Loose Leaf Notes

Every time I take a crowd scene photo there is one or two people in the shot that I know but only discover when it’s uploaded on my computer.

Sunday at Floydfest is always the sweetest day for me in a cherry-on-the-top sort of way.  I’m always tired but happy. I flit around less and take it all in, sample less and listen more to whole sets of music.

I’m a big Tom Petty fan and regret that I never saw him in concert before he died.  So, I headed straight for the Hill  Holler Stage where Keller Williams and the Hill Benders where doing Pettygrass, all Tom Petty in their Blue Grass style as a celebration of Petty’s life and music.

I can tell you from this experience that Petty’s music sounds great in any style. I hung on every song.  They made me happy as I sang along and gave me a sense of closure.

Next on my mini-must-see Sunday bands list was Morgan Wade and The Stepbrothers at the Throwdown Tent. Morgan is a Floyd-grown musical talent that I’ve described as a Janis Joplin meets Miranda Lambert.

She recently wrote a new song about relapse after Demi Lovato’s near fatal drug overdose that she posted on Facebook. It was so good that I shared it and it got many compliments from people unfamiliar with her.

I want to tell them that Morgan is a talented singer/songwriter, but she’s also a rocker. This (posted above) song about staying sober is proof.

I’ve loved Old Crow since my son Josh came all the way from Asheville to see Ketch and Critter (two members of the band) do a show at The Floyd Country Store. He told me I HAD to see them and I was glad I did.  (More about that in a post called Hippie Hick HERE.)

I think of this as the Where’s Waldo of Flaccevento T-shirts.  He’s running for congress in our district and has a large following.

Turns out it was our friend Jack Wall!

It was a sweet ending to four-days of an artful festival, although there was more music as the festival wound down.  I was happy to see that Old Crow brought back flatfooting clogger Arthur Grimes for a stage dance.  All the while, I was looking forward to hearing my favorite Old Crow sing-along with local references, their most well-known hit, Wagon Wheel.  Click the above!

Then they did an encore (clip below).  They told us this was gospel!  Have a listen and see what you think.  Listen for the Floyd shout out.  See you next year! Read about Floydfest Thursday HERE, Floydfest Friday HERE and Floydfest Saturday HERE.

________Our World Tuesday