Middle Waves is set to take the stage this Saturday at Headwaters Park.

This is Northeast Indiana’s only indie-rock music festival, and Phantogram headlines this year’s lineup. Middle Waves is a one-day music festival started in 2016.

“It was created as an opportunity to draw more visitors to the city and provide our region with a chance to have the music festival experience in our own backyard,” Carly Myers, Chief Marketing Officer of the Embassy Theatre, said.

The rest of the lineup includes Mannequin P***y, Ratboys, Post Sex Nachos, and Loveseat!

The Embassy acquired Middle Waves during the summer of 2023 to ensure the growth and longevity of the festival.

This year’s festival will feature some nostalgia for previous Middle Waves goers as well.

“The first thing is that we are taking the festival back down to Headwaters Park, its original home. Then, the game zone will feature a huge gaming trailer showcasing all the latest consoles, while also offering some old-school games. Also, Middle Waves merch is back – another great way to support the festival and keep the music scene vibrant in our community,” Myers said.

The festival is still relatively young and has experienced ebbs and flows over the years depending on the economy (pandemic years) and the rising expenses of running a competitive festival.

“The Embassy heard the community: They want this here, and they have passion for what it represents,” Myers said.

Myers sees Middle Waves continuing to grow and strengthen as an investment in the vibrancy of our cultural scene in Northeast Indiana.

“We handily surpassed last year’s attendance goal, as the first year under Embassy leadership. There is strength in slow and steady. We plan to grow it 15-20% annually,” Myers said. “Each year, we aim to add to the vibe, whether that means more bands, expanded vendor or gaming space, or other special surprises to enrich the patron experience.”

“We also want to expand the number of days and add an educational element at some point. There are no limits to how this can grow. The creativity of it all makes it an enormously fun challenge. We want Fort Wayne to be proud of how this evolves since their input will help it grow.”

There are numerous ways to support Middle Waves. Obviously, buying a ticket is the first way, but you can also help promote by word of mouth to help it stand out. Even if you can’t attend, you can still make a donation here.

The festival is filled with several local partners and vendors, so supporting them during the festival allows Middle Waves to have resources to plan and acquire talent throughout the year during this first phase of growth.

For what you can expect on Saturday, you can find the details and the full schedule at https://middlewaves.com/.

Make sure to stay tuned to the NEI Blog and our social media channels all summer long for more festival content!

Want to be the first to learn more about what is going on at NEI and our region? Sign up for the NEI Newsletter and Blog below.