Ninety-degree weather, a lack of motivation and sunbathers galore–-it must be spring quarter in Athens. This also means Lobsterfest is quickly approaching.

Cincinnati/Columbus natives Indigo Wild are exceptionally excited to be a part of the springtime celebration of musical talent. ACRN spoke with Indigo Wild’s guitarist and vocalist Garet Camella about what they plan to bring to the festival and what they expect from their audience.

ACRN: How would you guys summarize your musical style?

Garet Camella: We don’t really like to put genres on anything, but we’re pretty groovy. Chris is obsessed with “funk,” I guess you would call it. He’s all about funky bass lines he likes to fit into songs. I would say we get a lot of “groove” from that. I think our main thing is our harmony parts. The three of us–me, Michael and Chris—all sing, so we incorporate a lot of harmonies into our songs. We’re harmonious and groovy. I mean, obviously we’re playing indie rock but it’s a lot more than that.

ACRN: I’ve noticed you guys play in Athens a lot. Is there a reason for this?

GC: The first time we played [in Athens] was with The Ridges and they kind of introduced us to Athens. We met them in Cincinnati. It used to be the hotspot for shows. Now Columbus is more of the hotspot. Now it’s kind of up in the air [laughs]. We don’t know where our home is.

The Ridges messaged us and asked if we wanted to play their CD release show in Athens so we played at Donkey and we had really good reception. I think [The Ridges] brought us to another show after that.

Each time we go to Athens we have significantly more people at our shows than the last time we played, which is a testament to how cool the music scene is in Athens. The last show we played there was May 4, and we played with The Ridges again. At one point, Casa was at capacity. Right after our set, I was taking my stuff to my car and the door guy wouldn’t let me back in. He was saying, ”Woah, woah, woah buddy get to the back of the line.” I had to tell him we just played. It was crazy. There were people waiting to be let into the show.

Playing with Maza Blaska, The Ridges and bands like that has really helped us out a lot. I think the reason we keep coming back is it’s a blast each time. I think the May 4 show was one of the best ones we played all year.

ACRN: What’s your guys' favorite part about playing in Athens?

GC: Honestly, I think it’s just the community there. We got up on stage and [even] though we don’t [sic] know everybody there, it was like we were playing a hometown show. It was the weirdest thing. Maza Blaska played and then we got up there and people started clapping saying, “Yeah! Let’s do this!” The crowd was already warmed up.

It feels like we don’t have to impress anyone and that people are just there to enjoy it. That’s the best part. You can tell people who are there and come out to shows want to be there. The energy you get in one room is awesome. I guess it’s the "energy," if you’d like one word to describe [our favorite part].

ACRN: Moving to Lobsterfest, how did you connect with ACRN to play there this year?

GC: Jake [Bowman] contacted us for that acoustic takeaway video. We got an article written about that too, and that was our first big thing with ACRN. We’ve had a lot of people from ACRN come out to the shows. We’ve also done a couple of interviews with ACRN about the shows we do.

Once again, probably from our connection with The Ridges too. Just with the community and music there everything is interconnected. I remember when I was playing my solo stuff, I knew a bunch of people who went to OU and I heard about Lobsterfest and thought it would be so cool. When we got offered to play I was like, “Yes!” because I know it will be a lot of fun.

ACRN: You guys are playing at the Casa show for Lobsterfest. How do you feel about that venue?

GC: It just keeps getting better each time we come to Casa. I think the sound there is really good and the sound guy is great. He really knows what he’s doing. I don’t know, the whole set up is great. The audience is really close to you, and it’s everybody enjoying music and having a good time. It’s the perfect venue to play. If Casa were somewhere else I’m sure it’d be a great venue, but it’s the fact that it’s in Athens and that it has certain kinds of people that go there. It’s all a perfect equation. It’d be a sad day if we weren’t playing at Casa.

ACRN: Have you played anywhere in Athens besides Casa?

CG: Yeah, we’ve played at Donkey. I think that’s the only other place we’ve played. I mean, we’ve done acoustic stuff on the streets outside of Bush Hall so I’m not sure if that counts. We’ve also played inside one of the dorms.

ACRN: What’s one thing you would want Lobsterfest-goers to know about Indigo Wild had they not already heard about you?

CG: I think I would want them to know that our set is going to be a hella good time. We bring a lot of energy to our performances and that’s what keeps our relationship with people that come to our shows. I think we’re having just as good of a time as the audience is when we perform and when you have that relationship with an audience there’s no way it can’t be a good show. That happens every time we’re in Athens and that’s why I want everybody who went to the last show to come and bring their friends. I guess I would want people to know that experiencing our music live is a lot of fun.

ACRN: Do you have anything else to add or anything coming up you want to talk about?

GC: I’m really excited to be a part of something that I’ve heard about for years. I’m really stoked about the other bands too. It’s going to be a really good weekend. We’re looking forward to this, and I hope people know that.