Hookahville, my friend, is blowing in the wind once again.

The weekend romp, the 29th installment of the twice-a-year good-time get-together, will again star festival namesake Ekoostik Hookah.

The central Ohio band will cap the lineup with a four-hour set Saturday and Sunday nights.

"We've always been a band without a plan," Ekoostik Hookah keyboardist, vocalist and founder Dave Katz said proudly.

Yet the festival always comes together with a solid cast of players from the worlds of rock, folk, country, bluegrass, "jam" bands and roots music.

The other performers will include Greensky Bluegrass, Outformation, Railroad Earth and mandolin player Sam Bush and his band.

A breakdown of the vibe and sound to expect from each act, with comments from Katz:

Ekoostik Hookah

Home base Columbus

Katz "We're doing four hours each night with no set lists -- which is the way we've always done it. Certain things we know we're always going to get in. On the last night, we always do an extended encore of cover tunes we've never done.

"Other than that, we'll wing it like any other show. Usually by the end of the night, I can't even remember what we did -- which is the way I like it. If we had a plan, I wouldn't be too happy about it. In the '80s, I was in the glam-rock scene, and that's when we rehearsed the show and you played just that show. That's why I got away from that."

Info www.ekoostik.com

Emmitt-Nershi Band

Leftover Salmon singer and mandolin player Drew Emmitt, String Cheese Incident singer-guitarist Bill Nershi, recent University of North Carolina jazz-band member and bluegrass banjo player Andy Thorn, and renowned guitar teacher Tyler Grant (who plays bass in this outfit) whip up a rocking-yet-wholesome blend of folk, bluegrass and country.

Home bases Nederland and Crested Butte, Colo., and Nashville, Tenn.

Katz "Billy was looking to do something more acoustically oriented, and this is it. Four-piece, no drums -- they're great players."

Info www.myspace.com/emmittnershiband

56 Hope Road

The six-piece band -- whose music rests alongside that of the light, lilting rock associated with Dave Matthews -- throws a curveball at the jam-band-heavy lineup.

Home base Chicago

Katz "They're really song-oriented, which I like a lot, and the songs are really concise. They're not as jammy. And they have a female lead singer (Anne Katzfey). You don't see that nearly enough these days."

Info www.56hoperd.com

Greensky Bluegrass

Home base Kalamazoo, Mich.

Katz "They're an up-and-coming bluegrass band that's doing a lot on the bluegrass jam-band scene. "

Info www.greenskybluegrass.com

Macpodz

The members describe their sound as "disco bebop."

Home base Ann Arbor, Mich.

Katz "They're an interesting band with an eclectic, rootsy sound. They've got a horn in the band -- which is nice for a change."

Info www.themacpodz. com

Outformation

It carries on in the vein of Widespread Panic, a jamming, jazzy, exploratory-rock band that featured guitarist Michael Houser -- who died in 2002.

His guitar technician and roadie, Sam Holt, formed Outformation.

Home base Atlanta

Katz "They do a similar sort of thing (as Widespread Panic), and the old-school fans are really into them."

Info www.foryouroutformation.com

Railroad Earth

The Hookahville veteran will release Amen Corner on June 10, so the set list should include some new blood.

Home base Stillwater, N.J.

Katz "Very bluegrass-oriented, and they've been around a long time on the jam-festival circuit. They're really accomplished musicians."

Info www.railroadearth.com

Sam Bush

The group cultivates a rural-rock sound that fans of Levon Helm and the Band should enjoy.

Bush -- a renowned bandleader, mandolin player and Kentucky native -- helped twist old-time bluegrass into the blueprint that so many jamming bluegrass-country groups use today.

Home base Nashville

Katz "He's an icon and, on top of that, a super-nice guy. . . . He's easy to talk to. He's a guy who can sit in with any band and just rip it up."

Info www.myspace.com/sambushband

The Werks

A funk-rock band, the Werks played Hookah's most recent New Year's show in the Newport Music Hall.

Home base Dayton

Katz "They are a jam band in the truest sense of the word. They are definitely a fun band to watch. They're really groovy and make you want to dance -- very rhythmic."

Info www.myspace.com/thewerks

abeck@dispatch.com