Strong performances by Kacey Musgraves, Jade Bird, Margo Price close last day of Virginia festival
Article and photos by Bill Foster
With a somewhat shorter day due to having to near-terminal exhaustion and having to make the drive back home to Knoxville, day four of Floyd Fest – and thus the festival – has concluded. Although I am beat, I also am exhilarated in the way that only being surrounded by truly wonderful people and knowing that every stranger on the site is a friend that you just haven’t met yet can bring. I remember talking to a friend who, in remarking about the diversity at another festival, had said, “Look at all the ages and races, and everyone just gets along.” I thought long and hard about that and had a bit of an epiphany. Floyd Fest looks diverse and it is diverse, but it is not diverse in a very significant way: It is that there aren’t any jerks in attendance.
That guy with the bulging red vein in his angry face who flipped you off as he cut you off in traffic with his BMW because you were going only five miles an hour over the speed limit when he wanted to go faster? He stayed in the city working. It takes a special kind of person to commit to five days in a remote environment, and it’s someone who wants to do it just for the music. Yeah, there is diversity here, but the most important factor is the commonality of a community of people willing to sacrifice time, treasure and comfort in exchange for a unique, shared experience. It takes a special breed of folks to do that, and it was an honor to spend a few days in their midst.
Before my recap, let me correct an error. Somehow, I wrote the past three recaps without mentioning a band I saw twice in the Throwdown Tent: Chupacabras. The Virginia-based seven-piece (with three percussionists including Floyd Fest founder Kris Hodges) plays an indescribable mix of old-school surf, Afro-beat, Latin lounge and trance as hoopers and dancers perform onstage. Everyone wears costumes and generally endeavors to make things as weird as they can possibly get without losing the groove. This band is more a collaborative art act than a touring endeavor, so if you get a chance to see them, do not miss it.
Unfortunately, the demands of editing and writing mean I generally miss the early show, and today was no exception as I missed Lillie Mae. I’ve seen her previously, and it’s a tremendous show. It was a shame to miss it today, but I heard from trusted sources that it was another great performance. My day began with Jade Bird. At only 21 years old, she already has produced a couple of No. 1 records in her home country of the United Kingdom. In the States, she has toured with Brent Cobb and opened for First Aid Kit. For this show, Bird had a large and rabid crowd (for the heat and early time slot) filled with young women singing every word as if they had written them themselves.
I’ve liked what recorded music of hers I have heard but was unsure how it would play live. I should not have been concerned, as Bird has it all. She’s tiny (hard-to-photograph-on-a-tall-stage-because-I-couldn’t-see-her tiny) but possesses a huge voice and a massive stage presence. Onstage, she has none of the Auto-tuned preciousness included in some of her recordings. Rather, she plays her songs in a straightforward and rocking manner with a three-piece guitar/bass/drums trio accompanying her acoustic guitar, which turns her pop into straightforward rock ‘n’ roll, and she obviously relishes the resulting lack of fuss. She is charming and self-deprecating, cracking jokes between every song in a nearly impenetrable accent. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but I am a fan now, and I have a feeling that Bird is just getting started.
In between that and the next main show, I caught some of Front Country and a new band called If Birds Could Fly. IBCF blew me away with an unusual lineup of two guitars and a frontwoman seated on a cajon. Her voice was incredible, and the songs were great. (Think Janis Joplin fronting the Avett Brothers.) IBCF are based out of Southwestern Virginia and tour regularly, so check them out. Next up was Mountain Heart playing an Allman Brothers tribute set. I had seen the band the day before and was suitably impressed, and I loved this completely acoustic set.
From there, it was off to the final appearance of the Jon Stickley Trio. Between sitting in with Leftover Salmon and a couple others, participating in a panel and playing four well-attended shows, Stickley was the MVP of the festival and the person whom I heard the most discussed in the media area. This is a great band that is only going to grow, so catch ‘em in a small venue while you still can.
Back to the main stage, and Margo Price was on. Price is growing as an artist and growing in popularity on the strength of two strong albums and a rip-roaring, rocking live show. While some of the more acrobatic stage moves were dialed back due to her recent motherhood, Price was in fine voice, and many of the songs had strong new arrangements. “Four Years of Chances, “Tennessee Song” and “All-American Made” were highlights. Under the Grateful Grass moniker, Keller Williams was back in the Holler leading an acoustic, Grateful Dead-based jam session along with Love Cannon. The mayor of FloydFest was in fine form, and the setlist was strong. Walking back, I caught some more of Mark Schimick’s fine ensemble, Songs From the Road, which plays jazz-inflected bluegrass and features strong vocals and monster instrumentation. Back in the VIP tent, I caught a young band from Arkansas called Vintage Pistol. The tent is not an ideal place to play: It’s large, but people are there to drink and relax, not to hear music. The Pistol was having none of it, though, and demanded the crowd get up, come up front and dance. And they succeeded. Straightforward, no nonsense rock. Loved them.
Finally, it was time for Kacey Musgraves. With a seven-piece band behind her dressed in identical orange jumpsuits, Musgraves led them through 15 or so songs covering her three major-label albums. Musgraves is interesting. She has definitely been swallowed by the Nashville pop machine (Shane McNally is all over her records), but she refuses to be constrained by it and insists on following her own path (or, dare I say, arrow). In concert, she jokes often about smoking weed or tripping on hallucinogens, and she is an outspoken advocate for gay rights, unfurling a gay-pride flag near the end of this set. She is real onstage, and one gets the rare impression that it isn’t just patter; she is engaged in the moment and saying what she really thinks. Set highlights included “Merry Go Round” (with a huge singalong), “Velvet Elvis,” “Family is Family” and a set-closing “High Horse.” Although there were still performances to come by Lukas Nelson, The Wooks, Yarn and Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe, Musgraves concluded my first FloydFest. However, I assure you that it won’t be my last.
