TO THE STARS. Performers at the inaugural Nebula Fest in 2023, held at The Brickhouse Pub, which honored the memory of local musicians Rick St. Germaine and Eric Giardina.

“I was just thinking one and done,” says Jeremy Goss when I meet him for wings and beer and to discuss Nebula Fest Volume Two: the second iteration of the local music festival he curates. “You know, honor some fallen friends and maybe raise a few bucks for mental health awareness.” He wasn’t expecting last fall’s event to be the huge success it was, for people to be clamoring for more. “The families” – of Rick St. Germaine and Eric Giardina, local musicians and dear friends who succumbed to their struggles with mental illness in 2022 and who the fest was designed to remember – “were appreciative, and I was touched by that,” Goss says. “The sponsors were in place. I thought, ‘Maybe this is something.’ ”

“Rick and Eric were icons in the scene. They’re the light visible still in our little nebula.”

I ask Goss what he’s learned in the 12 months since the first Nebula Fest. “One word: promotion,” he says. While attendance wasn’t an issue last go round, Goss acknowledges there were a wealth of resources which remained untapped. To date, he’s created a promo video for social media, a radio ad, and even secured an interview with local news legend Judy Clark. “We’ve also upped the number of bands performing,” he says.

What hasn’t changed, Goss confirms, is the mission of Nebula Fest: to continue to raise awareness (and money) for mental health by once again partnering with NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness).

And then there’s the memory of St. Germaine and Giardina, and all they contributed to/inspired in the Eau Claire scene and community. Just look at the line-up for proof: FM Down, Far From Faith, Hadean, Thunderlung, Stare Across, and headliners Ghosts of the Sun. “Rick and Eric were icons in the scene,” Goss says. “They’re the light visible still in our little nebula.”

Nebula Fest Volume Two is happening at 7pm Saturday, Oct. 26, at the Brickhouse Pub and Grub, 2233 Birch St., Eau Claire • Entry is $10/person • Keep up with Nebula Fest on Facebook