Ohio Is For Lovers Festival // Live @ Riverbend Music Center // 9.7.24 -

Article & Photos: Linda Carlson

Cincinnati, OH – You couldn’t ask for a more spectacular September day for an outdoor music festival – brilliant sunshine, a cool morning followed by an afternoon in the 70s, and not a hint of humidity. Three stages, two under pavilion protection and one in an open lot, hosted bands with emo, punk and alternative roots, many from the early 2000s.

The Ohio Is For Lovers Festival is in its third year, founded by nearby Dayton’s Hawthorne Heights in 2022, and inspired by the band’s iconic song, “Ohio Is For Lovers.” However, this single original festival launched the branded “Is For Lovers” festivals with stints in states across the country. In addition to Ohio, 2024 festivals included California, The Outer Banks, West Virginia, Iowa, Lake Tahoe and Illinois. Each year, the festival’s circuit closes with the Ohio festival, in honor of its beginnings, and of the song that launched this festival series.

The festivals continue to be hosted and curated by Hawthorne Heights, though the band does not necessarily headline the festivals. Each festival is comprised of a slightly different slate of bands, and this Ohio event featured 24 bands in total, with local to national acclaim. The lineup featured a heavy dose of regional talent.

Leggy
Better Anyway
Glassworld
Maura Weaver
Slow Joy
Touchdown Jesus
This Wild Life
Snarls
For Your Health
Real Friends
Arrows In Action
The Raging Nathans
Turnover
Knuckle Puck
Emery
Senses Fail
The Wonder Years
Saturdays At Your Place
Hawthorne Heights
Movements
The Devil Wears Prada
Silverstein
Anberlin
Hot Mulligan

Several female fronted bands performed, including opener Leggy, a Cincinnati punk band from trendy Northside.

Other female fronted Cincinnati bands rocked the stages, including hardcore Glassworld and punk rockers Maura Weaver.

Also from Cincinnati was the progressive rock band Touchdown Jesus.

Hawthorne Heights’ set was terrific. JT Woodruff thanked fans for supporting the festival, letting them know that through this festival circuit, folks as far as California were singing about Ohio. Nice!

The band’s hometown of Dayton, about 45 miles north of Cincinnati, was also represented in the day’s offerings with punksters The Raging Nathans and The Devil Wears Prada.

Better Anyway, from just east of Dayton in Springfield, as well as Snarls and post-hardcore For Your Health, both from Columbus, rounded out the Ohio bands.

Slow Joy, a solo project of Texan Esteban Flores, also put on a memorable performance with his captivating blend of emo and grunge.

New Jersey rockers Senses Fail, California’s quirky and delightful acoustic rock duo This Wild Life and post-hardcore Movements, Chicago’s pop-punk rockers Knuckle Puck and emo band Best Friends, Kalamazoo Michigan’s alternative emo Saturday At Your Place, and California’s Movements were well-suited for this event.

A special shoutout to Gainesville Florida’s Arrows In Action, who put on a performance that thoroughly engaged the audience with music that kept their attention. It’s noteworthy for a band to stand out amidst a vast field of talented musicians.

Winter Haven, Florida’s dynamic alternative rock band Anberlin, with Matty Mullins on lead vocals after founding vocalist Stephen Christian announced an indefinite hiatus earlier this summer, closed the open-air stage with unbridled force that had fans shouting.

There was even a bit of international flavor, with Canada’s Silverstein closing the PNC Pavilion stage.

Hot Mulligan closed the festival with a knockout performance. Lead singer Nathan Sanville was mesmerizing, at times reserved, and at other times bouncing around the stage with crazed, hypnotic abandon.

The Is For Lovers 2024 season has ended, but be sure to check the inevitable 2025 offerings next year at https://isforloversfestival.com.

More photos from the Ohio festival are in the image carousel below. Check them out!