NORWALK, Ohio — The annual Bash on the Bay music festival is leaving Put-in-Bay and moving to Norwalk starting in 2027, bringing a new name and a new venue along with it.
The three-day concert, which has been a staple in Put-in-Bay for eight years, will now be called "The Bash" and will take place at Summit Motorsports Park on Aug. 12-14, 2027.
Josh Niese, vice president of Wave Productions, said the move came after talks with the Port Authority about shifting the event to a weekend fell through.
"We've been wanting to move the show to the weekend, and we had gone to the Port Authority about it. There were discussions but they decided not to allow us to move the show to the weekend," Niese said.
Niese said he is looking forward to the change.
"We're really excited about this," Niese said.
The event has previously drawn over 40,000 people and is expected to have a significant economic impact on downtown Norwalk. For the first time, the festival will offer camping, with more than 1,000 campsites available.
"The event will feature 22 bands, a ton of great food vendors and the alcohol tents. It will be a nice, safe, fun experience for everybody," Niese said.
Donna Lawrence, owner of Scoops and Brew in Norwalk, said she attends Bash on the Bay every year and is excited about the move.
"I love it, because I love going to concerts," Lawrence said.
He told News 5 the festival's arrival could transform the local business community.
"Just being able to have the entertainment close by for Norwalk, the size of community that it is, it will be a huge benefit," Lawrence said.
Her shop, which serves coffee, ice cream and lunch year-round and operates as a drive-through, is only a few minutes from the new venue.
"I think this could be mind-boggling, too. The amount of people that go is insane and I don't even think you could predict how much business this is going to bring into Norwalk, but it will be a huge benefit,” Lawrence said.
Not everyone is excited for the move.
Paul Jeras, a business owner in Put-In-Bay who owns multiple properties and transportation companies that benefited from the event, said he is sad to see it go.
"There’s nothing like that island feeling and the concerts were great. It is more costly and it is a little more challenging to do on an island, but we would love to have it back and were working to do that,” Jeras said.
