Most people think of the teaching and learning of music as taking place in formal, institutional contexts like schools and universities. This study looks at the transmission of music teaching and learning that takes place in a more informal, musical environment, namely at a "popular music festival." In particular, it discusses the OM music festival, which has taken place for the last six years in northern Ontario, Canada. Through in-depth interviews with four people, individual musical experiences are explored. These individuals' recollections help to demonstrate that there are unique forms of the teaching and learning of musics from a variety of cultures and genres that take place at the OM festival. As such, popular music festivals like the OM festival can be seen as valuable (and relatively unexplored) sources for music educators and sociologists to consider when exploring music education in community contexts. The present analysis of the OM festival is intended to help demonstrate the potential of all kinds of festivals as music education tools. (Contains 11 notes.)