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Frankie

Entering the grounds of the Green Hillsa drea that’s so faain until you see it It hasn’t been as long as it feels, yet I’ some serious déjà vu In the last few years I’ve been all over the world, to every festival i people Artists so good that coh on my list of priorities, but here I ahosts

If I’m perfectly honest, the festival isn’t why I’m here, even if it’s my excuse I’ time, and to celebrate the five-year anniversary of ht after that is my thirtieth birthday, which my friends have pros, and while I’h a few mediocre country acts on the off-chance that that there’s a diah

But there’s always the other side of the coin, that I s that aren’t as pleasant, and pain that I’d hoped to leave behind for good My friends bugappearances at our flagship bar, but it’s hard to be here Green Hills has a lot of things I left behind Wounds that never got the closure they needed I push away those thoughts—I don’t need the me today

The drive to the festival grounds is slow because everyone else is heading there too Even if the festival has dropped off in the last few years, it’s still the event of the season for Green Hills, and it still draws its fair share of decent headliners But the headliners aren’t the reason I’ to be a lot of local acts,back, I’ll be surprised, but I’anic roots tend to be better than groups that are put together by labels to fit a particular ie That’s hoe’ve found success I’ve never taken an artist away froed thereat when I found them

I’acy Farbell Records has started, and I’m determined to keep it that way

There’s a huge faded sign over the drive into the grounds, the sareen paint that was there when I was a kid, and a teenager, and a college student, and even a few years ago It’s a part of the festival’s charreets the crowd as they flock to the grounds

There’s soes, and so a little sad about it too Once upon a ti a headliner at a festival like this I played a couple of tih that I wasn’t good enough aout talent andit shine And that’s fine withan artist blossoe It still fulfills that creative itch that I’ve always had, and I’h that I can do what I like without the pressure of immediate success Thank God for First Shot

It takes a while to get into the lot where everyone parks, and then to trudge across the rounds it’s like you’re in another world Music is everywhere, co local bands Lights are strung over the ays, and even in full daylight, the way they’re lit up feels like you’re entering sorounds are spotless andthe ays There’s plenty of room to breathe out here It never feels crowded, even with crowds of people I’d love to bring some of the people from my label out here and show them how beautiful this festival can really be Honestly, I had forgotten Not all of them appreciate the charht change their minds

I buy a bottle of water and find a place near the back of the stage where I can lean against the fence and just listen The whole hat-and-sunglasses routine isn’t so I usually have to worry about, but in Green Hills, people know rin All three of us are: Glenn, Wallace, and uys that started the First Shot bar franchise that’s now all across the country It’s ah Only a couple of people glance ement Nice of them