Pete Francis of DISPATCH to kick off More Than Music Festival on August 15

Commemorating the 50th anniversary of Woodstock, weekend of music and service being organized in Manchester over the weekend of August 15-18, 2019

The Old Sol Alliance is thrilled to announce the More Than Music Festival, a weekend of music and service in Manchester, NH over August 15-18, 2019 — exactly 50 years after the original Woodstock Festival. The More Than Music Festival will include a lineup of both free and ticketed events throughout the Queen City, focused on celebrating the power of music to bring people together and create positive community impact through service. Scroll down to see the complete More Than Music Festival lineup!

Pete Francis
Photo Credit: Jack Conroy

The More Than Music Festival will kick off on Thursday, August 15th at 7pm with a FREE concert featuring Pete Francis at Veteran’s Memorial Park (723 Elm Street) as part of Intown Manchester’s TD Bank Summerfest 2019. Pete Francis is a songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and founding member of DISPATCH, an independent roots rock band that has sold out multi-night runs at Madison Square Garden in NYC, Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Denver, TD Garden in Boston, and more. Pete’s eighth release as a solo artist, Belong to the Band, drops this summer.

The More Than Music Festival is being organized by members of Concert Corps, a team of UNH Social Innovation Interns who have spent their summer interning with music industry nonprofits including REVERB, Calling All Crows, the Palace Theatre’s redevelopment of the Rex Theatre, and the Old Sol Alliance. Concert Corps members will be leading service projects throughout the More Than Music Festival including harvesting veggies and packaging 25,000 meals for local families experiencing food insecurity, leading an active bystander training to prevent sexual violence, a paint drive to support the redevelopment of the Rex Theatre, and more. Check out the complete list of volunteer opportunities over August 15-18, 2019!

Additionally, Concert Corps members will be at Veteran’s Memorial Park on Thursday, August 15th from 6-10pm for Intown Manchester’s TD Bank Summerfest and Saturday, August 17th from 11am-7pm for the We Are One Festival, the largest ethnic cultural festival in New Hampshire. Concert Corps will run a family-friendly tie-dye station, inviting community members to bring their own apparel or purchase t-shirts and sweatshirts on-site, while supplies last. Patrons can bring home their tie dyed gear or donate them to participating nonprofit organizations in Greater Manchester.

On Saturday, August 17th at 7:00pm, the Palace Theatre will host a special 50th anniversary, air-conditioned screening of Woodstock, the 1970 Academy Award-winning documentary that captures that fateful weekend on a small farm in upstate New York when over half a million people came together to celebrate life, love and music. One camera crew was there, in the middle of everything, recording the live performances of many of the greatest singers and musicians of the era, and the joy, peace and rock’n roll experienced by hundreds of thousands. More Than Music Festival donors and volunteers each receive a free general admission ticket to the film screening. Additional $10 tickets go on sale Friday, August 2nd at 10am through the Palace Theatre Box Office (available online, in-person at 80 Hanover Street, or by calling 603-668-5588).

The More Than Music Festival wraps up on Sunday, August 18th with two morning events and an official afterparty from 12-6pm at To Share Brewing Company (720 Union Street), where staff will spin vinyl by artists who played at the original Woodstock Festival. To Share is also creating a special, limited edition Woodstock-themed beer for the weekend and will donate $1 from every pint sold on Sunday to help offset the cost of service supplies during the More Than Music Festival. 

Organized by the Old Sol Alliance, a Manchester-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to leveraging live music to create positive social and environmental impact.

MORE THAN MUSIC FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Thursday, August 15, 2019

4:00-6:00pm – Project at the NH Food Bank Production Garden

7:00pm – Pete Francis of DISPATCH at Veteran’s Memorial Park

Friday, August 16 , 2019

4:00-6:00pm – Old Sol’s Summer Serve-a-thon at 720 Union Street

Saturday, August 17, 2019

9:00am-12:00pm – New & Used Paint Drive at the Rex Theatre

11:00am-7:00pm – We Are One Festival at Veteran’s Memorial Park

7:00pm – Woodstock Documentary Screening at the Palace Theatre

Sunday, August 18, 2019

10:00-11:00am – “No Sew” Blanket Assembly at To Share

11:00am-12:00pm – Active Bystander Training at To Share

12:00-6:00pm – More Than Music Festival Afterparty at To Share

Additional music and service events may be added to the More Than Music lineup in the coming days. Please check back here and follow @OldSolAlliance on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter for the latest!

Old Sol Alliance, Inc. -- 370 Myrtle St., Manchester, NH 03104 -- info (at) oldsol (dot) org -- @OldSolAlliance