The Kitchen Dwellers and Fireside Collective brought fire to Union Craft Brewing on December 28, 2024, kicking off their New Year’s Run in style. Fireside warmed the  packed crowd with soulful bluegrass, while the Dwellers’ galaxy grass magic turned the brewery into a cosmic dance party. Don’t miss the final stops—this tour is one for the books! Tickets are still available for both nights at the Brooklyn Arts Center in Wilmington, NC. Get your body moving and start 2025 grooving with some galaxy grass jams!

It is hard to imagine that is has been a little over a week since The Outlaw Music Festival steamed into Merriweather Post Pavilion on September 24, 2021.  The crowd was treated to a spectacular evening of live music bringing celebration and musical bliss to one of the regions historic venues that was dormant during the pandemic.  

The festival featured musical guests Kathleen Edwards, Gov’t Mule, Nathaniel Rateliff and The Nightsweats, Sturgill Simpson, and the one and only red headed stranger himself, Willie Nelson 

Nathan Payne was on hand to help capture this night of unforgettable musical moments.

Every festival you go to is going to have great music, but it's the sights and sounds that happen off the stage that gives a festival its unique character and culture. The Festy Experience - "The Telluride of the East" - has a very distinct personality: family friendly, world-class bluegrass music, and the space to roam and enjoy all aspects of the festival grounds.

Telling people that you're a family-friendly festival is a selling point that many an event has claimed to seem appealing to certain demographics.   Until you get to experience something that takes into account all aspects of what parents of little ones and little ones themselves need, you might not even realize what is missing from most.  Festy Experience has formulated the recipe for perfection when it comes to a truly, family-friendly festival.  

​A great lineup is not a bad place to start by any means.  If you've never gotten to see one of the amazing bands that was on the lineup this year in a location where you aren't smushed up against​ a few thousand other people, let me tell you, it's the way to go.  With little ones in tow, you might think that sacrifices will have to be made in order to keep them ​busy and to allow you to also see the music, however have no fear, because you are wrong.  Organizers of the three day event put together a layout that places the fun-filled kids zone, sponsored by Heart Song, right next to the main stage, keeping everyone entertained within a few feet of each other.  Bonus that the kids zone had something for little ones planned from noon to 8, occupying their time with things like a folk music workshop or nature crafts to keep creative little hands and minds busy.  

Another huge bonus to not being packed like sardines because they want to boast a 'sell out' crowd, is that there was always grass to lay out a blanket on, space to spread out and enough room to let kids and adults alike run around and dance their way through the farm without the risk of never being able to find home base again.  Great acts that start on the earlier side also means that you get to enjoy the music and still get tiny ones to sleep at a pretty decent hour, as not to throw off their whole schedule.  

Set up your blanket and chairs on the Blue Ridge Bowl's gentle hill and watch the main stage, walk to eTown stage to hear an interview and small acoustic set with your favorite artist or head to the Kid's Zone where there is something to do every day from noon until 8 pm. Each day The Festy Experience made sure to have something special planned, a late night bonfire performance on a hill, a late night performance in The Blue Ridge Bowl.

Rest assured, The Festy Experience is worth attending either for a single day or the entire weekend. There will be world-class bluegrass music, and there is something to enjoy for everyone. Please enjoy the sights of this festival brought to you by our roaming photographers who captured the "Experience" of The Festy Experience.

Jimmy Buffett and the Coral Reefer Band made their annual summertime visit to Bristow, VA's Jiffy Lube Live on Saturday, August 4th, with thousands of devoted fans flocking to the Northern VA amphitheater for a night on island time with the easy listening icon. Turning the parking lots of Prince William County into Margaritaville for one day only, Buffett's following, known as Parrotheads, spent their afternoon tailgating and preparing for the Saturday night party for which they'd descended on the venue from far and wide. We spent the afternoon partying with the Parrotheads in hopes of getting the true Buffett experience before the show even started.

Our group came prepared with plenty of food, drinks, coolers, chairs, etc. The works. But as soon as we arrived it was clear that we were truly rookies to this scene. The fans around us set up elaborate tiki bars, inflated decorations, blended Margaritas, and - in one case - unloaded an ice luge for liquor, in case you needed a more thrilling way to take shots. Despite the scorching hot sun and humid conditions, this fan base was not deterred from wetting their whistles in anticipation of the party that would cap off the night.

Arriving on the lot pretty early, venue staff were determined to contain the festivities from the start, stopping fans from setting up their liquor collections, table games, and canopies. The group parked next to us was well aware of these obstacles, quickly setting up an umbrella to keep out the sun, proclaiming "we know from the last few years that they won't allow the EZ Up." We were assured that if it weren't for the heavy-handed security presence, the pre-show festivities would be truly off the hook with more sand spread over the parking lot, and extensive tailgating setups. Still, they knew it was only a matter of time before they could carry on with their pregame plans once the lot filled with more cars and provided a bit more cover. At that point, one Parrothead from Georgia commented, the security decides, "if you can't beat 'em, join 'em!"

Amidst the sea of car-top shark fins, "It's 5 o'clock somewhere" signs, inflatable parrots, "Fins Up" tattoos, Hawaiian shirts, flamingos, corn hole sets, and pirate hats, it was clear that every fan in attendance was on Island Time, seeking out a night of relaxation. I encountered one fan with a shirt that read "Margaritaville is a way of life," a message that was crystal clear to me before I even made my way through the crowd of more than 20,000 to get to my seat in the pit. One crew was there representing four generations of Parrotheads (and Parakeets, as the youngest fans are called) in their family. The family patriarch was attending the show with his children and grandchildren. His mother, he had mentioned, was in attendance at the show last summer, but passed away earlier this year. Still, this family was so dedicated to the Parrothead scene that they brought her remains in an urn to be part of their day on the Son of a Son of a Sailor Tour 2018.

Coming into this show, I knew almost nothing about Jimmy Buffett. I knew two or three songs, that he owned Landshark Lager and two restaurant chains, and that he had a cultish following that called themselves Parrotheads. But as soon as I took my seat, I could appreciate his dedication to the brand he has cultivated of "drunken Caribbean rock 'n' roll." The set looks like a dock, complete with seagulls, decorative mermaids, and screens that look like sailboats and shark fins, and Jimmy Steps onstage, barefoot as always, with his wristbands and board shorts, ready to treat his adoring fans to a night of hit songs, lively covers, and localized banter.

From the opening notes of the show through the set-closing "Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes," Jimmy showed an almost symbiotic connection with his audience, feeding their energy and being fed in return. Beach balls flew through the air all night as Buffett played all of his classics, including "Cheeseburger in Paradise," "Son of a Son of a Sailor," "Volcano," and "Come Monday." And of course, the Parrotheads joined in for a little choreography during "Fins," then transitioned from one song to the next with scripted banter from Buffett. Taking some time to note his frequent visits to the DelMarVa region, Jimmy acknowledged that he had played Jiffy Lube Live upwards of 30 times prior to that night. Jimmy and the Coral Reefers worked through their set with incredible energy and a tightly woven sound before reaching the show's denouement in the final three songs, "Margaritaville," "Why Don't We Get Drunk," and the aforementioned "Changes in Latitudes."

Walking out of the show, and being careful not to step on any passed out Parrotheads on the lawn, I was able to appreciate the size of the crowd. For one Saturday night in August, these 20,000 or so people were given a chance to escape the worries of the real world and enjoy something that was a just pure distillation of fun. It was a care free night that managed to transport these DC area fans to the beach, even if only in their minds and flip flops. After all, it is 5 o'clock somewhere.