Crooked Eye Tommy Marsh, one of the founders of the Ojai Blues Festival, is bringing his favorite Blues with him to his new home in Robertson County. The new Crooked Eye Blues Festival will take place on August 20 from 2:00 p.m. until 10:00 p.m. at the Robertson County Fairgrounds. The festival’s lineup includes a wide range of local and national artists. He needs artists and crafts people who are willing to bring their goods and have a booth at the new event.
“We have craft vendor space available and we are not charging for spaces this year,” said Tommy Marsh. “We are only accepting 20 craft vendor booths… All booths are 15 x 15 and you must provide everything. Power is available. Only vendors who have registered will be allowed in. If anyone would like more information about the vendor opportunities they can email me at [email protected].”
Vendor load in will take place right after the Farmers Market. The entire space where the booths will be located is under a covered area, so pop-ups are optional. Tear down will happen immediately after the event ends. Everything needs to be removed from the grounds that evening. All vendors interested in doing the event must register via email and receive a confirmation number from their vendor coordinator.
Marsh is a musician who has traveled all over America playing the Blues. He was a finalist at The International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2020. He has won several awards for his music including a Hollywood Music in Media Award in 2021.
“The Blues is what I do and what I love,” said Marsh. “I also operate a festival in my former state of California called the Ojai Blues Fest. This event has been operating since 2015. 2022 was our sixth Festival. You could say that I was bound to start an event here when I moved to Robertson County last year, or should I say escaped to Robertson County. This event is going to be my signature event and I will be pouring tons of time and effort over the next few years to make it a destination Blues Event.”
Since moving to Robertson County, Marsh has been playing at a number of performance venues, including Papa Turney’s in Hermitage during their Saturday Blues Jams.
“I am passionate about Blues music,” said Marsh. “It is deeply ingrained in my soul so I just want to share it with everyone. Raising awareness of the history and of course the power of this form of music is the purpose. We want everyone to come and enjoy the festival… It’s not about an ‘audience’ or ‘demographic’ really. It’s about the music. We are spreading the music we love.”
