South Hill Banks at FloydFest 2018 – photo by Teresa Gereaux
FloydFest ’18 is under way. Weather has been great so far and all sorts of musical options await for the rest of the weekend. The first days have included several bluegrass and bluegrass-inspired bands.
A new tent, called the Throwdown Tent, hosts mostly bluegrass groups and the music has been ringing out of there. Fans are definitely appreciative of all the bluegrass sounds, and even when scheduled against the main stage headliners, the Throwdown Tent is packed with appreciative fans.
The Fireside Collective discussed their musical influences at the workshop stage porch. Members talked about coming to bluegrass through YouTube after hearing about Bill Monroe, which then led to Tony Rice and then Old and In the Way. The Beatles were also mentioned as an influence, and then they played a great cover of The Beatles’ Eleanor Rigsby. The band was making their FloydFest debut, but they are no strangers to the bluegrass festival scene. They are past winners of the MerleFest Band competition as well as finalists in the Telluride Bluegrass Band competition.
South Hill Banks were the winners of Floydfest’s On The Rise competition. The audience clearly loved them, and even though they are on the rise, they already have a great fan base.
Songs from the Road Band played some already and have more sets to offer. They have a strong following of bluegrass lovers.
Saturday and Sunday bring more progressive bluegrass: Horseshoes and Hand Grenades, the Steel Wheels, Infamous Stringdusters, Mama Said String Band, and the Lil Smokies.
