MOUNT VERNON — Mount Vernon’s youth kicked off the main stage performances at the music and arts festival Friday, and Six Miles to Nellie rounded out the day with feel-good Americana.
During the youth showcase, which began at noon, children of various ages presented numerous pieces, ranging from My Funny Valentine to Somewhere Over the Rainbow to original songs. Some opted to showcase their coordination and grace in dance numbers, while others sang and played instruments.
Friday was one of the first times college students Elizabeth Clarkson and Emma Buehrer performed live since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Clarkson and Buehrer have been singing together for approximately four years, but they have been friends since they were just 2 years old.
“Emma was my first friend ever,” Clarkson said.
The Mount Vernon natives performed during the youth showcase, their final performance at the Mount Vernon Music and Arts Festival after years as regular performers.
“Now, I’m bringing my sister into it,” Clarkson said.
Her sister, Claire Clarkson, served as the master of ceremonies for the youth showcase, introducing each performer.
Another Mount Vernon duo, Luna Moreland, 16, and Joshua Hill, 22, performed during the youth showcase. Hill played the piano, and Moreland sang and played the violin.
Hill got his start in music at the Mount Vernon Music and Arts Festival when he was 15 years old.
“I just kind of took my piano and I plugged it in outside of Sips, the coffee shop (which has since closed), and I played the piano and I had a hat to collect tips,” Hill said. “So, this music festival was actually the first time I had ever played.”
Cryin’ Out Out followed the youth showcase, and concluded just before torrential rain fell. But the skies cleared shortly after and residents gathered again to see Mount Vernon High School’s marching band.
The night culminated with storytelling through music from the band Six Miles to Nellie.
The group features lead vocalist Courtney DeCosky; songwriter/guitarist Jeffrey Williams; Michael Wolfe on bass; drummer and vocalist Les Harmeyer; singer/songwriter John Schnabel; and Robert Shipley on keyboards.
DeCosky and Wolfe are Knox County natives, while the other band members’ roots are in other areas of Ohio, including Bucyrus, or other states, such as Illinois and Virginia.
Given its wide-ranging backgrounds, the group pulls some fans from around the country but its core fanbase resides in north central Ohio, Harmeyer said.
Six Miles to Nellie started performing at Mount Vernon’s Music and Arts Festival five years ago, gaining fans one person at a time.
The band came together gradually, through open mic night introductions and friends of friends.
“We all came together as people that liked music, and picked each other up on the way,” DeCosky said.
The band members described their music style as a combination of their varied styles and backgrounds.
“Everyone comes from a different vantage point,” Schnabel said. “I’m the folk guy. I’m the Bob Dylan.”
Harmeyer always wanted to join a band where he could be what be called a “songwriter’s drummer,” playing to the song, which is what he found with Six Miles to Nellie, he said.
“It’s a little bit of folk; it’s a little bit of bluegrass; it’s a little bit of Rock ‘n Roll; it’s all of those elements meeting,” DeCosky said.
Six Miles to Nellie are regulars at the festival but could not perform last year due to cancellations because of the COVID-19 pandemic. They performed elsewhere in Knox County in 2020, at Ariel Foundation Park and the Grand Hotel in the fall, but are excited to return to the main stage in Public Square.
“When we’re on stage together, it’s one of the happiest places to be,” DeCosky said.
During the uncertainty of live performances throughout the onset of the pandemic, Six Miles to Nellie took the time to pitch and write music, and through that work created their second album “Crayon Sun,” which will be released on Aug. 21, with a celebration at the Woodward Opera House in Mount Vernon.
The rain held out for Six Miles to Nellie to close out the first day of Mount Vernon’s Music and Arts Festival, and the crowd grew as the group took the stage.
“There are people that get stage fright, for me I’m just the opposite,” Schnabel said. “The more people there are out there, the more jacked up I get.”
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