Quickly becoming one of the most anticipated music festivals in the nation, The Forecastle Festival is back for another big year with headlining acts Sam Smith, My Morning Jacket, and Widespread Panic down on the waterfront in Louisville, Kentucky on July 17-19. Other promising performances include Modest Mouse, Cage the Elephant, The War On Drugs, Tweedy, Houndmouth, and Portugal. The Man. The festival will also feature several late night shows including Talib Kweli and The Floozies.

Although the festival is now equipped with four stages anchored to the banks of the Ohio River, Forecastle Festival originally came from very humble beginnings. In 2002, J.K. McKnight designated a place and time once a year to bring people together. The plan was elegant: Invite the community to watch musicians perform in front of a backdrop that hosted socially and environmentally conscious activism and art. The first year was a single day affair where the bands played for free and most of the supplies were donated. I would list some acts for you, but I couldn’t find them and you wouldn’t recognize them anyway.

Since then Forecastle has not only hosted many nationally known acts but has stuck to its message of arts and activism that makes this festival so unique. This year Forecastle is promising to run on 100 percent pollution-free electricity through a partnership with national Clean Energy provider Arcadia Power. “The partnership is a huge leap forward, positioning us as one of the most sustainable, ecologically-focused events in the nation.” said McKnight.

Be sure to check back to Grateful Web throughout the weekend to get updates, photos, and interviews with the artists.