Big Horn Basin native fulfills Nowoodstock dream

WORLAND - Growing up in Greybull, Patrick Harrington dreamed of someday playing the annual Nowoodstock Music Festival in Ten Sleep, having attended the festival nearly every year since its inception.

Tonight, Harrington and the rest of The Libby Creek Original will take the stage at Nowoodstock at the Ten Sleep Town Park.

"It's always been my dream to play at Nowoodstock," Harrington said.

Harrington fronts the Laramie-based band. He returned with the band to play in Worland last February, but playing at Nowoodstock has been always been a dream of his.

The Libby Creek Original boasts a sound unique to Wyoming.

"Patrick Harrington is a real Wyoming writer. His songs of freestone rivers, sprawling mountains, spring snow storms and deep canyons feel at home in Wyoming. And that's because they are. Patrick has been singing his songs through the woods of Wyoming for nearly 10 years," according to the group's website.

Harrington's subject matter ranges from love lost to driving across Wyoming in "an old Ford pickup truck."

In "Dandelion," Harrington puts the listener in the passenger's seat of that old Ford pickup truck.

"I said I had to go back to Jackson Hole. The static on the radio – the only song I'll ever know," Harrington sings in Dandelion.

"Hawthorne Road," a ballad about better times, describes a place that could be anywhere in Wyoming.

Jackson Claredon's mandolin in "Hawthorne Road" adds brightness to what would otherwise be a sad song - which it is.

In addition to Harrington's warm lyrics and Claredon's quick mandolin, the band also sports Ryan Bell on the drums.

According to the group's website, 'Bell's musical stylings are the mark of a trained and talented musician. Ryan has played in everything from symphony halls to electronic bands. He'll never be your average drummer. Ryan feels more in a single note than anyone."

Luke Woodbury – the Woodsman - rounds out the group's all-Wyoming lineup.

The group's website cites Woodbury as "King of the Base Face, and above all else, a high-quality human."

Despite having played across Wyoming, Nowoodstock has a special place for Harrington, who said he has attended nearly every Nowoodstock since its inception.

"I was super excited when (event organizer) Pat O'Brien asked me to play," Harrington said.

O'Brien said he is thrilled to see musicians who attended Nowoodstock as children play the festival as adults.

Harrington said playing the festival is going to be an unforgettable time, with the band getting back together after a summer hiatus due to work and school obligations.

"Nowoodstock is going to be a party. We're going to have three months of emotion, just things waiting to come out. It's going to be one of those shows you don't necessarily want your mom to find out about."

Schedule

While The Libby Creek Original is guaranteed to offer an unforgettable show, they won't be the only acts at Nowoodstock this weekend.

Attendees will have the opportunity to view the following bands:

Friday, Aug. 7:

Ethan Chartier, The Libby Creek Original, Sydow, Taylor and Clark and Shark Twain.

Saturday, Aug. 8:

Ethan Chartier, Jami Lynn, The Mitguards, DJ Haley, The Libby Creek Original, John Roberts y Pan Blanco, The Jalan Crossland Band, Sydow, Taylor and Scott and Shark Twain.

Sunday, Aug. 9:

DJ Haley, Jami Lynn, The Mitguards, John Roberts y Pan Blanco and The Jalan Crossland Band.