We had a chance this week to sit down with Dan Schwartz of indie-folk trio Good Old War, who are playing the Appel Farm Arts & Music Festival on June 4. We spent a few minutes chatting about favorite outdoor festival moments, the joys of playing a hometown show, La Isla Bonita, and the sweet mysteries of funnel cake.

CV: What’s the best thing about coming back to the greater Philly area?

DS: It’s home; we get to play for our families and hang out. We live here, it’s an easy commute!

What’s the best thing about being part of a festival bill like Appel Farm?

You get to have a whole day and enjoy it–there’s not a lot of waiting for the show to happen. You’re just in it. You can let yourselves get caught up in all the other stuff to see and do.

Does being part of a festival change how you guys assemble a set list?

We’re kinda lucky in that we might change our approach to a song, but we’ve tried to create music that will go over in any setting. We won’t change too much; we might throw in a new song or two, which we’re really excited about.

What’s your favorite song to play at an outdoor festival?

We haven’t done too many–it’s been a while since we’ve done an outdoor festival! “Window” is a lot of fun.

What other act are you most excited to take in at Appel?

Definitely Gogol Bordello.

Fun fact: They toured with Madonna.

No way! That’s awesome.

There’s all these videos on YouTube of them performing La Isla Bonita together. It’s wild.

I’m gonna have to check that out.

What’s next for you guys?

We’ve got a big tour coming up, with an announcement coming up in a week or so, with a couple of regional shows.

What’s your favorite junk food at a festival?

I’m headed straight for the funnel cake, no question.

Say hi to Dan and his bandmates this Saturday, and swing by the Discover Jersey Arts booth for neat swag and a shot at winning all sorts of awesome prizes, including a Halloween Getaway in Cape May. See you there, friends.