While southeast Ohio is known for its array of music events such as Nelsonville Music Festival and Ohio University’s annual Music Industry Summit, there is a new one on the scene that is raising awareness about traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, and mental health.
The newcomer, Starbrick Music Festival, came to fruition after the loss of Christopher Roell, a student-athlete who survived a TBI in 2011, but navigated mental health issues during his seven-year recovery period.
“I mean, every picture you see of him on Facebook, a beaming smile, very charming,” Bernie Roell Jr., the founder of Starbrick Music Festival, said. “On the inside, he was fighting paranoias that were really difficult for us to understand. I would explain what I was seeing to doctors, and the problem is when you get to a certain age, there's the privacy laws between doctor and patient that I can say what I'm seeing, but they can't tell me what Christopher is telling them.”
This period also helped the rest of Roell’s family realize how TBI and mental health awareness correlate, especially as they can affect one’s mood and emotions after recovery.
“A lot of people also don't realize that traumatic brain injuries and mental health awareness go hand in hand with one another,” Sarah Roell, an organizer of Starbrick Music Festival and Christopher’s sister, said. “The brain is a very complex organ and you don't necessarily know what or how the brain chemistry changes after an accident. We noticed that with my brother he unfortunately succumbed to mental health issues that later took his life.”
Along with his wife Jennifer and son, Bernie III, Roell wanted to create a foundation that could help families who have endured a TBI understand the intricacies of mental health struggles, as well as provide support for their efforts. Thus, they started the Chris Roell TBI Foundation, which all of the proceeds from the festival will go toward.
“There's even more trauma associated with the ‘why’ because everybody always wants to understand why somebody took their life, and what could have been done to prevent it,” Roell said. “When we founded this foundation for Christopher, we wanted to help people understand the why.”
After Christopher’s death in 2018, the Roell family conducted their first event to raise money for their foundation. Unsure of what to do with the revenue, they decided that starting Starbrick Music Festival would be the perfect way to honor their son and his legacy.
Being that Christopher was a lover of music, sports and giving back, the Roells began to plan for the two-day event, which led them to connect with George Kidder, founder of Kidder Entertainment with over 20 years of experience in the music industry.
Now the promoter of Starbrick Music Festival, Kidder was inspired by the Roell’s story, wanting to promote and work at an event like this after previously working for a kid’s charity in the early 2000s.
“I used to work in a kid's charity a long time ago,” Kidder said. “We gave dream vacations to terminally ill kids. When I left the board in 2007, I said one of these days I’m going to find another charity that I really want to work with, and I think I found it with Bernie and Jennifer Roell and the family.”
With so many connections in music, Kidder said this year’s lineup is one that people won’t want to miss this weekend, especially during its inaugural year. Including original artists and cover and tribute bands, the festival will feature music from genres such as rock, country and pop.
On Friday, artists such as Evan Dean, Billy Payne, Blue Steel, Skinny Molly and Stadium 11 will play for attendees, which Kidder is all huge fans of. Meanwhile, Saturday will see acts like Hairball, Mock of Ages, Bronson Arroyo Band and Kalysta Minton-Nashville Band.
"One of the few girl artists that’s going to be here, her name is Kalysta and she's from Walton, Kentucky,” Kidder said. “She's only 20 years old. She's a country artist and she has a new album out. At this show, she’ll do a little bit of country, of originals, and she'll do pop. I've worked with her since she was 13.”
Roell said this event will be one that everyone will be talking about during and after, excited to bring many local rock artists to southeast Ohio at an affordable price.
“I think they're going to be talking about this event,” Roell said. “The people that missed it are going to be hearing the people that talk about it. Dave Moody from Hairball put it this way: ‘We're coming to Nelsonville to burn your eyes out and make your ears bleed.’ That’s rocker talk right there.”
Meanwhile, Sarah Roell said she’s looking forward to spreading more awareness about TBI and mental health.
“What I'm looking forward to most is to bring awareness to traumatic brain injuries and mental health in a setting that you typically wouldn't see,” Sarah Roell said. “Music typically brings people together, and if you can bring people together to bring awareness to great causes, I think that that is an amazing thing that you can do.”
Sarah also said that the festival’s flexibility is another component she’s excited about. Attendees have many options during the weekend, including one or two-day passes.
“The cool thing is with music festivals, there's typically a lot of flexibility,” Sarah Roell said. “If you want to come for a day, whether that's Friday or Saturday, you could just come for a single day, you can do a two-day experience.”
Ticket prices can be found on Eventbrite or the festival’s website, ranging from $59 to $225. There will also be tickets available for Rockin’ on the Hocking, another event the Roells are hosting during the festival on the Hocking River, where attendees can tube or kayak down the river.
Camping and lodging tickets can also be purchased on Eventbrite, and food vendors such as Kona Ice, Rise & Grind, Burrito Buggy and Hitchin’ Kitchin will be around for hungry concert-goers.
Starbrick Music Festival will last from July 28 to July 29 at 3301 Hocking Parkway in Nelsonville.
“When I get involved in, I'm all in, and Bernie and Jennifer know that,” Kidder said. “I want it to be a huge success. And if it's a huge success, I can tell you right now it's going to be every year.”
Donations to the Chris Roell TBI Foundation can be made here. The Roell family is looking forward to the weekend, ready to impact the future of TBI and mental health awareness.
“I'm just excited to see how this year goes and how we can continue to grow and how many lives we can impact in the future too,” Sarah Roell said.
