22 acts slated for Wesfes in Fostoria

FOSTORIA — Its organizers tout it as "two evenings of peace, love & music." The event is Wesfes. It will bring 22 music acts to Venue 18, 11295 Ohio Route 18, Fostoria, on Aug. 15 and 16. and, organizers Kyle Holsinger and Joshua Ritter hope, a healthy number of people who will raise the proceed contribution level from the event to the Fostoria-based Joseph Wolph Foundation for Music Education. This will be the fourth go-around for WesFes, which debuted in 2011 in Carey, took place the next year, also in Carey, and then went on hiatus until last year due to unforeseen circumstances. "WesFes is in memory of a friend of mine named Andrew 'Wes' Dill," said Kyle Holsinger, a Carey resident who has teamed with Ritter, also of Carey, to put the event together. "He died in a work accident in 2010."Dill, who was only 20 years old when he died, loved listening to music of any type, Holsinger said. "It was a one-day event, but it went over so well that the next year, we did it as a two-day event. We split it up to where we had rock music on Friday night; Saturday night, it was hip-hop." Ritter said the same format remains in place, with the doors opening at 6 p.m., on both nights. In addition to hip-hop, Saturday night will feature other genres, such as rhythm-and-blues. In between the time that WesFes went away and returned, Holsinger moved to Iowa and then returned to this area. One night, he attended an event connected with his daughters' musical pursuits in Carey schools, and he saw Christi Wolph make a presentation at her alma mater on behalf of the Wolph Foundation. Chrsti Wolph is the widow of Joseph Wolph, a musician and instructor from Fostoria for whom the foundation is named. Joseph Wolph died of acute kidney failure in 2020 at age 38. "I thought that was a really great cause and a really great thing to do," Holsinger said. "I brought WesFes back specifically to raise money for them. I've known Christi for years; she's a good person. I met Joe a few times before he passed. I was doing something for my friend; she was doing something in her husband's memory — we decided to kind of put it all together. My kids are in the music program at Carey and they donated to that very program. It benefits my kids; even if it didn't, I would still be for it. It's such a good cause." Ritter, who has partnered with Holsinger on WesFes since its early days, said he has memories of his recently deceased father, Larry Ritter, in mind as he continues in his own life. "My biggest inspiration going forward is we just lost my father the Saturday before last," Joshua Ritter said. "He ran a magazine called Rock Lines. ... I just kind of want to follow in his footsteps. Everybody knew who he was, and he was just an overall good guy. I continue to try to follow in his footsteps, and I love what we're doing with the Wolph Foundation because you never know who the next Mozart may be, or the next Michael Jackson or the next Elvis, you know? The thing about it is that some of these kids are less fortunate and they don't have the means to buy the musical instrument that they would like to play. And, we're giving that gift to a child." Ritter said hopes are that a later summer date will help this year's event draw more people than last year's. "It's going to be a good turnout, I do believe," he said. "Last year, it was poor planning as far as the time we chose to run it (in July). It was fair week and there was a Fostoria festival going on at the same time. Kyle and I discussed that and decided we needed to have it a little further back so we don't run into those two events again." Ritter and Holsinger hope to make WesFes a two-day outdoor music festival with the capability of hosting large crowds. "Currently, I'm in negotiations with a guy to get a venue secured for next year," Ritter said. "I'm not 100% sure on that yet. It's just something that's in the works, but eventually, idealistically, we want to turn it into a two-day, camping, family, fun, friendly environment where people can come and enjoy the music, which would raise a lot of money for a good cause." Tickets for one-night's entry next weekend are $10 each. A $15 ticket gives a person entry for both nights. The Aug. 15 lineup for WesFes includes: Citizen Crow, The Dead Ohio Sky, Dystopian Plague, Eremition, Minds Eye View and Spun. The Aug. 16 lineup includes 601DRXCO, Coby Tyson, Dee Nice, Draco400, GT Damier, GT Munyan, Jake Fury, Jo Savage, K Shotta, Kentay Cowboy, Kilo Korleone, King Steppa, Newkleus, Runitup Pit, Tiajah Amani, Zendo '02.