New Waterford Music Fest Raises Its Aim with Saliva, CJ Solar
NEW WATERFORD, Ohio – The New Waterford Beer, Wine and Music Festival is stepping up its game this year with national acts Saliva, the Goldy Locks Band and CJ Solar as its headliners.
The festival, now in its fourth year, will take place Sept. 13-14 at New Waterford Village Park.
Hard rock band Saliva will headline Friday night’s lineup, which also includes the Nashville-based Goldy Locks Band and Youngstown rockers Turbo Lovers.
Saturday will have a country flavor. The headliner will be Nashville-based country-rock artist CJ Solar, with Mark Mackay (also of Music City), The Berrys (Youngstown) and Garrett Owens (Erie, Pa.).
Admission is $5 (free before 6 p.m.).
The festival is the brainchild of Shane Patrone and Jason Gorby, who are the mayor and city administrator of New Waterford, respectively.
Both are lifelong residents, and being civic minded they wanted to improve their hometown.
“New Waterford is such a nice little town,” Patrone said. “The park is very nice; there’s not much crime; the Crestview schools are very good; and taxes are low. But there’s not a lot to do.”
The city had been “stagnant” for a long time, Patrone said, and he wanted to spur the type of growth seen in neighboring Columbiana.
“You have to be known for something to get attention, and I told Jason [Gorby] four years ago we have to do something to put us on the map,” he said.
Gorby took the suggestion to heart. He spearheads the festival, handling booking and other duties.
The event has drawn about a thousand people its first three years. Bonfire, an AC/DC tribute band, was the headliner each of the first three years.
This will be the first year that a fee will be required for admission. But with the national acts on the bill, Patrone is expecting between 3,000 and 5,000 attendees.
Parking is free, and there will be beer and wine vendors, food trucks and attractions for children.
“You can walk around with a beer in the park, but we keep it family friendly,” Patrone said.
Tickets will be sold only at the gate and cannot be purchased in advance. Guests can bring lawn chairs or sit at the 50 or so picnic tables that will be on the site.
Patrone – who is chief deputy of the Columbiana County clerk of courts department – and Gorby started a charity called New Waterford Friends that disburses money raised by the festival.
With the help of matching grants that Patrone has obtained, the festival profit has been used to put in a new stage and playground in the town park, and also renovate the pavilion and add restrooms, he said.
The lead singer of Saliva, Bobby Amaru, has donated a signed guitar that will be raffled off at the festival, with proceeds going to autism research.
The hard-rock act released its most recent album, “Revelation,” in 2023, which includes the single “Come Back Stronger.”
Saliva scored several hits in the early 2000s when Josey Scott was its singer, including “Your Disease,” “Click Click Boom,” “Always,” “Rest in Pieces” and “Ladies and Gentlemen.”
The Goldy Locks Band is led by the former TNA Wrestling star of the same name. In 2023, Goldy Locks appeared on TLC’s “Extreme Cheapskates” show.
The Goldy Locks Band recently released the single “Just Say Yes.”
Here is the music schedule (subject to change):
Friday
- 6 p.m.: Turbo Lovers.
- 7:30 p.m.: The Goldy Locks Band.
- 9 p.m.: Saliva.
Saturday
- 2 p.m.: Garrett Owens.
- 4:30 p.m.: The Berrys.
- 6:30 p.m.: Mark Mackay
- 8 p.m.: CJ Solar.
Pictured at top: Saliva will headline the festival Sept. 13.
Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.
