1st Annual Oscoda Rock Festival Set for August 10th

“It takes five minutes to determine your position on the planet. It’s time to choose, brothers & sisters, whether you are going to be part of the problem or whether you are going to be part of the solution.”     -  Rob Tyner, The MC5

The potential of Rock Music to inspire individuals, galvanize hopes & dreams, and transform the cultural landscape of communities is perhaps best epitomized by these words expressed by the front man of the MC5 - arguably one of Michigan’s most important and legendary rock bands to surface from the 1970s to advance the notion of Rock Music as something more powerful than mere entertainment.

It is through this spirit of embracing the effectiveness, possibilities, and potential of music as an agent for positive social change that organizers of the Oscoda Rock Fest Committee have come together to launch the inaugural 1st Annual Oscoda Rock Festival, which will be happening on Saturday, August 10th at the expansive Furtaw Field and feature an impressive line-up of original homegrown Michigan rock bands from all over the state, with a roster that includes Here After Six, Silverspork, Polychromic, Grounded Siren, Damned by Dawn, Assault the Silence, and Everyday Ghost with additional guest artists.

The mission of the Oscoda Rock Fest Committee is to create an annual event that will showcase Oscoda Township by bringing something new to the area in the form of original Modern Rock Music and creating a destination event that will attract visitors of all ages while introducing them to Michigan’s Sunrise Side and Paddletown USA.

In addition to promoting and supporting Oscoda Township, organizers will also be supporting the Veterans Memorial Park through this fund raising event,  as they continue to expand the park to honor all of our Veterans who have served and provided a meaningful experience to our visitors, veterans, and their families.

According to event chairperson Bob Tasior, “A lot has been going on up here in Oscoda over the last few years since the closure of Wurtsmith Airforce Base back in 1993 and the contamination issues left behind, so a group of community citizens decided to form a progressive movement looking forward as we face these issues, and decided that the best defense is to put on a good offense.  We decided that bringing an annual rock festival to our region would be a good way to draw attention to our community and bring new visitors to experience all we have to offer here in the midst of our beautiful natural resources.”

“Because we have a closed air force base up here you can imagine how many veterans we have living here,” he continues, “so we also decided to stage this festival as a fundraiser for the Veterans Memorial Park Foundation.  Even though the base is closed this town still has many people who served in the military, so the Park Foundation is a big deal up here.”

“We figured that Tawas has an annual Blues Festival, as does Alpena, and because we’re smack dab between them, producing a major Rock Festival would be the way to go,” notes Bob. “I come from Saginaw originally and would often frequent White’s Bar and the Hamilton St. Pub, and my son Bryan also plays drums in the band Here After Six (voted Best Rock Band at the 2018 Review Music Awards) so after much deliberation, we decided the best route we could go would be to feature top-notch Michigan rock bands performing original music because that’s what we’re lacking up here.”

According to Tasior, the promoter of Veterans Park was also looking for something to showcase in the park that would advance the community of Oscoda.  “They’re raising funds to put up a six foot by 22 foot long acrylic and aluminum mural that lights up the Vietnam Memorial area; and would like to install six of those. There are considerable costs involved with that and because the community is very active in supporting Vets Park, our Board decided to use the proceeds from this inaugural festival to lend them a hand in achieving their goals.”

Tasior says monetarily they would like to raise enough money to add to the Park’s set of six murals, which run between $18-$20,000 for the set.  “We have a lot of veterans and citizens that use the park for many events and want to aid with improving it, not only for the community but for visitors coming to enjoy our natural resources.”

“All of our costs in staging this first festival are being covered by sponsors and are hoping this helps get our community moving again in the right direction,” he concludes. “The festival will be held in Furtaw Field, which is located right in the middle of town on US-23 and will be extremely visible. It’s a large field that can accommodate thousands of people and pre-sale tickets that people can buy online or at various stores are only $7.00 and admission at the gate will only be $10.00.  The festival will run from 1:00 PM - Midnight.

Veterans Memorial Park is located on the corner of Skeel Avenue and F-41, was established on Veteran’s Day November 11, 2006, and consists of 6 acres under continuing development. The Circle of Flags, which includes the 54 United States and territorial flags is impressive. The Visitor’s Center is open on all holiday weekends, specials events and other selected times. The parks stated purpose is to provide a place of relaxation and reflection which recognizes and preserves the honor of those who served and sacrificed for our freedom. General information, past events, accomplishments, current activities, development plans and upcoming events may be sought by calling 989.739.8152 for further information, or by visiting the Oscoda Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Food vendors will be on hand, along with craft displays and vendors interested in participating in the Festival are encouraged to go to the Oscoda Rock Festival website to fill out a brief form.

Presale tickets can also be purchased online at http://oscodarockfest.org.