words & PHOTOS BY WILL HUSTON (MUSIC SAVES MEDIA)
While shooting photos for The Lot Scene on the last sail of Jamcruise, now a few years back, I met a gentlemen at a beer event onboard by the name of Josh. He introduced himself and his position as the operations director for Floyd Festival, which takes place on top of the Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia. After a nice introduction, I was invited to come see what the festival was like and put together some photos I would release through the media outlet. Although initially planned for 2020, the festival and all others would be pushed back until it could be held safely.
The festival for 2021 would be titled as Floyd Festival Odyssey, and accomplishing a high milestone celebrating its 20yrs in existence, a solid feat for any annual event.
The journey down for my girlfriend and I was just shy of 7 hours leaving from Cleveland Ohio. Not knowing what to expect, we passed through the town of Floyd mid day Wednesday and headed up into the mountains onto the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway during the golden hour. The setting and scenery was stunning on the ride from town to the festival site.
Upon arrival I was quickly greeted by the media director and performing musician, Brian Swenk, who got me my credentials and set me up with a campsite of fellow media friends as neighbors. It was a nice welcome to see friends I knew immediately entering the camp zone.
The first night at Floyd, with our later arrival was used to setup and explore the festival grounds. A suggested single track mountain bike trail past the pond was the most direct route from camp to the mountain top main stage areas. This festival is on the larger end typically hosting around fifteen thousand people. Odyssey being slightly scaled back was estimated at around thirteen thousand from a source at the event. After becoming familiar with the layout and seeing some of the art installations, we headed to the Pink Floyd garden stage area for past on the rise competition winner, Abby Bryant & The Echos performing a set of music covering songs from the legendary Pink Floyd, then returned back to camp with a better understanding of the festival grounds .
Day two out at the festival started with more rest than usual, thanks to a nice quiet community of media workers on the outskirts of the festival grounds. Feeling energized and ready I hit the trees and shade in the much loved garden stage area, for perhaps my favorite unknown artist of the event, Jordan Harman. A captivating set of soulful vocals and a driving rhythm, that kept the crowd quiet and focused, was a great starter for a night that would steadily increase in energy as time progressed. The sun was high and clouds were scarce afternoon Thursday, as Blue Mule, a long time performing new grass act, took stage on the Hill Holler timber frame stage where we watched a few songs and enjoyed the scenery.
Spending the last few hours in the sun, we returned to the cool and shady garden stage for a performance by Free Union, then a brief stop back at Hill Holler for LA Edwards. Taking a bit of time off the feet and getting ready for the night, we returned back to the stage areas around 9 o’clock Thursday. It was around this time the festival started buzzing over the next act on the Hill Holler stage. None other than the flat pick slinger, Billy Strings and band. Billy sporting a little Maggie from the Simpsons T-shirt, hinting at the possible cover, while Jarrod Walker came to pick in a great Allison Krauss tee. The crowd for this set was as far as the eye could see. It was clear that Billy had all the fans out for his set. The usual good mix of covers and originals. A few high energy cuts, and a few slower tunes, with Billy on stage solo for a portion, made the 20 song two hour set seem to go by rather quickly, despite getting a slight extension on time. In true class, Billy stuck around for 30 minutes after his set out on the rail signing autographs and greeting cheering fans. This was exactly the type of mutual appreciation and kindness you wish to see at festivals, and a nice ending for the evening as we headed back to camp through the woods for the night.
Friday morning greeted us with another morning of good weather as we headed to the Dreaming Creek main stage, a massive timber frame stage for Travers Brothership. Brothers Kyle and Eric Travers, joined by band mates Josh Clark, and Ian McIsaac, were another top unknown act of the week. A guest appearance by father Robert “Hurricane Bob” Travers, led to a great father son guitar battle of string bending and smiles. A memorable moment for my first set of Travers Brotherhood.
The garden stage hosted the next visited performer, Tara Dente and band. I made rounds talking to people in the crowd, enjoying the overall vibe that the garden stage had to offer. The area was a great place to catch a beer in the shade with friends old or new. A few tables and chairs were placed towards the back of the area, never crowding or bothering folks who prefer to dance and move around. A very well curated stage area.
Keller and the Keels, followed by Leftover Salmon, on the smaller timber frame Hill Holler stage, performed as the sun set from golden hour. Both long time acts I’ve seen all over, I took the time to snap a few photos but mainly enjoyed the music for the sets. Highly anticipated theme set of the Talking Heads album, Remain in Light, took the main stage as night fell on the mountain top. Turkuaz hosted original players, Jerry Harrison and Adrian Belew to recreate the iconic album for the large assembled crowd. A fiery performance with plenty of classic Heads dance grooves, and expressive guitar playing from Belew. A festival highlight for a good portion of the people I had talked to over the weekend. Being a five day festival for me and my lady, we opted to listen to a small amount of Goose and return to camp. Catching a slight second wind, I lightened up the camera gear and headed to catch the Hog Slop String Band’s late night set , and was rewarded with a great set of music. Bassist for the band, Pickles, was a complete on stage animal, and a most entertaining musician. FloydFest, being more of a marathon than a sprint, I headed back to get some rest for the two remaining days ahead.
I woke Saturday morning to the feeling that we had been very fortunate of the weather we have had thus far. A mid summer festival down south with relatively cool weather was a big win for the week.
Having overheard a fair amount of buzz regarding Dr. Bacon as a funky and fun act, we headed to the garden to see what the buzz was about. Laughter and funk was found upon arrival. Hilarious lyrics, high energy, and horns were the ticket for a good time at the Dr. Bacon show. A sit in from one of our mandolin playing camp neighbors added a nice touch of twang to the eclectic mix.
After some much needed food from Goatocado which was without question my favorite food of the weekend we ventured to the main for the next installment of Turkuaz. This time a standard set of the normal upbeat blend of danceable funk and groove. For most of the set a slight rain had made its way to the mountain bringing a welcomed cooling rinse. Myself and the majority of the crowd smiled and made the best of the rain for the majority of the set. Precipitation increased and nearing the end of Turkuaz a migration built as it was evident that a total soaking would occur without shelter. I had made my way back to the tent stage saving my shoes but little else for clothing. Fortunately all my camera gear and electronics were put up just beforehand. Seeking shelter in the throw down tent during the downpour and wishing the best for everyone’s tent survival I could only think that this intensity couldn’t last too long. After the settling of the passing storms things got back going with Leftover Salmon this time on the main stage. I was in transit for this one and didn’t catch visuals on the stage but enjoyed the music.
A restock of camera gear took place when it was safe. Next on the schedule was one of the headliners and well known act Old Crow Medicine Show. Not being able to get close enough as I wanted due to crowd volume (packed) I opted to hang out and shoot some art installations and buskers in the back of the crowd while I waited for an anticipated set that was nearing. The Buffalo Mountain Jam with Keller Williams, Leftover Salmon, Rebekah Todd, Caitlin Krisko, Abby Bryant, additional guests as well as a multi band horn section took stage at Hill Holler late in the evening. A stacked stage of mic stands and musicians. The ladies shined bright for this set displaying some impressive vocal strength and range. A welcoming of Keller’s daughter Ella Williams to the stage to perform was a pleasant surprise. Not surprising was her talent and confidence on stage singing with a group of well seasoned touring musicians. A strong mention to Rebekah Todd on her performance during this set as well on a cover of “Into the Mystic”.
Capping off the night I stopped by the late night Andy Frasco and the UN set but was admittedly tired and didn’t have the energy to keep up with this set. It was wild and the vibe was rowdy for what I had stayed for. After the soothing previous set it just wasn’t what I was in the mood for at the moment so I called it a night. Another successful day of music, after quite a few previous at this point. The festival goes on as I return to camp.
The final day rises and the music starts with an artist who was a past member of Old Crow, also an artist I had just seen at my local venue. Chance McCoy a self described local to the Blue Ridge Parkway area brought his solo show to the Garden stage where he played some of the older Old Crow music on guitar, fiddle and a bit of banjo. A mean claw hammer version of “Ruebens Train” with his own personal style jammed out past the 7 minute mark and was a certain highlight of the set.
No stranger in the flat pick guitar world the super talented Molly Tuttle took the main stage mid day to share some music and smiles with all. It was my first time seeing Molly perform in person I was very impressed to say the least. A great performer who looks happy and comfortable on stage while shredding notes fast and clean.
A cancellation of booked artist Whiskey Myers led to a schedule switch allowing Brent Cobb to perform on the main stage. Being a fan of Brent Cobb’s music and missing him at local venues multiple times this was a set I wasn’t gonna miss. Brents sound is full and satisfying over the large main stage system as he puts together a great set.
Through the next few hours the weather takes a toll for the worst as rain and minimal remaining sets clear the festival of the masses. Only the strong survive and make it to the last set of the festival. As the rain reduces and the threat of lightning clears Andy Frasco and the UN close out the whole event in typical Frasco drugs and rock and roll etiquette. A lucky fan holds up a sign early on that reads “I play boogie woogie piano” and gets welcomed on stage to take the throne at Andy’s keys and jam with the band. The random guy from the crowd does great as Frasco cheers him on and gets the energy up in the crowd. Lots of banter, party vibes, stage diving and things your parents warn you about sum up the ending set of music at the festival. As the band rushes off to go catch a flight the festival quiets down and the buzz of pedestrians and golf carts come to an end. After five days at Floyd and a stop at a Leftover Salmon show on the way down I can say I have had a full serving of festival. Content with the week of music and gathering of likeminded people I would have to say Floydfest was a great experience. From the wonderful setting in the Blue Ridge Parkway, the lineup, production, respectful crowd, to the staff, vendors and artists, truly a well put together event. 20 years of experience at work and it shows. It was a pleasure to do some documentation work for others to enjoy. I look forward to another visit in the future and what the festival will have to offer in the coming years. Big thanks to Josh Newsome and Brian Swenk for the opportunity. Big thanks to everyone who took part in the festival, that was a HOOT! And as always thanks to Will Rawls for his efforts and work putting this out for you all to see. Cheers!
Will H.
*Click on images to enlarge...*
