It’s the first of May.
Spring has sprung and is in the air.
It’s that time of year when young folks’ thoughts turn to one thing and one thing only: Music Festivals.
Lucky for you, Southwest Virginia likely has exactly what you’re looking for this season as music makers make their annual trek to some of the Meccas of mountain music.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1kVj5Sd6GdqdBKgcsLj4KJ
First on tap is the Big Stone Gap affair on May 25, Gathering in the Gap.
A can’t-miss at the Gap is Dark Moon Hollow. A group of Kentucky pickers formed around the nucleus of Trigger Trey and Riley Logan in 2017, the Hollow has put out two studio albums, leaning into the newgrass sound with breakneck speed and solid musicianship.
Be on your best behavior and you might just hear “7Up & Secrets,” as featured in our first spot on the playlist.
The birthplace of country music and site of the Big Bang gets two nods in this playlist. The first one is coming up shortly with the one-day benefit concert In the Pines, stretching from June 1-2. In the Pines will aid the Birthplace of Country Music Museum and is headlined by Kentucky-born legend Dwight Yoakam.
Who knows what Dwight might play during his day in Bristol, but this tune, “Readin’, Ritin’, Rt. 23” will be a familiar refrain to any Appalachian.
Supporting at the In the Pines festival is Mexican-American troubadour Wyatt Flores, who comes to Bristol by way of Oklahoma. Flores is getting well-known and well-loved for his raw truth-telling.
Included here is his 2022 offering “Please Don’t Go.”
Coming up in July, from the 24th to the 28th, is possibly the most famous of the Southwest Virginia gatherings, the always popular and patchouli-flavored FloydFest. The festival will be in Floyd County this year (past festivals have been held in nearby Patrick) taking possession of its new home.
Headlining this year is Texas singer/songwriter Charley Crockett. A descendant of famous frontiersman Davy Crockett, Charley got his feet wet as a teen playing New Orleans’ French Quarter and on the streets of Deep Ellum, Dallas. By 2009, he’d found his way to New York City and caught the attention of big wigs with his street band Trainrobbers.
Here’s on of Crockett’s newest songs, “$10 Cowboy.”
An up-and-coming band you need to know is Palmyra. Now working out of Richmond, the folk fusion trio was born in the Shenandoah Valley by Teddy Chipouras, Manoa Bell and Sasha Landon. Included is Palmyra’s “Rolling Hills.”
A can’t miss at Floyd Fest is Hogslop String Band, tempering their old time string sound with a rush of punk rock. Music fans might remember having seen or heard the Hogslop sound down at the Carter Family Fold. Here is their song “Time Gets Away.”
Closing out the festival season is Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, held in downtown Bristol Sept. 13-15.
Russell County’s pride 49 Winchester will be one of this year’s festival headliners just off an opening spot for Kentucky’s Tyler Childers. Included here is “Russell County Line.”
Most anyone who has made it this far likely knows or has heard of many of these bands. The last two, both in the lineup at Rhythm and Roots, are probably ones you haven’t heard but well should have.
First up is Bella White. A young singer/songwriter from the Canadian city of Calgary (we won’t hold that against her) sounds like she could have stepped out of the late 19th Century with her stripped down folk heavy sound. Included on this playlist is “Just Like Leaving.”
Speaking of an ancient sound, the haunting sounds of Sparrow and Keith Josiah Smith would feel right at home in the late 1800s. The Resonant Rogues call the mountains of North Carolina home but are citizens of the world, hopping trains to other musical homes in New Orleans and Nashville.
“Sand Into Pearls” is off their latest album The Resonant Rogues.
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