Scythian performing at Appaloosa Roots Music Festival 2016
Eddie From Ohio and Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen will headline the third Appaloosa Roots Music Festival, hosted by MerleFest fan favorite Scythian, on Labor Day Weekend, Sept. 1-3, 2017, in Front Royal, Virginia.
Just an hour's drive from Washington, D.C., Appaloosa 2017 will also feature Six-String Soldiers, Humming House, Karikatura, The Gothard Sisters, The Plate Scrapers, Runa, Fireside Collective, Tatiana "Tajci" Cameron and Will Overman Band. More headliners and bands are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.Scythian -- made up in part by co-founders and siblings Danylo, Alexander and Larissa Fedoryka -- has been touring for a dozen years."We've played more than 1,500 shows and have seen how festivals work," Danylo said in a recent interview at Merlefest, where the Virginia-based Celtic rockers played five sets, four in one day, including on the main Watson Stage just before Jerry Douglas' "Transatlantic Sessions" featuring North Carolina native James Taylor.
"When we decided to start our own festival, we wanted to incorporate all our favorite elements from the festivals we've played. One thing that we really thought about is how to make it family friendly while making it cutting edge. So we've put a premium on making a great kids area in the main festival area while building up a craft beer garden, sponsored by Virginia's Starr Hill and Bold Rock Cider."
Danylo explained because there are no other Americana roots music camping festivals within a two-hour drive of the metropolitan D.C. area, "we've gained a lot of interest. The first year we saw 3,500 attendees, which went up to 5,800 attendees in year two and we're expecting 7,500 in year three. I think it shows the vacuum we have filled."
For the past 10 years, members of Scythian, which now include Nolan Ladewski and Fritz McGirr, have had to leave the D.C. area to play roots music festivals.
"We thought to ourselves, 'Why don't we start one ourselves?' We saw that there was a void and our hunch was that people would respond. From year one to year two we saw almost a 100 percent increase in attendance and The Hamilton, one of the top music venues in D.C., hopped on board as our main stage sponsor last year. The music, combined with the fact that canoeing, tubing, Skyline Drive and wineries are just a few miles away have helped Appaloosa get off to a great start. 2017 promises to build on this momentum."
Appaloosa Roots Fest is held at Skyline Ranch Resort, located in the gorgeous Shenandoah Valley, at the entrance of Shenandoah National Park and the heart of Virginia wine country, making it a great destination festival. "It's a weekend of rejuvenation where the beauty of the stars and the Shenandoah Valley will nourish you as much as the amazing roots music on the stage," Danylo explained.With the emphasis on families -- the Fedorykas have seven other siblings -- it also means keeping the festival affordable. Early bird tickets start at $125 for VIP and just $95 for the whole weekend if bought by May 31. On-site camping is available with children younger than 13 attending free with a paying adult. Discounts for active duty military and veterans are also available. Ten percent of the festival profits will go to local charities, according to organizers."We've just launched our early-bird pricing and have really focused on making the discount steep to encourage students and families to make it out to the festival," Danylo added. "We believe having all ages present enhances the communal aspect of any festival and the last two years has proved that. Prices shoot up later in the year so we encourage people to make their plans now and mark off Labor Day weekend for Appaloosa."
Volunteers are welcome, according to the website. With a commitment of 10 volunteer hours "benefits include full weekend pass to the festival, discounted rates for festival camping, a custom Appaloosa Volunteer T-Shirt, and a weekend you'll want to include in your memoir. Appaloosa welcomes volunteers of all ages and ability levels. When you're a part of our team, you're a part of the Appaloosa Family." Questions? E-mail volunteer.appaloosa@gmail.com.
Tickets and accommodations can be found at www.AppaloosaFestival.com.
This post originally ran on https://musicreporterblog.wordpress.com/MusicReporterBlog.