Scenic Route to Alaska was one of the big attractions at this year's Chester Fest. (Derek Craddock/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Chester Fest Weekend

Chester Fest Success: Music festival draws crowds, praise over weekend

Jul 11, 2022 | 5:00 PM

Back in its usual spot but in a new, larger venue at the Exhibition Grounds, Chester Fest came back with a bang this weekend, and enthusiastic music fans flocked to support the bands playing. Even the weather managed to be supportive despite some early stubborn rain.

“We had some beautiful weather,” said Joel Rohs, director of Chester Fest. “We had a very small blip with a quick little rain delay but it didn’t set us too far back at all. We’re super happy. It’s always interesting going into an event at a new venue, but everything went really smoothly, it was awesome.”

The weeks leading up to Chester Fest could’ve been extremely stressful for the group running it. After all, there was a looming threat of rain over the weekend and one of the initial headliners, Northern Pikes, had to cancel due to COVID cases in the band.

“You just roll with it,” said Rohs. “What else are you going to do? No time to wallow in self-pity or be upset about it. You’ve got to make a decision, find a solution, and move forward. By the time Friday rolled around and it looked like we were going to get a little bit of rain, I thought we’d already faced the worst of it and we can handle anything.”

They don’t have a final tally for attendance or sales yet, but Rohs was impressed with the crowds. He and his fellow organizers were also keen on the acts, especially on Scenic Route to Alaska and Megan Nash, who had played there before and was called back after Northern Pikes had to cancel.

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“Both great bands both great groups,” Rohs said. “Two different things of course, but we felt pretty good about those two acts closing off the festival.”

For Rohs, there was an element of relief at the end of the festival as it went off without a hitch despite the obstacles. Now he’s looking forward to a bit of a rest, but he took a moment to speculate on the future of Chester Fest.

“I’ve said it right from the get-go, I think PA deserves its own music festival and something to happen in PA,” Rohs said. “I’m doing everything I can to make sure that it continues and keeps happening and we keep throwing events with great, great music.”

Rohs added they had a meeting as a group afterwards and talked about some of their favourite bands, and a lot of the acts got consideration.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP