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Musings on folk, Americana, country, bluegrass and newgrass


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Rooster Walk 15 Music & Arts Festival announces full lineup for May 22-25, ticket prices increase Feb. 1

Joining the Lineup: Lettuce, Keller Williams, Ghost-Note, Dangermuffin, Ashes & Arrows, a stellar cast of Artists at Large, plus 15 more bands! Discounted tickets available until Feb. 1!

From the good folks at Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival:

The countdown to the 15th annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival is on, and organizers are thrilled to announce the final lineup, featuring funk legends Lettuce, festival icon Keller Williams, and 26 more incredible acts, officially completing the band lineup! The festival will take place May 22-25, 2025, at the scenic Pop’s Farm in Martinsville, Virginia.

Lettuce will return for their third all-time performance at Rooster Walk, following standout shows at RW12 and their headline set at RW8. Meanwhile, Keller Williams, a long-time fan favorite, will bring his unique energy to the festival for the very first time, performing a special 90-minute funk set backed by the all-star Rooster Walk House Band.

“We couldn’t be more excited about the stellar lineup we’ve put together for Rooster Walk 15,” said Johnny Buck, executive director of Rooster Walk Inc. “Lettuce has always been a crowd favorite, and to finally have Keller Williams joining us, an artist that’s been on the wish list since our very first festival. This festival is truly going to be something special.”

Along with Lettuce and Keller Williams, the festival will showcase Ghost-Note (Dallas, TX), a band that features many of Snarky Puppy’s members; they are sure to bring their jazz-funk wizardry to Rooster Walk’s late-night stages. Dangermuffin (Folly Beach, SC) will return for their fifth appearance at the festival, while Ashes & Arrows, the breakout Asheville, NC band recently featured on America’s Got Talent, will make its Rooster Walk debut.

The Artists at Large for this year’s festival are a dream team of musical talent, joining forces to create unforgettable moments throughout the weekend. The all-star cast that will bring an unprecedented level of musicianship to the Rooster Walk House Band performances includes: Ron Holloway (sax, Baltimore, MD), Jeff Sipe (drums, Black Mountain, NC), Josh Shilling (keys & vocals, Nashville, TN), Isaac Hadden (guitar / Asheville, NC) / Keyser George (guitar / Nashville, TN); Wallace Mullinax (guitar/ Charleston, SC); Florencia Rusinol (vocals & guitar / Johnson City, TN); and Jake Dempsey (bass / Roanoke, VA).

Other additions to the lineup include: Dale and the ZDubs (reggae / Maryland); Erin & The Wildfire (R&B / Charlottesville VA); Arts Fishing Club (Americana / Appleton, Wisc.); Underground Springhouse (jamband / Athens, GA); Mighty Joshua (reggae / Richmond, VA); Hustle Souls (soul / Asheville, N.C.); Deau Eyes (indy / Richmond, VA); Future Joy (future-funk / CO & FL); Striking Copper (roots / Wilmington, N.C.); Winyah (rock / Charleston, S.C.); Bella Moulden (indy / Buffalo, N.Y.); Woody Woodworth & The Piners (country / Richmond, VA); Rebecca Porter (country / Harrisonburg, VA); Jules & The Agreeables (rock / Loudon County, VA); and magician Hunter Rhodes (magic / Richmond, VA).

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It’s not too late to get tickets for Rooster Walk 14 on May 23-26

Now’s your chance to get your tickets and save some money for Rooster Walk 14 in Martinsville, Virginia! Ticket prices increase at 10 a.m. on Monday, May 20. Some options are also in low supply. Don’t delay — get yours now! Here’s a full rundown of ticket options and info.

Already have tickets? Let your friends know to get theirs now to make once-in-a-lifetime memories at an affordable cost.

Check out the full musical line-up and more at https://roosterwalk.com/


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Emmylou Harris to make debut at Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival 2024

Emmylou Harris, a 2018 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, will bring her band to headline the 14th annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival on May 23-26, 2024 ,at Pop’s Farm just outside Martinsville, Virginia. Joining her at the top of the band lineup will be celebrated guitarist Cory Wong, an exploding star on the international music scene.

Harris has been estimated to have sold more than 15 million records worldwide. She has also earned 13 Grammy Awards and placed 27 singles into the top 10 US country chart. She will make her Rooster Walk debut with a Saturday evening set.

Wong will also make his RW debut when his band performs a Friday night headlining set. A former member of Vulfpeck, Wong’s live shows are lauded for their instrumental wizardry, incredible cohesiveness and their sheer, energetic fun.

Other bands getting added to the lineup include: Couch (Boston, Massachusetts – funk/rock/soul); Catilin Krisko & The Broadcast (Asheville, North Carolina – rock); Arkansauce (progressive bluegrass from northwest Arkansas); Sneezy (high-energy party music from Chicago, Illinois); Sticks N Thorns (bluegrass duo featuring Andy Thorn of Leftover Salmon and Jon Stickley); Travis Book & Friends (Asheville, Americana/rock band led by The Infamous Stringdusters’ Travis Book); The Jared Stout Band (southern rock from the New River Valley of Virginia); T.C. Carter Band (blues from Martinsville); Lua Flora (Asheville – beach folk); Big Fat Gap (Chapel Hill, North Carolina – bluegrass); Jules & The Agreeables (Key West, Florida – rock); DJ What (Martinsville – DJ); and Pirates of the Piedmont (Martinsville – pirate shanties).

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Annual Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival 12 postponed until 2021

This isn’t an April Fool’s joke, unfortunately. As the live music festival and concerts cancellations continue to pour in, it breaks my heart to announce that Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival 12 has decided to postpone this year’s event to Memorial Day Weekend 2021.

From the good folks at Rooster Walk:
“After a lot of careful thought, research and discussion, Johnny, William and the Rooster Walk board of directors have made the very difficult decision to postpone RW12 until Memorial Day weekend of next year (May 27-30, 2021). We are heartbroken that we won’t get to see you at Pop’s Farm this spring, but ultimately the health and safety of everyone involved with the festival is our top priority. Like everyone, we’re hoping daily life will be getting back to “normal” by the late summer/fall, but we’ve decided there are too many unknowns, and therefore too much risk, to try to put on Rooster Walk later this year. We are hoping to host several live concerts at Pop’s in the late summer/fall, with on-site camping, if it’s safe to do so. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for updates on that front.

“This decision will have some very tough financial consequences on our nonprofit company, but we are determined to survive 2020 and put on our best festival ever in 2021. We know everyone is hurting right now, and we respect the fact that some patrons may NEED a refund. For those who can make do without asking for a refund, we humbly ask that you do us that HUGE favor because it might be the difference in our ability to put on a couple fall events instead of strictly going into “survival mode.”

“If you’ve already bought a ticket to Rooster Walk 12, you have three options related to your ticket purchases:

1) If you’d like to keep your tickets to use at Rooster Walk in 2021, you don’t need to do anything. All tickets already sold will be honored at Rooster Walk in 2021, even if ticket prices increase in the future.

2) If you need a refund, email info@roosterwalk.com with REFUND in the subject line by 5 pm EST Friday, April 17th, and tell us which tickets you are requesting a refund for. We will refund these tickets in full, less the service fees charged by the ticket company.

3) If you’d like the ticket money to be considered a donation to us, please shoot an email to info@roosterwalk.com with DONATION in the subject line. We are a 501c3 nonprofit, and we will send you a tax donation letter for your records.

“Thank you for your support. We’re lucky to have such a strong festival family! We look forward to seeing you at upcoming events.”

Indeed.


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Rooster Walk 12 announces festival is still on for May 21-24 for now

After the sad announcement earlier today that MerleFest 2020 is cancelled, this happy news is just in from the good folks over at the Rooster Walk 12 Music & Arts Festival set for May 21-24, 2020, at Pop’s Farm, located between Martinsville and Danville, Virginia:

“The Rooster Walk Family has been closely monitoring news and government reports concerning the Coronavirus disease. We have been in close communication with Virginia Department of Health officials, and will continue to hold an open dialogue with them in the coming days and weeks.

With Rooster Walk still more than two months away, there’s no need to make an immediate, final decision on the fate of this year’s festival. As such, we are currently proceeding with our plans and hope to host Rooster Walk 12 at Pop’s Farm from May 21-24, 2020. However, we are going to postpone our final band announcement, which was previously scheduled to be released on March 18th. If the festival goes on as scheduled, we will implement expanded safety measures on-site, as suggested by state and federal health organizations, such as extra hand washing & hand sanitizing stations, and extra staffers to sanitize public areas during the festival (tables, door handles, etc.). In addition, we will encourage anyone who is sick, or feels that they may be getting sick, to stay home and not attend the event.

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The Rives Theatre kicks off new year with Chamber Night featuring The Trogone Band

The good folks at the annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival are sponsoring the first show of 2018 on Saturday, Jan. 13, at the historic Rives Theatre in uptown Martinsville, Virginia. Continue reading


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Gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel to perform at Pop’s Farm in Axton, Virginia, on Saturday, Sept. 23

From the good folks at Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival:

Rooster Walk and Deschutes Brewery are joining forces to present world-renowned gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel & His Band at Pop’s Farm on Saturday, Sept. 23. Amazing local jazz group 5 Brothers (featuring David Oakes) will kick off the evening. Tickets cost $12 in advance and $15 day of show and are available here.

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The Seldom Scene to make Rives Theatre debut on Friday, March 10

The Seldom Scene is bringing its unique blend of progressive bluegrass on Friday, March 10, to the historic Rives Theatre in uptown Martinsville, Virginia. Tickets are $25 in advance and $30 at the door and day of show. Doors open at 8 p.m. with music starting at 9 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase online here.

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Anders Osborne, Trongone Band to perform at The Rives Theatre on Thursday, Feb. 16

The Trongone Band will open for Anders Osborne and his full band beginning at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017, at the historic Rives Theatre in uptown Martinsville, Virginia.

Tickets are $30 in advance at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/2715661 and $35 day of show at the Daily Grind and Rising Sun Breads.

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2017 Live at the Rives Concert Series kicks off season with The Big Payback on Saturday, Jan. 28

The 2017 Live at the Rives Concert Series will include the Saturday, Jan. 28, opening party + at least six more shows. The historic Rives Theatre is located at 215 E. Church St. in uptown Martinsville, Virginia.

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