Floydfest – Rising Above the Rest
-The following first appeared in The Floyd Press on June 28, 2018
“We’ve probably gotten the most “Best Of” awards this year than we’ve ever received,” said Floydfest Founder/Co-Owner Kris Hodges.
Sam Calhoun, the festival’s Chief Operating Officer, explained that 2018 reader’s polls in Blue Ridge Country Magazine named Floydfest the “Best festival” and Blue Ridge Outdoors readers chose Floydfest as “The Best Kid-friendly Outdoor Destination.”
The family-friendly boutique festival is getting positive feedback. Hodges reported that industry insiders have told him that larger outdoor festivals are down this year, but Floydfest is up, which means that tickets are selling faster than they have in the past and that the festival is expected to sell out. “We’ve had ticket buyers from 46 states and 3 countries, Ecuador, Britain and Norway,” Calhoun noted.
Hodges and Calhoun spoke from the festival site at Blue Ridge Parkway Milepost 170.5, where the first site workday was taking place. Volunteers were working on the grounds in preparation for Floyd Fandango (June 22 – 24) – which Hodges calls “the pre-game to Floydfest” – followed by the five-day Floydfest (July 25-29).
Reviewing changes for Floydfest 18-Wild, Hodges cited the festival’s “Holy trinity” of focus: music, craft libations and outdoor adventure. “We’ve gotten an awesome response to this year’s line-up,” Calhoun said. Hodges added that the music line-up includes two Grammy winners, Jason Isbell and The Infamous Stringdusters. Lucas Nelson (Willie’s son) and Old Crow Medicine Show are other popular headliners. Keller Williams will be performing “PettyGrass” in tribute to the late Tom Petty.
“Probably the greatest pick this year is Greta Van Fleet, who recently had a #1 hit on Billboard. They are internationally famous now and to have them here is unbelievably special,” said Calhoun. Both Calhoun and Hodges mentioned Foster the People, a band on a trajectory to fame and acclaim, something Hodges is good at recognizing and choosing for the festival, Calhoun said.
This year, the Outdoor Adventure Tent is being moved front and center to better engage festival goers in the offered adventures, which include bike trails, an 18-hole disc golf course, guided hikes, Little River kayaking and a 5K run for prizes. The Global Village, where the Outdoor Adventure Tent used to be, has been transformed further into an off-the-beaten-path full camping area.
Onsite RV Camping was missed by patrons and that has been brought back. “People feel they are coming home,” Calhoun said, and Hodges added, “We’ve been listening to what our patrons want.” The Dance Tent, which later became the Speakeasy, is being repurposed into the “Throwdown Tent.” One of the bands scheduled to play on the Throwdown stage is Floyd hometown girl Morgan Wade, backed up by The Stepbrothers.
Other festival changes include the addition of John McBroom as Chief Financial Officer and a festival co-owner. “We met as musicians. There’s a kindred spirit between fellow musicians,” said Hodges, a drummer who is currently in the band Sol Searchers. McBroom, administrative director and teacher at Roanoke’s Community High School, is in several bands that play at Floydfest and Fandango. He’s been a stage manager and full site production manager at Floydfest over the years.
McBroom’s new role came in the wake of the break-up of Floydfest co-founders, Hodges and Erika Johnson. Johnson is no longer a co-owner of the festival, but she will be onsite serving up fresh smoothies at her Revolution Juice yurt, Hodges said.
There were also some noteworthy changes to Fandango 6, and more to come as organizers build on the yearly event. The band line-up was suggestive of a step up for Floydfest’s sister festival and included Kung Fu, The Broadcast and Erin and the Wildfire, Hodges said.
Billed as the best of Floydfest that “delivers an ‘old-skool’ festival vibe for its regional tribe,” Fandango is geared to be a down-home event. This year, everything at Fandango was held in the Beer Garden, home of the Pink Floyd stage, for a more intimate experience, and because “that’s where everyone likes to go,” all the favorites – camping, live music and beer and wine – are all right there, said Calhoun. The Farm-to-Table Meal was a returning feature. Outdoor adventure competitions included a Mountain X Cross Bike Race, Rundango 5K Relay, and a Disc Golf Tournament.
Calhoun and Hodges believe that festivals like Floydfest and Fandango are more important than ever. Calhoun refers to Floydfest as a “a sanctuary gathering of like-minds together,” and Hodges believes inspiring others is his main job. “If you inspire hearts and minds, people will think more clearly, and they’ll make better moral decisions,” he said. – Colleen Redman
Post Notes: Visit floydfest.com for more information on band line-up and ticket purchasing. Photos: 1. Kris and Sam 2. John and Karen Busher from Botetourt County have been attending Floydfest for about 8 years. They came to volunteer and found out that their work would be traded for free tickets. 3. Longtime Floydfest builder Bob Forman points to where he is working to repurpose the Speakeasy into the Throwdown stage. 4. Volunteer Tim Rhyne (left), hails from North Carolina and has been coming to Floydfest for many years. “I’ve been going to music festivals all my life. This one is just special. There’s a positive vibe that I don’t get at other events,” he said. Rhyne is pictured with other work day volunteers, Tyler McChesney (from Danville), and Bill Irving who has only ever been to the Floydfest festival and will be going on his 5th year attending. 5. A volunteer from Blacksburg. 6. A Floyfest staffer directs a group of work day volunteers.
