FloydFest Overview

I arrived home from FloydFest safely last night and hope everyone else did as well. It was an awesome weekend - the music was outstanding and the festival well planned. Thanks Across-the-Way Productions. With four winery reviews and the festival overview to draft - as well as another weekend outing planned - the official FloydFest review, will not be posted until early next week. For now, a brief overview.

I was able to spend several hours throughout the weekend with Grafton, Ned, Jake, and Chris from Oneside - discussing and listening to music. I listened to their excellent debut CD, "First, to Last" over and over again on the drive down - it's a rocking CD. As evident from the large and enthusiastic crowds at each of their shows, others were enjoying their music as well. Not bad for an "Emerging Artist". For the first time I was able to watch perform one of my favorite groups, Crooked Still, as they played multiple sets - with even larger crowds singing and dancing along. This band had perhaps the best show of the festival Saturday at the Revival Tent - which I can only describe as a love affair between the band and audience. Their current CD, Still Crooked, made the ride home much pleasanter. But the most popular artist - by far - was The Reverend Peyton's Big Damn Band - easily attestable by any of the hundreds who saw one of their four performances.Their next CD, The Whole Fam Damnily, should be released August 5th and from songs we heard over the weekend, this will be an instant classic. Thanks Jayme, Breezy, and Reverend Peyton for a revelating, rocking time.