Outermost Festival Returns To Nauset Beach

ORLEANS – It’s almost Columbus Day weekend, which in Orleans means it’s time to head to the beach.

 This year’s Outermost Roots and Blues Festival will take place Saturday, Oct. 10 in the upper parking lot of Nauset Beach. The annual fall music festival, hosted by Hog Island Beer Co. and the nonprofit Friends of Nauset Beach, will be preceded by the Orleans Chamber of Commerce’s Outermost Market in the Park on Friday afternoon, Oct. 9.

 Orleans resident Garrett Dutton will once again headline this year’s festivities with his long-running blues-based hip hop outfit G. Love and Special Sauce. Also leading this year’s lineup are jazz-rap icons Digable Planets.

 “I’m telling you, they’re tight,” Hog island owner Mike McNamara told The Chronicle. “They’re still super tight.”

 This marks the sixth year of the festival, which originated in 2018 as the Cape Cod Roots and Blues Festival. After a three-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the festival returned in 2023 under the new Outermost Roots and Blues moniker. 

 With the higher cost of staging the event, this year’s festival has been scaled down from two days to one. McNamara said holding the concert over one day helped organizers keep ticket prices affordable for concertgoers, including local families.

 “Our big thing is trying to create this doable, multi-generational fun experience where everybody can come down,” he said. “I think it’s evident if you look at the ticket holders the support everyone has for the festival. It’s the grandparents down to the grandkids.”

 Also on Saturday’s bill are guitarist and Outermost mainstay Ron Artis II, the New Orleans ragtime ensemble the Dirty Rotten Vipers and the Grateful Dub, a reggae-infused Grateful Dead tribute band. 

 A slew of local acts are also set to perform Saturday, including the Aldous Collins Band, who are regulars at the Hog Island Brewery on West Road. Anthony Michael, Dan Felix and Natalia Bonfini of American Idol fame are also slated to appear. 

 The weekend festivities will officially kick off on Oct. 9 with this year’s Outermost Market in the Park. The event, hosted by the Orleans Chamber of Commerce, features 36 local vendors on the village green at the intersection of Route 28 and Main Street from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. The event will also feature food trucks, beverages and live music courtesy of WOMR.

 The market will also include a 50-50 raffle, with proceeds going to support the Orleans Chamber Foundation, which helps fund scholarships for local high school students.

 “I think we’re in a really good place with it,” said chamber interim director Courtney Wittenstein. “We have some really good people helping out, so it will be fun. It’ll be a fun kickoff to the long weekend and the Outermost Music Fest.”

 Doors on Saturday will open at 11 a.m., with the concert set to start at noon. For tickets and other event information, visit outermostfestival.com. 

Email Ryan Bray at ryan@capecodchonicle.com