Loose Leaf Notes

-The following first appeared as a feature in Sounds of Floyd, a July 2017 magazine insert publication of The Floyd Press

Floyd has always been rich with mountain music, whether it was played on porches, in living rooms, in hollers or churches.  The Floyd Country Store’s Friday Night Jamboree was one of the town’s first music venues, which started when The Country Store was a farmer’s supply store and friends gathered around the woodstove to play old-timey tunes.   

Since then, ownership of the store has changed hands several times and the crowds have grown.  Every Friday evening, the sidewalks and alleys overflow with musicians and people who come to play or hear the music.  Inside, bands perform on stage and people of all generations fill the dance floor to flatfoot.  Under the ownership of Jackie and Woody Crenshaw, and now Heather Krantz and Dylan Locke, the renovated building has grown to include a general store and café.  It hosts Americana Afternoons, Saturday Headliners, Sunday Jams, workshops, The Floyd Radio Show (modeled after The Prairie Home Companion) and more.

Another music scene was developing around the same time the early Friday Jamboree was.  At that time, The Pine Tavern, just north of town, was the place for open mics and free-style dancing to rock, blues, jam and reggae.  The Mill (Epperly), home of the county’s first food coop, the predecessor of the Harvest Moon Food Store, also hosted music for a few years, and some fundraiser dance concerts were held at the rented VFW hall.

Local bands playing all genres of music were forming throughout the ‘80 and ‘90s.  Singer-songwriters were taking to mics, and interest in Floyd’s scenic countryside, its culture, music and art began to draw tourists. More music venues were developed and music diversity spread.

In 1998 Anga Miller bought the old downtown sewing factory building and repurposed it into two levels of businesses and shops, including a shop filled with her handcrafted Winter Sun clothing line.  A stage was the first thing she had built in what was then called Winter Sun Hall. “The dream for me was to always have a music venue,” said the mother of two sons who are working musicians.

In 2010 Dogtown Roadhouse opened in the Winter Sun building as a music venue, serving homemade wood fired pizza.   In 2013 Miller and her partner Ed Erwin took over the Roadhouse and became its sole owners.  “We’ve had Grace Potter here!” Miller said. She went on to name other Dogtown headline acts, such as Richie Havens, Seven Walkers, Leon Russell, The Hackensaw Boys, Donna the Buffalo and more.

Miller explained that Wednesday Karaoke night and Sunday’s Open Mic draws mostly locals, but the people who attend their Friday and Saturday shows come from neighboring counties and states.  Some shows sell-out (pre-show tickets can be purchased online). Some nights, Dogtown attendees spill out onto the Roadhouse deck, or into the adjacent Warren Lineberry Park, which has been the site of outdoor concerts.

Dogtown Roadhouse currently has a full menu and a full bar, specializing in craft beer on tap. Along with the local, regional and national bands they book, the Roadhouse has been used for costume balls, community fundraisers, CD release parties, the Floyd Mardi Gras, weddings and more. “I really do believe that this venue has been a primary influence in building the music scene in Floyd over the years,” said Miller.  She commented that she was happy and proud of the growth that’s been accomplished and stressed the importance of financially supporting musicians for what they do.

Nearby, and within walking distance from Dogtown Roadhouse, the Hotel Floyd hosts a free music series at the hotel amphitheater on Thursday evenings from May – October.  This year, the Town of Floyd will also be holding periodic free events on Thursday nights at the Warren Lineberry Park, so the Hotel will direct guests to those events when they are scheduled, reported hotel co-owner Kamala Bauers.

The Pine Tavern continues to present music events.  Since the early days of its Sunday night Open Mic, the historic venue has added an outdoor pavilion stage on the grounds. They host an epic annual Halloween Costume Party and frequently feature The Kind, a popular “Hillbilly Psychedelic Folk Rock” band that specializes in Grateful Dead covers.  The Floorboards, The Dark Side Project, Morgan Wade, Sway Katz and Hamilton Loomis have all played at the Pine Pavilion in the past couple of years.

The Oak Grove Pavilion at the Zion Lutheran Church was another early venue that is still going strong today.  During the warm weather months, amongst a grove of oaks around an outdoor stage,  the church has been presenting musical concerts of most every type of music – including Celtic, new age, gospel and rock –  and theatrical productions of drama, satire, musicals, and comedy since 1994.  Admission is free and donations go to local charities.

On the south side of Route 221, Wildwood Farms and General Store has been hosting live Bluegrass and Old Time music every Saturday for the past four years. Music jams happen every 1^st and 3^rd Saturday, held outside on the picking porch when the weather is warm.  They put on an Old Time Fall Festival (the third Saturday in October) with live music, crafts, a vintage vehicle cruise-in, pumpkins, apple butter demonstrations and all the fall fixins.

Wildwood Farms is known for its daylily garden, which includes over 600 varieties, and draws visitors from Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Tennessee, the Carolinas and more during bloom time. They also have a gift shop and kitchen that serves up sandwiches and pizza.

Chateau Morrisette Winery and Restaurant, founded by David Morrisette and located along the Blue Ridge Parkway in Floyd, will be celebrating its 40^th anniversary next year. The Black Dog Beach Music Festival is one of its oldest events, drawing approximately 2,000 people every year from nearby counties and states.  Every Sunday from June through October there’s music with Sunday Sounds, set on the Winery Courtyard, where jazz, bluegrass and rock and roll are featured. Tours and tastings are offered daily.

People come from all over the world for the Friday Night Jamboree and it’s been written about in major news outlets, like The Washington Post and US Today.  But the Jamboree isn’t the only music event that has put Floyd on the map, literally and as part of our region’s 300 mile Crooked Road Music Heritage Trail. Floydfest founders Erika Johnson and Kris Hodges were the original owners of Oddfellas Cantina (now Oddf3llas).  When their restaurant/music venue outgrew the space, they started Floydfest, an annual eco-friendly music and art festival on 80 acres off the Blue Ridge Parkway.Since its grassroots inception in 2002, Floydfest has grown to be one of the most highly rated boutique music festivals in the region and beyond.  Headlining acts have included Jackson Browne, Ziggy Marley, Levon Helm, The Lumineers, Bruce Hornsby and many others. They also feature an “On the Rise” patron-voted competition that spotlights cutting edge, up-and-coming bands from the region and around the country.

Building on the success of Floydfest, other annual music festivals have been launched and include Floyd Yoga Jam, Chantilly Farm Bluegrass Festival and Replenish Festival at Burnette Farm (Willis), which blends faith, family and fun, along with high quality music, such as the Grammy nominated band Building 429 and billboard chart-breaker JJ Weeks.

“Whether it’s yoga or dancing, we’ll get you moving,” said Shirleyann Burgess, one of the YogaJam founders.  Also held on the Burnett Farm, Yoga Jam features a Labor Day weekend of renowned yoga teachers, inspirational speakers, weed walks, holistic health workshops, performance and interactive arts, along with an impressive musical line-up.  Whether it’s rock, rap or devotional, the song lyrics at Yoga Jam are always positive.

Chantilly Farm is set to have its 7^th annual Bluegrass BBQ Festival this May. They’ll be hosting a free Mountains of Music Barn Dance in June.  Last summer they presented a popular Beatles Tribute Band, and this year Cosmic Charley is on the schedule to play Grateful Dead favorites.

Expanding on Floyd’s reputation as a destination for quality music, classical music is the newest musical genre to make its mark in Floyd.  Some classical music concerts are hosted by the Floyd Center for the Arts.   In 2012, Virginia’s Blue Ridge Music Festival (VBRMF) launched a spring series of concerts held in various locations in town, including a brass ensemble at the Floyd Farmers Market and a chamber ensemble at the Floyd EcoVillage that was conducted by David Wiley, the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra’s director/conductor and VBRMF’s artistic director.  The group hosts concerts, weekend series and provides grants and scholarships to support promising area music programs and young musicians.

Floyd is home to some acclaimed musicians and bands.  It’s also home to instrument makers, recording studios, and dancers.  Contra dances, which are held on second Saturdays at the Floyd Center for the Arts, have been bringing American folk dancing and high quality Celtic music to Floyd for decades.   The Blue Ridge Dance Fitness and Dance Studio, home of the Back Door Cloggers, teaches dance classes and performs locally.

“There’s nothing like this anywhere,” said Tracy Elliot about Floyd on Jamboree night.  She and her husband Oscar drive from north of Charlottesville about three Fridays a month to dance at the Country Store.  The couple, who learned about the Jamboree from the internet, comes early enough to hear the pre-show Gospel Hour. On this night it was Janet Turner and Friends.

Turner has been playing at the Country Store “ever since they let us in the door,” she said.  She sings and plays autoharp every first Friday with her band. She remembers learning the old songs before tape recorders were available, listening to the radio and memorizing a song line by line.  “It seems like it really hasn’t changed that much because we just stick with the blue grass and old time,” she said about Floyd’s music scene.

Turner’s comment speaks to Floyd’s lasting music roots and to the influence of growing up where music is a part of life.  “I’ve always loved music and I’ve always sang ever since I was big enough to.  My mommy and daddy’s families both were musical,” she said.

____________Our World Tuesday