multigenerational music scene. One up-and-coming band performing in the festival is Space Kid, a garage-rock trio comprised of three incoming Thomas Worthington High School seniors — lead singer and guitarist Patrick Gallaugher, bassist and backup singer Riley Morgan-Boucher and drummer Liam Keron.
Garage-rock trio Space Kid — pictured playing ComFest last year — is set to perform on the Bozo Stage Friday at 6:45 p.m. Credit: Courtesy of Niko Francis
Space Kid will grace the Bozo Stage Friday at 6:45 p.m., marking its third annual ComFest performance. Since its ComFest debut, Gallaugher said the band has cultivated confidence through increased performance experience and feels excited to bring its “sunshine energy” to the festival this year.
“We try to just get up there and have a blast and get all the kids dancing,” Gallaugher said. “We just love playing shows and live shows — I think that’s where we really do our best. And we just love that energy that we get playing our music, and watching our friends sing along and having new people come up to us at the end.”
Outside of its live performances, Space Kid has a debut EP, titled “Wanted,” under its belt as of November 2023.
The EP, Gallaugher said, was released under Super Sport Records, a local label run by the Columbus-based folk band Caamp’s banjoist, Evan Westfall.
Further exemplifying the collaborative nature of Columbus’s music scene, Gallaugher said he and his bandmates have befriended numerous other local bands through performing and plan on inviting others from the local music scene to join them on stage for a few songs.
“It’s a very inclusive scene, which is sweet, and it’s very open,” Gallaugher said. “I feel like ComFest also shines some light on some important people in Columbus, which is great.”
J.P. Olsen, the director of Depauw University’s Pulliam Center for Contemporary Media — and a musician likely to perform alongside Easton for “a song or two” during Easton’s ComFest set — similarly emphasized ComFest’s role in promoting Columbus’ thriving music scene.
“I feel like it’s a gathering together of the most interesting elements of the city,” Olsen said. “There’s a deep culture and love of music in the region that gets expressed through a festival like [ComFest] like very few other places.”
Ultimately, this musical celebration is about spreading joy, Easton said.
“I just want to give somebody a good feeling in the moment,” Easton said. “That’s what ComFest is for. And maybe to turn to take care of each other and be kind and help others when they can.”
Gallaugher agreed. Though he acknowledged Space Kid’s future can never be certain, Gallaugher said there’s always potential for the band to rock out another ComFest many years from now.
“If we’re all bald and old and wrinkly and we’re still playing ComFest and having a good time, I’d say it all worked out at the end of the day,” Gallaugher said.
More information about ComFest can be found on its website.
