musicreporterblog

Musings on folk, Americana, country, bluegrass and newgrass

Tag Archives: Virginia


by Leave a comment

Nickel Creek, Margo Price, Bruces Hornsby, Watchhouse, Annabelle’s Curse and many, many more to perform at Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion on Sept. 8-10

Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion music festival is an electrifying music experience that features the very best roots music. Held annually in September in historic downtown Bristol TN/VA, the three-day music is amped to the beat of Appalachia’s past, present, and future. The Festival digs down deep into the roots of the traditional Appalachian sound and lifts its branches to new heights. It all happens in the heart of the Birthplace of Country Music.

For tickets, to volunteer or get more information, visit https://birthplaceofcountrymusic.org/festival.


by Leave a comment

Blue Ridge Music Center presents Doc Watson tribute concert on Saturday, Aug. 19

MerleFest fans listen up: The Blue Ridge Music Center is presenting a tribute to the late, great Doc Watson with “Doc at 100” at 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 19, in the outdoor amphitheater just south of Galax, Virginia.

The Music Center is located at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, 30 minutes from Sparta and Mount Airy, North Carolina.

According to the Erwin Record, “Doc at 100” explores the history and legacy of Doc Watson, who was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina, in 1923, and went on to become one of the most influential acoustic guitar players in the world of folk music. Hosted by author Ted Olson, the concert program celebrates the anniversary of what would have been Doc Watson’s 100th birthday and honors his life and legacy with performances, stories and songs by artists who performed with him, who were profoundly influenced by his music and who called him a friend.

“Doc at 100” includes T. Michael Coleman and Jack Lawrence, who performed, recorded and toured with Doc longer than any other musicians he worked with. Joining them are fellow guitarists Wayne Henderson and Jack Hinshelwood, who were both heavily impacted by Doc’s music through his many recordings and performances.

T. Michael Coleman toured with Doc and Merle Watson from 1974 to 1986 and continued recording with Doc after Merle’s death. Coleman rejoined him on the road, along with David Holt, during the final years of Doc’s life. Over the many years of traveling and playing with Doc, he amassed a treasure trove of stories as well as music.

Go to this link for tickets and to learn more about Saturday’s event.


by Leave a comment

The Steel Wheels present 10th annual Red Wing Roots Music Festival on June 23-25, 2023

The Steel Wheels will present the 10th annual Red Wing Roots Music Festival at the beautiful Natural Chimneys Park and Campground in Mt. Solon, Virginia, in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley. The towering limestone chimneys provide a spectacular backdrop for you to lounge in the Music Meadow listening to great music in the great outdoors.

For three days, the campground is transformed into five stages hosting more than 50 musical acts including Old Crow Medicine Show, Robert Randolph Band, Watchhouse, Sierra Ferrell, Madison Cunningham, The Suffers, Marc Broussard, Festival Hosts – The Steel Wheels, The Lil Smokies, John Craigie, SCYTHIAN, Larry Keel Experience, Peter One, Andrew Marlin, Melissa Carper, AJ Lee & Blue Summit, Miko Marks, Miss Tess, Goodnight, Texas, Michaela Anne, John Reischman & The Jaybirds, Alisa Amador, Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms Country band, The Arcadian Wild, Damn Tall Buildings, Hubby Jenkins, Sam Burchfield & The Scoundrels, Tray Wellington, The Honey Dewdrops, Maya de Vitry, The Revelers, The Slocan Ramblers, Two Runner, The Foreign Landers, Chamomile & Whiskey, The Hypochondriacs, Willie Stratton, The Faux Paws, The Judy Chops, Palmyra, Ragged Mountain String Band, The Wilson Springs Hotel, The Fly Birds, Charlie & The 45s, Danny Knicely with Chao Tian, The Currys, Who Shot John, Song Kitchen, Corrie Lynn Green, Amy Martin, Graham Stone and Rebecca Porter.

In addition there will be myriad food vendors and chances to run, bike and hike on site.

For tickets, volunteer opportunities and more information, visit redwingroots.com


by Leave a comment

Catch Sam Bush, Annabelle’s Curse at ‘Farm and Fun Time’ variety show on March 16 at Paramount Bristol

Hosted by Kris Truelsen and his house band Bill and the Belles, “Farm and Fun Time” is recorded for broadcast television on Blue Ridge PBS, East Tennessee PBS and PBS North Carolina

Sam Bush
There was only one prize-winning teenager carrying stones big enough to say thanks, but no thanks to Roy Acuff. Only one son of Kentucky finding a light of inspiration from Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys and catching a fire from Bob Marley and The Wailers. Only one progressive hippie allying with like-minded conspirators, rolling out the New Grass revolution, and then leaving the genre’s torch-bearing band behind as it reached its commercial peak.

There is only one consensus pick of peers and predecessors, of the traditionalists, the rebels, and the next gen devotees. Music’s ultimate inside outsider. Or is it outside insider? There is only one Sam Bush.

In 2009, the Americana Music Association awarded Bush the Lifetime Achievement Award for Instrumentalist. Punch Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, and Greensky Bluegrass are just a few present-day bluegrass vanguards among so many musicians he’s influenced. His performances are annual highlights of the festival circuit, with Bush’s joyous perennial appearances at the town’s famed bluegrass fest earning him the title, “King of Telluride.”

Annabelle’s Curse

Electrified Appalachian folk band Annabelle’s Curse has gathered quite the following in the mid-Atlantic region and beyond with a reputation for captivating, high-energy shows. After more than a decade together, the band has become a staple at Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion and tickets for their performances are always in high demand. Annabelle’s Curse makes its first appearance on Farm and Fun Time for this special Paramount Bristol edition of the program. A great venue in which to experience the music of this original and captivating act. 

Bill and the Belles
Based in Johnson City, Tennessee, Farm and Fun Time house band Bill and the Belles is known for combining a stringband format with their signature harmonies, candid songwriting, and pop sensibilities. Composed of Kris Truelsen on guitar, fiddler Kalia Yeagle, banjo/banjo-uke player Aidan VanSuetendael, and bassist Andrew Small, the group has a knack for saying sad things with a bit of an ironic smirk and revels in the in-between.




by Leave a comment

RoosterWalk 13 announces initial musical lineup for Memorial Day Weekend 2023

Tickets for the 13th annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival on May 25-28, 2023, are officially on sale at www.RoosterWalk.com! Grab yours today to get the cheapest prices of the year for this outdoor family friendly festival at Pop’s Farm just outside of Martinsville, Virginia.

Festival organizers have announced the first 16 bands including headliners progressive jamgrass rockers Greensky Bluegrass. Other artists join the initial Memorial Day weekend band lineup include Marshall Tucker Band, Kitchen Dwellers, Trouble No More, Doom Flamingo, Kitchen Dwellers, Yarn, Neighbor, Mike & The Moonpies, Crawford & Power, Sol Driven Train, The Wilson Springs Hotel, Isaac Hadden Organ Trio, Sneezy, TC Carter Band, Big Fat Gap and Pirates of the Piedmont.

More than 30 additional bands will be added to the lineup in the coming weeks and months, organizers said in a press release.

Tickets for Rooster Walk 13 went on sale on Tuesday, Nov. 22, at the newly redesigned http://www.roosterwalk.com, which also features all the information needed to plan for an amazing experience: band bios and music, ticket descriptions, festival experiences, frequently asked questions, a venue map and more.

The festival will take place Thursday-Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in the rolling foothills surrounding Martinsville. Rooster Walk is a four-day festival celebrating music, art and the great outdoors at the idyllic Pop’s Farm venue. With roughly 50 bands performing on six different stages, an amazing roster of stellar music steers the Rooster Walk experience. 

In addition to approximately 80 sets of live music, the family-friendly Rooster Walk will offer a wide variety of kids’ activities, craft beer, great food, arts and numerous opportunities to enjoy Virginia’s great outdoors with kayak river floats, bike rides, yoga, a disc golf course and beautiful on-site camping.

Rooster Walk has been named one of the Top 5 festivals in the state by the Richmond-Times Dispatch. It also was voted the region’s Most Creative Charitable Event by readers of Virginia Living Magazine for three consecutive years. The festival was created in memory of late Martinsville natives Edwin “The Rooster” Penn and Walker Shank, who graduated from Martinsville High School in 2000.

A portion of proceeds from the festival will be donated to local and regional charities, including Rooster Walk’s own Penn-Shank Memorial Endowment Scholarship Fund for students at Martinsville High School, and the Rooster Walk Music Instrument Program for public band programs in the local city and county school systems.

The festival is produced by Rooster Walk Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to promoting music, arts and education in its home of Martinsville-Henry County. Since 2009, Rooster Walk Inc. has donated more than $270,000 to local and regional charities.

Head on over to the website to get more info, updates, buy tickets or volunteer at www.roosterwalk.com.


by Leave a comment

New release by Annabelle’s Curse reflects our current reality

I don’t know about you, but I turn to art — music, literature, poetry — when I need to escape and my need for escapism is strong at the moment.

If there was ever a song that addresses what’s happening now — nearly 200,000 deaths as a result of the global pandemic and its subsequent destruction of the world economy — it’s a new tune by one of my favorite bands, Bristol, Tennessee/Virginia-based Annabelle’s Curse, staples at the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion, frequent performers at Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival and a runner-up at FloydFest’s On the Rise Competition, just to name a few.

The band is releasing “Bailout” today. In their words, the song has multiple meanings:  “It addresses the isolation, division and distraction of the current era through a metaphor of a sinking ship and a struggling relationship. It also has political statements laced throughout the final verses.”

The crazy thing about “Bailout” is that it was written long before any of us had heard of COVID-19, coronavirus, “social distancing” or the “new normal” — two phrases I personally hope will soon disappear from our collective vocabularies. 

I talked to Zack Edwards, one of the band’s co-founders, earlier this week and he said at the heart of this complex song, written by another band co-founder Tim Kilbourne, is the double entendre of “dealing with political bailouts as well as dealing with relationships and maintaining them despite going through troubles. We were talking about how weird it is that everyone is getting stimulus checks when the song is being released.”

Continue reading →


by Leave a comment

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.


by 1 Comment

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.

Continue reading →


by Leave a comment

Eighth annual Red Wing Roots Music Festival announces full lineup


by Leave a comment

Yarn, Josh Shilling and Lizzy Ross to headline annual Arts at the Rives opening party on Jan. 25

Despite the total and tragic loss of the historic Rives Theatre in a fire in February 2019, the show must go on and the Arts at the Rives opening party concert promises to be as entertaining as ever!

This show will take place at Forest Park Country Club in Martinsville, Virginia. For $125 per ticket, you will receive entry to this show, which includes open bar (beer, wine, liquor) and catered dinner, as well as a Season Pass to the 2020 Rives On The Road concert series. The concert series will feature at least 4 more shows over the course of 2020. The revenue generated by Season Pass sales helps us offer world-class programming throughout the 2020 year. There is no better way you can support live music in MHC than attending this show!

Party-only tickets are available now for $75. These tickets include the concert, open bar and catered dinner at the show.

Dinner menu: Salad, lasagna (meat and veggie options), grilled chicken breast, red potatoes, green beans, corn, rolls, two deserts.

Roots rockers Yarn will join forces with piano ace Josh Shilling and vocalist extraordinaire Lizzy Ross (Violet Bell), as well as a full horn section, to recreate the music of Van Morrison. This same set was a huge hit at the 11th annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival in May 2019.