Revisiting FloydFest

August 24, 2012

Today we look back at last month’s FloydFest, with text by Nancy Dunham and images by Jeffery Dupuis

It wasn’t much past noon on Saturday but anyone listening to the high-powered whoops flung at Yarn from an all-ages audience as they made their way onto the main stage at the 11th Annual FloydFest in Floyd, Va., late last month, would be forgiven for thinking it was a hot weekend night. You can credit the die hard “Yarnys” for much of the excitement. Still, with multiple stages of music, plus healing arts, vendors, sports and a cavalcade of other activities, it’s a fair bet that many in the audience were hearing the roots band for the first time.

“This was our third time at Floyd and it’s the best reception ever. Just great,” said Yarn leader Blake Christiana after the set. “The whole set felt really good. I was a little skeptical about the crowd because, well, 12:30 p.m. Saturday, people are just getting up. So the crowd really surprised me!”

Even though Yarn opened its Saturday set with a new song that isn’t even titled yet, the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd was chanting, cheering and calling out requests to the band. So you can imagine the enthusiasm that erupted when the band launched into tried-and-true numbers such as “All Shines Through” on which a member of Brandi Carlile’s band jumped on stage to play tom toms.

The festival marks another high point in a year full of wins for Yarn that includes critical recognition for the band’s just-released album “Almost Home,” and songwriting collaboration between Christiana and John Oates. The two met at a Music City Roots event in Nashville. That’s when Oates heard the band perform and the two developed a creative friendship that has resulted in two songs with more likely to follow.

“He’s awesome,” said Christiana of Oates. "I’m super psyched to work with him.

FloydFest is clearly not as intimate setting as some Music City Roots events. Still, the vibe was so comfortable that it undoubtedly incubated more than a few creative friendships.

Photos below. Review continues on page 2

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Garage A Trois

MarchFourth Marching Band

Pedrito MartinezBruce Hornsby

The Boatmen “I really feel like everything was done right,” said folk newcomer Amber Rubarth who is based in New York and played songs from her just released “A Common Case of Disappearing” that features duets with Jason Reeves and Jason Mraz. “One of the biggest things that influences me is other bands. I don’t really get a lot of chances to hear other bands, so this was really powerful.”

She wasn’t alone. Headliner Brandi Carlile added that she spent the entire day out of her bus, visiting with fans and industry friends, listening to music and soaking up the feel-good vibe.

Just before she took the main stage, opening with a fiery version of “Raise Hell,” the opening track off her latest album “Bear Creek,” she talked about her upcoming set.
“Every singer, every interpreter whether they have written words or not, when they’re singing the words, they need to think about the words,” said Carlile of the zone she goes into during performances. “Don’t think about the audience, don’t think about that guy dancing, think about the words. When you’re done singing, then think about the audience. That way, I’m communicating, I’m receiving, I’m communicating, I’m receiving. You have to be careful that you are present and be aware or you can create a vortex of misunderstanding.”

Fair enough. But there was clearly only a groovy, laid-back state of mind at this three-day festival that carried on late into Sunday night with an array of after parties.
Even on this humid summer weekend, the fans didn’t stop dancing and cheering as they ran from stage to stage to see the various musicians.

When the Punch Brothers, all dressed in dapper suits despite the heat, got onto the main stage, the cheers could be heard from the other side of the festival.

“Wow, I like this,” said mandolinist extraordinaire Chris Thile grinning at the crowd. Although the mid day sun nudged thermometers passed the 100-degree mark, Thile and his band mates seemed to soak up energy from the crowd.

And the enthusiasm wasn’t contained to the main stage either. Leftover Salmon, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year touring behind its latest album “Aquatic Hitchhiker,” could hardly contain their exuberance as they played while sitting on the porch of the Virginia Folklife Workshop Porch late Friday afternoon. Although fans were solidly packed into the somewhat contained area between the house and other buildings, the crowd made room for some of the audience members to dance wildly about, twirling and kicking.

“You know, we felt right at home at FloydFest,” said Vince Herman, a founding member of Leftover Salmon. “We play a lot of shows but that – that was just one great time.”