Photo by Frank Lanza

Despite some scattered showers, the 16th annual All Good Festival kicked off in fine form Thursday night.

This year is the festival’s first in its new home of Legend Valley, OH, and despite the change in locale, droves of All Good faithful have come out to support the festival. Thursday’s lineup had something for everybody, starting with the emotionally wrought bluegrass of festival openers Trampled By Turtles. The Duluth five-piece played tracks off of their new album, Stars and Satellites, which made for a mostly somber set with the occasional burst of energy courtesy of Palomino numbers “Wait So Long” and “Victory.”

As previously reported, Bob Weir was up next, the first of two Grateful Dead alumni on the bill Thursday night. Bruce Hornsby and Branford Marsalis joined Weir onstage for an inspired set that featured many jazz standards, some Hornsby originals and a few Dead tunes thrown in for good measure, including an extended “Franklin’s Tower.”

But fans didn’t have to wait long for their full Dead fix; after a jam-heavy show by home-staters The Werks, Phil Lesh and Friends (as well as sons, Brian and Grahem Lesh) took to the Dragon Stage with a slew of classic Dead tunes in tow. Highlights included a high-tempo take on “Casey Jones,” a marathon “Sugaree” and “Viola Lee Blues,” which the band parlayed into a fantastic cover of Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues.”

Following the last gasp of “We Bid You Goodnight,” Shpongle led the late-night crusaders into the fray with his tranced-out DJ set entitled “The Masquerade,” a set as visually engaging as it was aurally. A high-energy kicker for what was a relatively loose evening of music.

With Thursday evening in the books, All Good looks to its first full day of music on Friday with sets by ALO, Yonder Mountain String Band, The Flaming Lips and more.

Stay tuned to Jambands.com for up-to-date coverage as the music continues throughout the weekend here in Legend Valley.