Hawthorne Heights to Curate Three 'Is for Lovers' Festivals

There's a lot of "love" to go around if your Hawthorne Heights, and no longer is it limited to just Ohio. The band who once sang "Ohio Is for Lovers" have expanded upon that idea with a three-stop Is For Lovers Festival, bringing along specially curated lineups for each stop on the run.

The first show will take place Aug. 27 at Wichita's The Wave, as the band plays on a bill that includes Thursday, The Wonder Years, Laura Jane Grace, Story of the Year, Hot Mulligan, Emery, Real Friends, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The OBGMs, Thick, Old News, Life in Idle, Yasmin Nur, Social Cinema and Glass Age.

“Wichita is the first-place Hawthorne Heights ever got played on the radio,” singer J.T. Woodruff remembers. “The local radio station taking a chance on ‘Ohio Is for Lovers’ opened the door for emo to be on the radio. Our shows in Wichita are always incredible, and we’re really excited to bring some of these bands there for the very first time ever.”

The second date is Aug. 28 at Denver's Levitt Pavilion. That bill also has The Wonder Years, Thursday, Story of the Year, Hot Mulligan, Emery, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, The OBGMs, Thick and My Body Sings Electric.

As for the third date, it returns the band back to their home state, playing Cincinnati's Riverbend Music Center with a three-stage setup for the day. Not all bands have been announced as of yet, but Hawthorne Heights will be joined on the Sept. 10 bill by Descendents, Bayside, Senses Fail, The Wonder Years, Story of the Year, Knuckle Puck, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, Emery, Dopamines, Crimson Apple, Bad Luck, Nightbeast, Mint Green, Dead Bundy and Better Anyway. It looks as though 14 more acts will still be added to the bill.

“Every single band playing is one we either grew up loving, have played alongside or simply enjoy hanging out with,” says Hawthorne Heights front man JT Woodruff. “We wanted the line up to be diverse, inclusive, and created with a simple goal: LOVE AND COMMUNITY. We wanted the bands to feel loved, the fans to feel loved, and people of all walks of life to be represented and welcome.”

He adds, “Our favorite memories from being in this band all take place at some sort of outdoor festival. We’ve been fortunate to play a lot of the big ones like Warped Tour, Reading and Leeds, Summer Sonic, SummerFest, And Rock on the Range to name a few, so we wanted to try to create that magic from our point of view.”

Also of note, in honor of the band's friends who have passed away over the years, stages on the festival will be named after Hawthorne Heights guitarist Casey Calvert and Bayside's John "Beatz" Holohan.

In addition to the music, the Is for Lovers Festival will provide a "dunk a punk" dunk tank, giving fans the opportunity to soak one of their musical heroes. Proceeds will go to charity. There will also be a beer festival with local breweries in each city providing special festival beers. And Woodruff's own Greenhaus Coffee will be serving up cup o' joes for attendees as well, while also partnering with local roasters to provide blends and beverages.

Pre-sale tickets for each show go on sale this Tuesday (May 24) and Wednesday (May 25), with the general public on sale starting this Thursday (May 26). Get more ticketing and VIP package details here.