THE SETTING:

While they’ve been welcoming people to the Skyline Ranch, for years, DC Music Review got the privilege of joining in on the fun at Appaloosa Roots and Music Festival for year lucky number seven, and lucky we were!  Nestled right in the nook of Front Royal, well-known entry point for the wondrous Skyline Drive and lands of the Shenandoah, the location alone is worth making the journey outside the city for.  A beautiful back drop of mountains all around, set up a deep-breaths worth of appreciation for the ability to be so close to this area year-round. 

The Ranch itself boasts a motel-like building with swimming pool and playground that are inviting for all ages.  The festival adds the icing on that cake for families with it’s incredibly inviting bouncy-house obstacle course and kids stage programming to keep little minds, and more, occupied during time between sets on the main stage.

THE SCENE: 

A gathering of people that all seem to hug hello and tell each other, “So good to see you again!” it’s an obvious gathering of individuals that all started out as strangers and have grown to more after returning year and year again to the festival awarded “Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) Recovery Marketing Leverage Program” by the Virginia Tourism website.  Members of host band, Scythian, even remarked onstage about watching some of the younger people in attendance grow over the years and how happy it made them to be able to watch that happen.

It’s hard to say what the average age of attendees to Appaloosa would be - there was everything from newborns to grandparents there with three generations in tow.  It made for a very relaxed atmosphere where everyone made room for everyone - dancing toddlers, teenagers spread out on blankets and adults wanting to stay comfortable and cool in their umbrella-covered camping chairs.   

Early rising wasn’t necessary either day, unless you wanted to attend the onsite mass they had Sunday morning, and that meant relaxation at campsites while cooking breakfast.  Smells of bacon and coffee filled the air as people gathered their needs for the day and meandered inside, where music on the main stage both days, didn’t start until 11:30am.

Hosting the festival since the beginning, Front Royal based band Scythian, were simply lovely hosts and put together a lineup of musicians playing roots, Americana, Celtic, and more that were a perfect mix for the two days.  They also added an unexpected treat, Flex Matthews, a local Northern Virginia artist, who sat in with several bands on Saturday adding the missing hip hop piece to the eclectic lineup.  Not his first rodeo doing so with Scythian, Flex also sat in first with Justin Trawick & The Common Good and followed with every band after that on the schedule for Saturday.  

A new find at Appaloosa that I can’t get enough of now and that really got the crowd excited and moving, was Birdtalker.  Entertaining and very engaging with the crowd, the band told stories of creating music during pandemic, covered songs by artists like The Beatles and sharing a bit of the love story between two of its members.  

It was blatantly obvious what the crowd was waiting all day for when Scythian was getting ready to take the stage Saturday night.  The crowd went from spread out over the festival grounds to all front and center in what seemed like a matter of minutes.  Irish dancers were ready to kick and jump, couples ready to swirl each other around in whatever space they had and everyone else ready to clap and sing along through an exciting setlist.  

Teaching us the rules to the Irish Polka (don’t spill your beer) and telling tales of trips to Ireland, where if you walk in a pub with a fiddle, you get free Guinness, they also treated us to an 80’s tribute accompanied by an accordion.  

Day two was full of amazing music and some second performances from the Gothard Sisters, ARBO, and Scythian.  The real treat of the day, in my opinion, was North Carolina native Presley Barker who had a voice and welcoming country demeanor that left us all wanting more.  With just a guitar, his younger brother and a bass guitar player, Presley impressed the crowd a considerable amount.  He not only wowed us with his ability to cover some of the greats throughout bluegrass and country music history, but also with originals such as “Middle of Somewhere”, which he said is a play on where he’s from in North Carolina - the middle of nowhere. 

Later in the evening, Barker also shared the stage with singer-songwriter Molly Tuttle, which we later learned happened a few years back when Presley was just a mere twelve years old.  The two reunited and complemented each other incredibly well, with fiery fingers that played at speeds you should probably get a ticket for.  Tuttle’s skills in storytelling and song writing were more than obvious as she took the festival from day to night dressed in a sparkly white dress sharing the stage with nothing more than a microphone and guitar for most of her set.  

A crowd gathered bigger and bigger as Tuttle played song after song in what seemed to pack a lot into just a ninety minute set.  An inviting attitude and a smile the whole way through, attendees seemed more and more entranced by the California natives set as the songs just kept coming.