Indie Legends and Femme Voices: Green River Festival 2026
By Megan Bainbridge and Savanna Pettengill
This past weekend a crowd of music lovers flocked to The Franklin County Fairgrounds in Greenfield, MA (a small city in the Pioneer Valley) to attend the 2026 Green River Festival. The Festival’s origins date back to 1986, when the first Upcountry Balloon Fair launched and a local radio station’s 5th anniversary party featured live music. Today, the two events are a combined, annual event: a music festival with a community aspect, (which, this year, was a parade on Saturday, June 20th between sets). The family-friendly festival, spanning from Friday to Sunday, featured over 50 performers from all over the world of various genres.
Girls Who Snap and Spoon sent in two Maine-based photographers to document the event over the weekend. Savanna Pettengill was in the pit and backstage as well as the rest of the festival on Saturday, while Megan Bainbridge provided coverage for Girls Who Snap during the Sunday set. Two of the sponsors for the festival this year were Oxfam America and Book More Women amplifying female voices both offstage, and the pit reflected that mission: filled with photographers of all genders from all over. It’s important to note that 50-75% of the bands featured femme-identifying musicians. While we are sad we missed the opening day on Friday, the magic of the weekend certainly made up for it.
Saturday
Upon entering the festival gates, the calm, cool vibe of the workers set the tone for the entire festival. The market was filled with local artisans, instrument collectors, record vendors and vintage finds from all over the Northeast. Art making barns and tents were packed with families preparing for the big parade that evening. Food trucks and booths filled the air with an array of herbs, spices, and the scent of powdered sugared fried dough. Artists had the option to be treated to massages, a lounge with a bar and catering filled with books and coupons for local vendors, full access passes, a basketball court, and camping. It’s clear Green River knows exactly what they are doing: setting the stage for the happiest of memories made and shared into one giant community of artists and their teams, vendors, volunteers, workers and fans. Their hard work paid off.
Indie, Psychedelic Rock, Folk and Funk fans at the festival rejoiced on Saturday. Three stages were packed with immense talent, staggered so fans could catch some, if not all, of each and every set. On the Dean’s Beans Stage, Mexico City’s Sonido Gallo Negro got the crowd moving with their energetic psychedelic, tropical sounds emanating out of guitars, eccentric organs, analog synthesizers, theremin, and drums. They are playing at the Chop Shop in Chicago on July 3rd before leaving the USA for Germany.
Philadelphia indie-rockers, Kurt Vile and the Violators rocked the evening on the Sundial Audio Stage with 45 minutes of songs from their new album such as “Zoom 97”, “Avalanches of Snow” and “99 BPM”. The set also included some fan favorites like “Pretty Pimpin” and “Waking on A Pretty Daze”. J. Mascis also joined the band on stage for “Chance to Bleed”, another from their newest record: Philadelphia’s Been Good to Me, to end the set.
Folk Bitch Trio traveled to the US all the way from Melbourne, Australia and graced the Back Porch Stage with their ethereal voices, wit, and musical talents to a packed audience. They will be playing the Blue Ox Music Festival in Eau Claire, Wisconsin on June 26th before heading to Europe for the Rockskilde Festival in Denmark the next day.
Dean’s Beans Stage ended on Saturday with a bumping and electric performance from Hawaii-born, Oklahoma-raised Paw Paw Rod and friends. The crowd lit up with each familiar song, including “Hit ‘Em Where it Hurts” and danced their hearts out for 45 minutes. Paw Paw Rod will be bringing their cast of characters energetically led by Rodney Hulsey at the Bottom Lounge in Chicago on June 26th and in Milwaukee for Summer Fest the next day. Back on the Sundial Audio Stage, New Zealand “indie heroes”, The Beths brought the crowd through a rainbow of emotions as they serenaded and rocked out in their newly gifted flower crowns. Laughter bellowed out of the crowd and tears were shed amid beaming smiles with each song in their 45 minute set, which included “When You Know You Know,” “Mother, Pray for Me,” “Silence is Golden” and “Expert in a Dying Field”.
All eyes were on modern American rock legends, Spoon at 9 PM on the Sundial Audio Stage, the moment everyone was waiting for. Fans of all ages turned their attention from across the fairgrounds to sing along and rock out to new songs from an upcoming album such as “Lose Control” and “Love Right to Your Door”, and fan-favorites like “You Got Yr. Cherry Bomb,” “I Turn My Camera On,” “The Underdog,” and their beloved cover of “Don’t you Evah” by The Natural History. Each member was energized and filled with pure joy as they played, with bassist Benny Trokan’s birthday on their mind. After 60 minutes of hit after hit, Jim Eno’s epic drumming, keyboardist Alex Fischel’s careful attention to detail, touring guitarist Jason Robert’s tambourine slaps, and front man, Britt Daniel’s iconic guitar licks (and visibly deep connection to the music and the crowd,) the audience begged for more and were rewarded with an absolutely epic deep-cut encore. The four part-comeback featured “Take a Walk,” “Don’t Make Me a Target,” “Trouble Comes Running,” and “Jonathan Fisk.” Now on a USA tour with The Beths, they are playing at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Columbus, Ohio on June 27th, featuring Squirrell Flower as an opener.
Everyone left the stage grounds that night satiated, relieved the rain never came, and ready to rock some more.
View Saturday’s Photo Gallery Here
Sunday
With this year’s lineup, Alternative Rock and Indie Pop-lovers would feel right at . On Sunday, a selection of notable bands such as Geese, Wednesday, and Lucius took home over the Sundial Audio Main Stage. Additional performances from artists such as Thao and Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek captivated the audience at the Dean’s Beans Stage.
Derya Yıldırım & Grup Şimşek, a multi-national quartet with members based in both Germany and France, performs Anatolian folk music–a genre originating from modern-day Turkey. The group provides a modern-day twist, combining the traditional folk music with pop, soul, and psychedelia. Some songs Derya learned from her Turkish parents, while others are original compositions. Notably, Derya discusses her familial connection with immigration between performances. Funky and bass-driven, the group’s compositions are worth the listen.
What is impressive about Lucius, a four-piece indie pop band, is the breadth of their repertoire. This is unsurprising, considering that the group has had 16 years to grow and shift in sound. Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, the founders of Lucius, emanated a strong presence during the set–dramically introducing percussive elements with drums, tambourines, and cowbells. Later on in the set, the group performed an abbreviated cover of “Shine on You Crazy Diamond” by Pink Floyd.
Thao, a queer, indie folk-rock singer-songwriter (and second generation Vietnamese immigrant), performed with passion and strength. Interestingly, both violin and a cover of George Michael’s “Faith” were incorporated into the performance. Notably, back in 2010, Thao teamed up with Dianna Agron to raise funds for the humanitarian organization Oxfam America, a sponsor of this year’s Green River Festival.
Wednesday, an indie rock band hailing from North Carolinian Appalachia, cranked up the emotion. The crowd followed suit, going wild for the alternative-country/shoegaze group. Frontwoman Karly Hartzman has quite the sense of humor. Between sets, Hartzman suggested that the fans of the two bands with orange-logo, camo-print-hat merch find and fight their camo hat rivals. While their hit “Townies” alternates between the hard and the soft, “Elderberry Wine” is poignant and slow.
Sunday’s headliner, experimental indie-rock band Geese, was likely a key driving factor in the 2026 festival claiming the largest crowds to date. Known for their latest albums, 3D Country and Getting Killed, Geese quickly rose to fame between late 2024 and 2025. The group (which was formed while the members were still in high school) was signed to a record label in 2021 before they could part ways and head off to college. Interestingly, the group’s namesake is drawn from guitarist Emily Green's nickname, “Goose”. The distinct voice of vocalist Cameron Winter, the combination of both ridiculously absurd and deeply honest lyric writing, and the commitment to both technical expertise and experimentation are what sets Geese apart as the current ‘it’ band among indie lovers. Winter (who, like Hartzman, has a sense of humor) improvised new lyrics to the existential song “Trinidad” and formed a narrative of a husband’s battle with kidney stones.
These musicians–and countless others–made the trip to Greenfield, the battle with the heat, the occasional sprinkle of rain, and the impromptu naps in the grass all worthwhile for those who attended.
This review was co-written by Savanna Pettengill and Megan Bainbridge. The photo coverage and review from Saturday is by Savanna, while the photo coverage and review from Sunday is by Megan.