GREENFIELD — After more than a year without it, live music is making a comeback at the Franklin County Fairgrounds.
On July 11, Freedom Fest will welcome three local bands — Sonorus, Jimmy Just Quit and No Lens — to the fairground stage. Food and beverages will be for sale at various vendors, as will beer from Berkshire Brewing Co.
“We’re just so incredibly excited to have this opportunity to bring people back together at the fairgrounds and have … a little bit of entertainment back in Franklin County,” said Michael Nelson, president of the Franklin County Agricultural Society, which runs the fairgrounds on Wisdom Way. “(Freedom Fest) is a little play on words, given it’s taking place at what we hope is the end of the pandemic. We’ve regained our certain freedoms, but also, of course, that is in the area of Fourth of July.”
Tickets, which will eventually be available online and at the door, will require a minimum $10 donation.
Donations from ticket sales, as well as a portion of proceeds from Berkshire Brewing Co.’s sales, will benefit the mudslide project. Nelson previously explained the society is seeking a permit from the city’s Conservation Commission so it can begin work, hopefully this summer, on stabilizing a slope at the back of the fairgrounds that has had issues with an embankment collapse and mudslides above Linwood Street.
“This will help us get a little closer to our goal,” he said. “We’re still about $75,000 short of what we need.”
Freedom Fest Entertainment Director Scott Kuzmeskus, whose band Sonorus (previously known as Lucy’s Starship) will be making its “name debut” at the event, said he is excited to offer local bands an opportunity to perform live again.
“This past year has really been a struggle,” he said. “It’s a big celebration of music being back. It’s been a tough year for any musician.”
For Jimmy Just Quit, Kuzmeskus said, it will be the band’s first show in almost a year and a half.
“They have a huge fan base,” he said. “They’re a fantastic band.”
We’re excited to see them back on the stage again,” Nelson added.
People, too, are “itching” to get back together again.
“It’s been a long year and a half,” Kuzmeskus said.
The event is scheduled for July 11, from noon to 8 p.m. The gates to the fairgrounds will open at 11 a.m.
Mary Byrne can be reached at mbyrne@recorder.com or 413-930-4429. Twitter: @MaryEByrne