Live Shows: Green River Festival, Franklin County Fairground, Greenfield, MA 6/21/26

Karly Hartzman of Wednesday
Photo by Ken Sears

Welcome to the third and final day of the Green River Festival, where if you weren't wearing a piece of Geese merchandise, one was provided for you. It was very obvious who most of the crowd at Green River were there to see (which led to the biggest attendance in Green River's forty years), and the big question was if the band of the moment would live up to the hype. Of course, there was a lot of music to be heard Sunday, and we took in as much as we could!

Angela Autumn, Backporch Stage

Angela Autumn was one of those artists I discovered while preparing for this year's Green River Festival, and I'm glad I did. She plays that style of Americana/roots music that comes right up against the mainstream while still having her own unique sound. Her songs are beautiful, but with an edge to them. Before Sunday afternoon, I had only heard a handful of songs of hers, and after Sunday afternoon, I'm more than a little obsessed. Autumn was the perfect way to ease an already exhausted and sunburned crowd into a new day of music.

Hurray for the Riff Raff, Sundial Audio Main Stage

Hurray for the Riff Raff continued this year's theme of seeing artists I haven't seen in years, and I have no idea how I had gone so long without seeing Alyndra Segarra's band. They've only gotten better and tighter since the last time I've seen them, and left me and the rest of the crowd enraptured for their set. Their set focused on 2024's The Past Is Still Alive, but no one could complain since that is such a solid album. While Hurray for the Riff Raff's albums can vary wildly in style, Sunday's set focused on smooth folk rock leaning into the edge of rock. I'm definitely inspired to check out their next headlining show in the area.

Esther Rose, Backporch Stage

The other theme of this year's Green River Festival was seeing artists I've liked for years but have never seen before. One of these is Esther Rose. Her sound has an amazing cosmic country leaning into pop sound, with some songs leaning more strongly in either direction. Rose was well worth the wait, and thrilled the Backporch Stage crowd with a collection of killer songs. Plus, she just has that "it" factor that draws you in to everything she did. Anyone tempted to wander over to another stage found themselves completely incapable of leaving. As a special treat, she brought Angela Autumn back to the stage for a brand new song the pair did together.

Lucius and Dawes, Sundial Audio Main Stage

Yup, you read that right. One of the big surprises of this year's Green River Festival was that Dawes ended up joining Lucius for their entire set. At first it seemed like they were simply playing back up for Lucius, but slowly some Dawes songs started popping into the setlist. It was a truly special moment that helped solidify Green River as a top notch festival, despite its relatively smaller size and laid back vibes. I'm not even a giant Dawes fan, but there's always something thrilling about hearing "When My Time Comes" live, especially when it's completely unexpected. This was low key one of the musical moments of the year.

Thao, Dean's Beans Stage

I haven't seen Thao live since Thao and The Get Down Stay Down played Newport Folk Festival way back in 2014, so I was thrilled to see her again. I had been giddy with anticipation all weekend, and gushed to anyone who would listen about how great they were live. Twelve years later and she's still got it. Thao is one of the most energetic and engaging performers out there today, mixing folk, indie rock, and pop into her own thing. The second and third songs of her set were "Nobody Dies" and the viral pandemic hit "Phenom," so I was thrilled and satisfied ten minutes in. Plus, they played a cover of George Michael's "Faith," and that is never a bad thing. I spent her entire set dancing and rejoicing, which is the exact way to see Thao.

Wednesday, Sundial Audio Main Stage

Wednesday have come a huge way since the last time I saw them at The Sinclair, almost three years ago to the date of their Green River Festival. They've helped Weezer make their best song in three decades and are now selling out Roadrunner, which is six times the size of The Sinclair. Their stage set up reflects their newfound stature, with dolls and paintings decorating the entire stage. They haven't lost their edge, and have only gotten better as a live band. The crowd was thrilled to see them and was going nuts throughout their set, and started what was possibly the first mosh pit in Green River history. Wednesday was such a revelation live, and the crowd was having so much fun, that I wanted to leap from the photo pit directly into the crowd to join them. Professionalism (and middle age) stopped me... unfortunately.

Geese, Sundial Audio Main Stage

The most hyped rock band in years closed out the 2026 Green River Festival, and the big question was "Is Geese worthy of this much hype?" In short... yes. The took the main stage with a confidence well above their relatively short existence and crushed it. The crowd (many of which had been on the barricade since gates opened hours before) went ballistic for their entire set and treated Geese like conquering rock gods. I can't remember the last time I've seen a band in the middle of their hype actually exceed expectations, but that's just what they did. It was noisy, it was messy at times, and it was great. They even had the older crowd that have been with Green River all forty years up and rocking out. (A cover of The Modern Lovers' "Roadrunner" certainly didn't hurt.) I've seen lots of bands in the moment come and go, never to be heard from again. But none with the fan adoration that Geese has.