Photos: The Momentary finally gets to show off music capabilities with FreshGrass festival

Smokey & the Mirror / All photos: Clayton Taylor

Since it opened in February of 2020, the Momentary contemporary art space hasn’t really had an opportunity to show off its full potential as a large performance venue.

Well, until this weekend, that is.

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The venue finally got to host its first big event with the first ever FreshGrass festival held Friday and Saturday, Oct. 1-2 in Bentonville.

The Momentary, of course, has held some major art exhibitions since it opened, and some interesting smaller performances as well, but the COVID-19 pandemic has limited its ability to show off its live music capabilities.

After postponing, and ultimately cancelling last year’s FreshGrass festival due to the pandemic, the venue was able to host its first big festival this weekend with some safety measures in place. All attendees at the event showed either proof of vaccination at the door or proof of a negative COVID-19 test.

FreshGrass Festival / All photos: Clayton Taylor

The virus still had an impact on the event, as Friday night headliner Old Crow Medicine Show was forced to cancel their performance due to a positive case in the band.

That just allowed Asheville, North Carolina-based band The Steep Canyon Rangers to play a little bit longer as a slight drizzle kept things cool during part of their set Friday night.

The weather presented a few challenges on Saturday as well, with a few minor schedule changes due to lighting in the area early in the day, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the thousands who attended the festival over the weekend who were treated to some great performances by headliners Billy Strings, Trombone Shorty, and others.

Here are a few photos from the festival this weekend captured by our friend and photographer, Clayton Taylor.