Small Town Summer Goes Big
-The following first appeared in Floyd Times on August 20, 2025.
A record-breaking crowd turned out for the August 14th iteration of the 8th Annual Small Town Summer at the Warren Lineberry Memorial Park. Outdoor seating for the every-other Thursday summer event spilled out onto the entrance courtyard, along the Dogtown Roadhouse porch and the town comfort station for an evening of family-fun and quality entertainment.
Dylan Locke, music producer, Small Town Summer founder and co-owner of The Floyd Country Store, emceed the event from the park stage, welcoming guests, introducing performers and giving shout-outs to event sponsors and volunteers running booths and games.
Sarah Kate Morgan, an old-time Appalachian songwriter and dulcimer player from Tennessee opened the free-to-the-public show with a set that ended with a standing ovation. Dancers filled the front of stage platform for the Dan Tyminski Band headline performance, and some danced from their seats.
Tyminski, a bluegrass musician and 14x Grammy winner, is best known for his version of the song “Man of Constant Sorrow,” which was featured in the movie O Brother, Where Art Thou?.
He’s also known for his work as a former member of Alison Krauss’s band Union Station and his vocal collaboration with Swedish DJ Avicii on the song “Hey Brother,” which was a global smash hit.
Despite a few dark clouds and a brief light shower during the Dan Tyminiski Band’s set, the evening carried on with good weather that included rainbow sightings and many smiling faces. There was a few seconds-long power outage when attendants at the climbing wall attraction inadvertently touched on a power line in the park’s back field.
Music is a Small Town Summer highlight, but there is so much more that the event offers. Local non-profits and organizations give demonstrations, educate and sell merchandise and refreshments.
The Kid Zone is always a hub of activity that draws in the younger crowd with art tents, face painting, yard games, bounce houses, animals and more. Thursday’s Small Town Summer featured the introduction of a Gaga Ball arena, a collaboration project of The Floyd Center for the Arts and the Handmade Music School.
Gaga Ball is a popular type of dodge ball that involves open handed hits aimed below the knees of other players. The game is played in an octangular arena, and, in this case, the pit arena was built and painted by community members during earlier Small Town Summer events. “It’s really fun!” one young girl announced.
Tanja Vidovic, one of the adult volunteers who worked as a representative of The Floyd Center for the Arts on the Gaga Ball project, reported that the project was sponsored by the Center, Wills Ridge and Home Depot. “The community all worked together to paint the boards at each event. Then a small group of us crisped up the lines and added chalkboard silhouettes,” she said.
Morgan Grim, the community outreach coordinator for Small Town Summer, was also instrumental in the Gaga Ball project. “She painted the black sheets, and her Husband Daniel with his friend build and assembled the frames. It was really a community effort,” Vidovic said.
Locke later spoke of Grim’s contribution to expanding his founder’s vision and bringing creative thinking to it. “She’s done a masterful job making people feel welcome, invited, included and honored,” he said.
“It’s always been my vision for the Small Town Summer to be a Floyd County celebration that doesn’t have anything to do with tourism,” Locke continued. “It’s for us, on a weeknight in the summer, to celebrate our families and what is special about Floyd,” he said, adding that the Gaga Ball arena’s panels can be folded up and will be moved for community use to the backyard of the Handmade Music School at the Floyd Country Store.
Locke noted all the people he wanted to thank and for the community involvement that has helped to make the Small Town Summer a success. “Andrew Morrison (town manager) and the town council really need to be credited for their support,” he said.
He mentioned how local businesses gave their support by allowing attendees to park in their lots for Thursday’s record breaking attendance. “It’s a wonderful situation where we need to accommodate 1,000 people in downtown Floyd on a Thursday night,” he said.
Note: The next Small Town Summer is scheduled for August 28, beginning at 6 pm and will feature New Dawn Starkestra (featuring Blacksburg native, guitarist and band leader Isaac Hadden), and the Sam Fribush Organ Trio. A bonus Small Town Summer has been added for Saturday, September 13. Watch for announcements. – Colleen Redman