2025 Ogden Music Festival Preview 

• Courtesy photo
• Celisse performs at 2024’s Ogden Music Festival

Many folks are out partying it up this weekend at Kilby Block Party, but there's still so much that summer has in store for the local music scene. Coming in at the tail end of May is the Ogden Music Festival, a beloved event that brings together lovers of acoustic music, artists and those who just like to enjoy good vibes in a beautiful outdoor setting. Here's the rundown of Ogden Music Festival 2025, and all you need to know before the show dates.

Ogden Friends of Acoustic Music (OFOAM) are in charge of bringing us this incredible festival each year. The organization does an amazing job of bringing the community together with great music, as well as providing musical opportunities for all, especially for kids. Ogden Music Festival is a family-focused event, allowing those 16 years old and younger free entry. Kids can run around, play with friends and enjoy music-related activities at different booths.

As fun as the activities are, it's also important to have a fire lineup for those who are excited about the live acts. This year, the lineup brings an eclectic mix of well-known and up-and-coming artists to Utah, representing the best of American roots music.

"I'm so excited for this multi-genre artist line-up," said OFOAM Executive Director Michelle Tanner. "From legendary Country Music Hall of Famer Marty Stuart to Afro-Cuban funk fusion artist Cimafunk, amazing songwriters John Craigie and Margo Cilker to youth performers Mariachi Fuego and Primera Linea ... plus four hot rising bluegrass acts!"

Here's a bit more about some of the acts stopping by for Ogden Music festival:

As mentioned above, Cimafunk is an Afro-Cuban, Grammy-nominated musician who expertly blends hip-hop and funk with traditional Cuban/Caribbean sounds. His name takes inspiration from the term "Cimarrones," the Cubans of African descent who escaped slavery in the 16th century and established their own communities. Learning more about this history also inspires Cimafunk's writing.

"Whatever they were creating was original, because it was a freedom of expression. It was dealing with the things that it was, 'We are free here,'" he told PBS in February. "And that moment, I started to get more and more close [to] my roots, looking where I came from; I started to learn more about that and all the Africa, [how] what they bring here was most of the great things that we have today in music, in food, in all kind of contribution that Africa brings to the continent."

Margo Cilker is an up-and-coming country singer/songwriter who has been making waves with her earnest, beautiful songwriting style. Her debut album Pohorylle is critically acclaimed, and was followed up with another fantastic album in 2023, Valley of Heart's Delight. "Valley of Heart's Delight refers to a place she can't return: California's Santa Clara Valley, as it was known before the orchards were paved over and became more famous for Silicon than apricots," her online bio reads. "In this 11-song follow-up to 2021's critically acclaimed Pohorylle, family and nature intertwine as guiding motifs, at once precious and endangered, beautiful and exhausting." Cilker will be right at home at one of O-Town's biggest festivals.

This summer celebration wouldn't be complete without some local talent, so it's exciting to see SLC's Theoretical Blonde on the list of performers. This five-piece bluegrass group has been dazzling the local scene with their delightful mixture of genres since 2023, and they continue to impress and be an absolute blast on stage. Their music brings together elements of bluegrass, jazz, Americana, country, jam band and singer-songwriter traditions, creating a sound that is wholly unique, but also has a comforting, home-like feel to it. "At the heart of Theoretical Blonde is a group of best friends who've forged a deep connection both on stage and off. It's this camaraderie that brings something special to the music," their website stresses. "The moments of unspoken telepathy during their live shows—the way they anticipate each other's next move—create an energy that's impossible to fake. The band's vibe is one of effortless collaboration, where the chemistry between the members elevates everything they play, making even the most complex arrangements feel natural and unforced. They are worldbuilders." It's going to be incredible seeing these guys on the big stage with the great national acts who will be coming through.

Ogden Music Festival runs Friday, May 30 - Sunday, June 1. You can snag multi- or single-day passes, and there's also an option to camp on site for the duration of the festival. You can find all details at ofoam.org/ogden-music-festival, and also read more about OFOAM, the additional activities available and the full lineup.

Each year, hundreds of folks flock to the beautiful Fort Buenaventura to enjoy supremely talented musicians—will you be among them this year? The vibes are always impeccable, and OFOAM knows how to throw a fantastic party. Don't miss out on one of the biggest events in O-Town this summer.