The lineup is terrific. Schellraiser Music Festival, happening June 1-3 in McGill, Nevada—about 4 hours north of Las Vegas on spectacularly scenic, wide-open desert roads—is a “cow, meet punk; punk, meet cow” mashup with a keen curatorial edge. Thursday, June 1 features West Texas Exiles, Brit Taylor, The Delines, Mapache, The Secret Sisters, Blitzen Trapper and Asleep at the Wheel. On Friday, June 2, it’s Anthony D’Amato, Tropa Magica, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Blackwater Holylight, Death Valley Girls, The Joy Formidable and Blonde Redhead. And Saturday, June 3 brings The 40 Acre Mule, The Paranoyds, Titus Andronicus, Night Moves, Sadgirl, Murder By Death and Dinosaur Jr. That’s an outstanding assortment of ascending talents and longtime favorites, playing alongside lots of other great artists on a second stage.
It's something different. While they’re still undeniably fun, there’s a sameness taking root in America’s festivals, with many sharing headliners and, increasingly, sharing a general vibe. With its singular lineup, and its location in a former mining town nestled in the Schell Creek Mountains, there’s no mistaking this “family-owned micro-festival” for any of its corporate cousins going off in stadiums and parking lots.
Tickets are pretty dang affordable. Three-day passes are $210, while single-day passes are $80. It’s gotta be worth that much to you to see Blonde Redhead performing tracks from their first album in nine years—Sit Down for Dinner, due September 29. You could be the envy of all the indie kids on your block.
You could camp! The car camping and tiny home options are all booked, but there are still some glamping and pitch-your-own-tent options available within McGill’s 80-acre, dog-friendly campground. (Never mind the music: According to the festival website, the campground is minutes away from “valley wetlands … coniferous forests and subalpine peaks,” plus “the largest elk herd in Nevada” and moderately smaller herds of mule deer herd and pronghorn antelope.) And if you’re a solid-walls-and-roof type, the town of Ely, with all its accommodations both modern and rustic, is about 13 miles to the south.
Homegrown festivals like Schellraiser are all too rare. Festival founder Rudy Herndon aims to keep Schellraiser’s focus on the music, and on the camaraderie that comes from mixing and mingling with other music fans. In short, he wants Schellraiser to take us back the reason we started going to music festivals in the first place—to make discoveries, either of new favorite bands or new favorite people. That’s worth a nice, long weekend drive, isn’t it?
For more information and tickets, visit schellraiser.com.
