The Steel Wheels present the first annual Red Wing Roots Music Festival, sponsored by Blue Mountain Brewery and WNRN, on Friday through Sunday, July 12, 13 and 14 at Natural Chimneys Park in Mount Solon, located in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley.
The family-friendly festival features 40 bands on four stages, community dances and kids’ activities. Hosted by the popular Virginia-based acoustic band, The Steel Wheels, this year’s headliners also include The Del McCoury Band, Tim O’Brien, The Sam Bush Band, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, JD McPherson, The Claire Lynch Band, Eilen Jewell, John Jorgenson Quintet, The Duhks, Yarn, Wayne “The Train” Hancock, Pokey LaFarge and Gregory Alan Isakov.
The Steel Wheels have enthralled audiences across the country with their heady brew of original soulful mountain music. “After meeting great artists in our travels, we decided to bring back to the Shenandoah Valley all the types of music that have influenced us…old-time, blues, early country, bluegrass, cajun, gypsy jazz, western swing…” said Trent Wagler, lead singer of The Steel Wheels. “Any fan of roots music will find favorite neo-traditional bands at our festival as well as emerging artists they’ll be delighted to discover.”
Natural Chimneys Park was chosen for the festival site due to its natural beauty, abundant facilities and proximity to superb outdoor recreational options. The Park is dominated by the remarkable “chimneys,” seven naturally formed towers of limestone jutting up from the valley floor that date back 500 million years.
The Steel Wheels, all avid bicyclists, have built this passion into the event. The Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition and Shenandoah Mountain Touring will host road and mountain bike rides from the from the festival through some of the most beautiful vistas in the Valley. The local chapter of the Sierra Club will lead a hike on nearby Shenandoah Mountain.
“Our original goal was to bring great roots music back home to our own community, but we’ve been thrilled to find out that fans from as far away as Nebraska and Canada are making plans to attend so we’ll be able to introduce them to the beauty and hospitality of Virginia, as well,” Wagler explained.
On-site camping sold out quickly but off-site camping with free convenient shuttle bus service is still available as are the myriad hotels and B&Bs in historic Staunton and Harrisonburg, both within a short scenic drive of the park. Food and craft vendors, chosen with preference to quality local sources will be on the festival grounds to cater to festival attendees.
The festival will have a Kids Zone with a tent/stage for special kids’ performances featuring The Steel Wheels, Justin Jones, The Wiyos, The Judy Chops and The McKenzies. The McKenzies will also offer a Making Music Together workshop and each day they’ll lead a fun community dance. Plus, there will be an Appalachian Story Time with local storyteller Sandra Parks and local wildlife viewing with The Wildlife Center of VA.
For the adults, Blue Mountain Brewery of Afton, VA, producer of Steel Wheels ESB and other fine brews, will host a beer garden at the festival.
Tickets and information can be found at www.redwingroots.com.
Share
Contributors
