It should come as no surprise that the region surrounding and including our nation’s capitol has perhaps the highest concentration of US military members of any site in the country. Of course, all the service branches are headquartered there, with every imaginable support faction represented, plus all of the top brass. People from northern Virginia through southern Maryland and parts of West Virginia have a great degree of respect for the military families, because they are their neighbors and friends, and many civilian citizens work side-by-side with military members in the various government agencies.
So it’s no surprise to see the folks who put on the annual Appaloosa Music Festival in Front Royal, VA have the Six String Soldiers perform each year during their Labor Day weekend event. The five enlisted Army musicians perform as part of the US Army Field Band in Maryland, featuring bluegrass, Americana, and folk music much like the Navy’s long-running Country Current.
Together with Appaloosa’s host band, Scythian, the Soldiers have released a new music video for Paint This Town, a Scythian song which they perform together.
The Appaloosa Music Festival is produced each year by Alexander and Danylo Fedoryka who front Scythian, and they donate a portion of the proceeds each year to local charities. This year, 10% goes to the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 1860 in Front Royal, Virginia, and the Appaloosa Blue Ridge Arts Foundation (ABRAF).
The Fedoryka brothers bring in entertainers for the festival representing bluegrass, Irish folk, grassicana, and many other sorts of acoustic music. Other acts this year will include Town Mountain, Mandolin Orange, Fireside Collective, The Gina Clowes Project, The Hillbilly Thomists, and many others.
Full details can be found online.
