After more than a year of no large scale concerts or music festivals in Columbus, across Ohio and throughout the United States, The Elevation Group announced today the return of the WonderBus Music & Arts Festival to Columbus. The Lawn at CAS (2540 Olentangy River Road) provides the perfect site for the music festival as Ohio begins to emerge from COVID-19. The property at CAS offers 54 acres of open-air, outdoor space that will allow festivalgoers that opportunity to comfortably spread out.
On Saturday, August 29, WonderBus will present some of music's top hitmakers including Kesha; AJR; The Band CAMINO and more. On Sunday, August 29, Wilco will make their only Ohio appearance in 2021 and their only appearance in a six state region including all of Ohio's border states: Michigan; Indiana; Kentucky; West Virginia and Pennsylvania. Joining Wilco will be Grouplove, Black Pumas and other fantastic artists.
Additional performers include: Bob Moses, The Knocks, St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Grandson, Ritt Monmey, Absofacto, Dreamers, Smallpools and more - 28 artists in total. All tickets will go on sale this Thursday, April 15, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. (see below for all ticket info).
WonderBus is an all-ages festival featuring great music, a wide variety of culinary options, a robust artisan village and more. Situated a few hundred yards from The Ohio State University campus, WonderBus debuted in 2019 and was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. The first WonderBus festival featured Ben Harper, Trombone Shorty, the Revivalists and Walk The Moon. According to the Columbus Dispatch, the inaugural WonderBus was "A big success on almost all counts. The fans, clearly responded to the fest’s design and execution. The layout of the site promoted exploration, the vendors, amusements, and a few key organizations playfully spread as if tossed onto a board game surface."
"The inaugural WonderBus, staged in 2019, was a grand slam homerun and it was devastating that we could not run in 2020," stated Elevation president Denny Young. "We feel confident that by the end of Summer, Ohio will be largely back to normal. The safety of our fans, artists and staff remains our top priority, but with the increased mental health challenges facing each and every one of us during the past year, we believe the time is right to promote live music and the positive impact that this music festival can have on the hearts and minds of everyone in Central Ohio and throughout the Midwest."
The festival has partnered with the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center’s Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Health to promote and raise funds for critical mental health initiatives focused on recovery and resilience.
TICKET INFO
Due to the evolving guidance from the State of Ohio regarding capacity, there will be a reduced number of tickets available on a first come, first served basis. As guidance becomes more clear between now and August, we hope to add more tickets. If you are interested in attending the festival, we encourage you to buy early.
Tickets go on sale this Thursday, April 15 at 12:00 p.m. ET through both WonderBusfest.com and SeeTickets.us. Single Day tickets are available for $89.00. Weekend passes are $159.00. Wonder passes (offering weekend admission to both theWonderBus Music & Arts Festival and WonderStruck in Cleveland); VIP passes and specially-priced tickets for children ages 3-10 are also available. Infants 2 years and under are admitted free.
Onsite parking for many festival attendees is also available for advance purchase. Parking is not unlimited, so we encourage getting your parking pass early.
WonderBus Safe Reopening Powered By Germ-X
WonderBus will follow the recommended health and safety guidelines put forth by state and county authorities. Additionally, the festival has aligned with St. Louis-based Germ-X to create an aggressive and innovative reopening platform based on the basic principles of responsible health and hygiene. A recent NBC News story ranked Germ-X the #1 Hand Sanitizer "meeting CDC guidance, shared by doctors."
"We wanted the very best partner to power our safe reopening," stated WonderBus executive producer Steve Lindecke. "Germ-X is #1. In our opinion, there is no better product and Germ-X will have a heavy presence at the festival."
"On behalf of the entire Germ-X team, I want to communicate to fans that Germ-X is excited to support safe reopening of music festivals across the country," said Darren Baker, President and Chief Operating Officer at Vi-Jon, LLC, the maker of Germ-X. "We will be providing complimentary samples of Germ-X to festivalgoers at entry points. We will also be providing other Germ-X products as additional support during WonderBus."
If COVID-19 forces a postponement or cancellation of the festival, ticket refunds will absolutely be an option for each buyer.
