Updated: Nelsonville Music Fest releases 2012 lineup

Stuart's Opera House has announced much of the anxiously awaited lineup for the eighth annual Nelsonville Music Festival on May 18-20. Among the acts: Iron and Wine, M. Ward, Roky Erickson and Dawes.

While conspicuously missing in the 2012 lineup is either a blockbuster arena act (like last year's Flaming Lips) or a country legend (along the lines of former NMF headliners George Jones or Willie Nelson), the lineup is stocked top to bottom with respected indie-rock and niche rock and Americana acts.

Plus, there's a bona fide Rock 'N Roll Hall of Famer in Meigs County's Jorma Kaukonen, of Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna fame.

Other acts on the lineup announced shortly before noon on Monday: Charles Bradley, Kurt Vile & The Violators, Dark Dark Dark, Jorma Kaukonen, the Lee Ranaldo Band, Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside, Horse Feathers, Michael Hurley, Shovels & Rope, JD McPherson, R. Ring, Woody Pines and Todd Burge. More acts will be announced later.

The festival is a production of Stuart's Opera House and will take place at its usual site, Robbins Crossing on the campus of Hocking College in Nelsonville.

Stuart's Opera House director Tim Peacock acknowledged that the lineup has no Flaming Lips, though he noted that snagging that flashy big-time rock act was something of an unusual coup last year.

"We think one of the best things about the NMF is that you don't know what to expect," Peacock said Monday afternoon. "The Flaming Lips were an awesome show. I knew the day after the festival last year we would not try or be able to out-do their explosiveness."

This year, he added, the festival tried to add to the all-day lineup while staying consistent with the festival's tradition of avoiding the mainstream. "This year we concentrated on beefing up the lineup all around (earlier in the day), while continuing to focus on booking exceptional artists," Peacock said. "We think the overall lineup this year is better than any previous year. This festival is for music lovers first; it's for people who really investigate and appreciate good music. Obviously we are not a 'mainstream' music festival. We have not been and will not be mainstream."

Weekend passes for the festival are now on sale through the event's website at www.nelsonvillefest.org or by calling (740) 753-1924. Individual camping passes are also now available.

Last year's headliners for the fest were The Flaming Lips, George Jones and Neko Case. And the two years before that, the fest featured country legends Loretta Lynn in 2010, and Willie Nelson in 2009. Peacock said the festival tried to snag Merle Haggard this year, "but it didn't work out. Maybe next year."

Here's some info on the acts in this year's lineup, as included in the festival press release from Monday:

• Iron and Wine is the musical project of Sam Beam, a singer-songwriter who has had an impressive decade-long career. Iron and Wine began in 2002 as a mainly acoustic project of uniquely hushed songs on their debut "The Creek Drank The Cradle," and over the years "has evolved into a variety of styles while maintaining a distinct sound and focus on storytelling that weaves throughout their music." Iron & Wine have released four studio albums (including their most recent, "Kiss Each Other Clean" in January of 2011) and a handful of EP's, download-only releases, and a few live albums, including performances from the 2005 Bonnaroo performance and their 2006 show at Lollapalooza.

• M. Ward's was initially a well-kept secret of his peers in the Portland folk scene; his star continued to rise with each record's release, "and he's now one of the most acclaimed American musicians of the decade." In addition to his own four solo records, side projects have included 2007's "Monsters of Folk" (with Jim James of My Morning Jacket and Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes) and She & Him with Zooey Deschenel (of the hit TV show "New Girl"). According to the release, "past critics have compared him to everyone from John Fahey to Tom Waits, but it's clear that M. Ward, with his brilliant guitar playing and innate sense of melody, is one of those rare and special talents who defy comparisons and compartmentalization."

• Roky Erickson hails from Austin, Texas, and he is, in the words of music writer Richie Unterberger, one of "the unknown heroes of rock and roll." He was the singer, songwriter and guitar player for the legendary band The 13th Floor Elevators, the first band to describe their music as "psychedelic." The Elevators only had one chart hit, the Roky-penned "You're Gonna Miss Me," but they influenced everyone from Robert Plant to The White Stripes. After several decades of tragedy following a 1969 incident, Erickson has now returned to recording and playing live music around the world. In 2010 he collaborated on an album with indie-rockers Okkervil River and has played at the Austin City Limits Festival.

• Folk-rockers Dawes, who draw inspiration from the old Laurel Canyon sounds of Crosby, Stills, and Nash and Jackson Browne.

• The fiery soul music of Charles Bradley, sung as only a man who has led his life can sing.

• Critically acclaimed indie songwriter Kurt Vile and his band the Violators join the festival after making countless best of 2011 lists.

• Music legend Jorma Kaukonen (Jefferson Airplane, Hot Tuna).

• The Lee Ranaldo (of Sonic Youth fame) Band.

• Portland's Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside.

• The orchestral music of Minnesota's Dark Dark Dark.

• Folk legend Michael Hurley will continue his streak of Nelsonville Music Festival performances in 2012.

• Shovels & Rope, Horse Feathers, J.D. McPherson.

• R.Ring, the new project from Dayton resident and former Breeders member Kelley Deal.

• Longtime local favorites Woody Pines and West Virginia's Todd Burge.

The three-day Nelsonville Music Festival offers multiple stages of music all weekend long, along with camping on site, kids activities, local art vendors, food and a beer garden.