Various Locations | June 28, August 18, September 23

Metroparks Toledo Music Festival Folk Series

Sunny War
Glass City Metroparks
1001 Front Street
Open-air outdoor concert
Wednesday, June 28, 7:30 p.m.
Reservations Required, Tickets are FREE or Pay What You Want
We kick off our 2023 Folk Music Series with the Punk Folk Rock of Sunny War at Glass City Metropark on Wednesday, June 28. The Nashville-based singer-songwriter and guitar virtuoso has been described as one of the best new voices in Roots music. Sunny has crafted a set of songs that draw on a range of ideas and styles, as though she’s marshaling all her forces to get her ideas across: ecstatic gospel, dusty country blues, thoughtful folk, rip-roaring rock and roll, even avant-garde studio experiments. She melds them together into a powerful statement of survival, revealing a probing songwriter who indulges no comforting platitudes and a highly innovative guitarist who deploys spidery riffs throughout every song.

Parking: Parking can be found at Waite High School with shuttle, and two lots on 815 Front Street, all free. Glass City Pavilion parking lot is for handicap-accessible parking only.

Steve Madewell with special guest John Barile
Brookwood Area
5604 Swan Creek Drive
Intimate listening experience
Friday, August 18, 7 p.m.
Reservations Required, Tickets are FREE or Pay What You Want
While enjoying a remarkable career in the conservation field, Steve maintained an active musical performance schedule. He started performing when he was 13 and he has never stopped. He has released three solo projects, Rivers and Trails, Arrow Creek, and most recently, Hometown Blues. This project hit 15 on the FAI folk charts for April 2022.

His songs have been described as subtle musical “arrangements with words that carry substantial weight.” Many of his tunes incorporate bits of Ohio history giving his musical stories a tie to place and an organic validity. In addition to performing as a solo artist, Steve has many side projects with other musicians and musical ensembles. John Barile will be joining Steve for the evening. John is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and he is constantly performing across Ohio. This duo was a standout at the 2022 Lake Erie Folk Festival!

*Brookwood Area is an intimate listening room experience. Advanced reservations are required. All tickets are complimentary.

The Antivillians
Toledo Botanical Garden
5403 Elmer Drive
Reservations Required, Tickets are FREE or Pay What You Want
Saturday, September 23, 7 p.m.
The Antivillains is the work of songwriter Sarah Cohen. Born in the Rust-Belt city of Toledo Ohio, her songs are populated by quiet dramas that have come and gone and pictures of messy lives somewhere in the middle.

The music can be cloudy and dreamy, drawing comparisons to the music of Yo La Tengo or Cat Power with glimmers of the honest and tragic storytelling of Townes Van Zandt or Gillian Welch. As a band, they have performed alongside such groups as Lucius, Allison Russell, Birds of Chicago, The Go Rounds, Chris Bathgate, Breathe Owl Breathe and countless others throughout the United States.