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Musings on folk, Americana, country, bluegrass and newgrass


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Barn-raising for Appaloosa Roots Music Festival celebrates community

“If I have one piece of advice, don’t burn your business down.”

Solid advice from Strong Oaks Woodshop founder Mike Schmiedicke. It comes from someone who doesn’t want to see what happened to him, his family, his employees and his community happen to someone else.

But this isn’t a story about what Schmiedicke lost in a blaze this past April. It’s about what he found. It’s about friends and community. It’s about how, when we pay it forward, it can come back around in ways we can’t even imagine.

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The Black Lillies, Mipso, Scythian to headline Labor Day Appaloosa Festival

The Black Lillies and Mipso are among the headliners at MerleFest favorite Scythian‘s second annual roots music Appaloosa Festival set for Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 3-4, in Front Royal, Virginia, which is about an hour from Washington, D.C., in the stunning Shenandoah Valley. Continue reading