Live Review: Appaloosa Festival @ Skyline Ranch Resort — 8/13-8/15/21

Posted on 08/20/2021 by Chester Simpson in Live Review, Local Spotlight and tagged Abigail Dowd, Appaloosa Festival, Appaloosa Music Festival, Arbo, Bill and The Belles, bluegrass, Honeyday, Justin Trawick, Justin Trawick and the Common Good, Mink's Miracle Medicine, music festival, roots, Scythian, Young Dubliners.

Flex Matthews joined Justin Trawick at the last minute to fill an emergency opening in the 2021 Appaloosa Festival. (Photo by Chester Simpson.)

Alex and Dan Fedoryka, founding members of the band Scythian, wanted to bring their friends and fans back to their family’s hometown of Front Royal, Virginia, on the scenic Skyline Ranch Resort, nestled in the Shenandoah Valley. It’s just a few minutes from the northern entrance to Shenandoah National Park and Skyline Drive, and less than a mile from the Shenandoah River. There is camping available on site, plus opportunities in the immediate vicinity to hike, canoe, fish, and bike.

Welcome to the perfect setting and the perfect weekend for the annual Appaloosa Music Festival, the result of the Fedoryka brothers’ dream to celebrate life and music with their friends and family, which includes you and me!

Preview: Appaloosa Festival @ Skyline Ranch Resort, 8/13-8/15/21

Posted on 07/29/2021 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged Americana, Appaloosa Festival, Appaloosa Music Festival, Aztec Sun, bluegrass, Celtic rock, Dustbowl Revival, music festival, roots, Scythian, Skyline Ranch Resort, Yarn, Young Dubliners.

Scythian (Photo by Jason Eib)

Appaloosa Festival is back! And Appaloosa 2021 is bringing in rising stars in bluegrass, Americana and Celtic music on Aug. 13-15 at Skyline Ranch Resort in Front Royal, Va.

Headliners at this year’s festival include Scythian, Young Dubliners, Dustbowl Revival, Yarn, and Aztec Sun!

Poll: 2019 Thrushie Awards — Results!

Posted on 12/16/2019 by Mickey McCarter in Around Town and tagged 9:30 Club, Appaloosa Festival, best of the year, Black Cat, Broke Royals, HERAFest, Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival, Lightshow, Luna Honey, Pie Shop, Thrushie Awards.

Luna Honey (Photo courtesy Blight Records)

Parklife DC today announces the best in DC concerts with our annual awards program, named for our mascot, DC’s own state bird — the Wood Thrush. Our Thrushie Awards salute bands and venues in line with our mission to review live music concerts.

Congratulations to the 2019 Thrushie Awards winners, several of whom took their top spots from polling ran by Parklife DC over the first half of December.

Poll: What Is the Best Music Festival in DC?

Posted on 12/04/2019 by Mickey McCarter in Around Town and tagged Appaloosa Festival, Damaged City Festival, DC Jazz Festival, DC Music Rocks Festival, Funk Parade, HERAFest, Kingman Island Bluegrass and Folk Festival, M3 Rock Festival, music festival, Summer Spirit Festival, Thrushie Awards.

Welcome to the 2019 Thrushie Awards!

Parklife DC will name the DC best music festival of the year with your input. Vote for the best music festival in the DC metro area now through Dec. 12.

Snapshots: Appaloosa Festival @ Skyline Ranch Resort — 8/30-9/1/19

Posted on 09/04/2019 by Chester Simpson in Live Review and tagged Americana, Appaloosa Festival, Aztec Sun, bluegrass, Celtic rock, Fireside Collective, Gothard Sisters, Honeyday, Hussey Brothers, Jack Dunlap, Jessica Willis Fisher, Jonathan Byrd, Justin Trawick, Justin Trawick and the Common Good, music festival, Screaming Orphans, Scythian, Sibling Rivalry, Skyline Ranch Resort, Steep Canyon Rangers, The Dustbowl Revival, Upstate, Yarn.

5th Annual Appaloosa Roots Music Festival

Jessica Willis Fisher performs at Appaloosa Festival over Labor Day weekend. (Photo by Chester Simpson)

“There are no strangers here, only friends who have not yet met.” — William Butler Yeats.

That quote from Yeats opened the program for the 2019 Appaloosa Festival, which invited friends of all stripes to Skyline Ranch Resort in Front Royal, Virginia, over Labor Day weekend for a gathering of bluegrass, folk, Americana, Celtic rock, and more! Parklife DC’s Chester Simpson captured the action on film.

Interview: Dan Fedoryka of Scythian (@ Appaloosa Festival @ Skyline Ranch Resort, 8/30-9/1/19)

Posted on 08/19/2019 by Mickey McCarter in Interview, Local Spotlight, Preview and tagged Appaloosa Festival, bluegrass, Celtic rock, Dan Fedoryka, DC, Interview, music festival, roots, Scythian, Skyline Ranch Resort.

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Scythian performs at Appaloosa Festival 2018. (Photo by Chester Simpson/ Chestersimpson.com)

Dan Fedoryka of Scythian is pure joy in conversation. With the success of his Celtic-roots band, the laidback vocalist, guitarist, and accordionist is often busy planning a tour or a festival. But Dan remains generous with his time, and he is as pleasant on the phone as he is in person.

Parklife DC caught up with Dan to chat about the ever-growing Appaloosa Festival, occurring on Aug. 30-Sept. 1, and Scythian’s plans for the celebration of bluegrass, roots, and Americana. The fifth annual Appaloosa Festival will take place on Aug. 30 through Sept. 1 at the Skyline Ranch Resort in Front Royal, Virginia.

Check out the Appaloosa Festival website for tickets and info. (After all, Appaloosa Festival won Best DC Music Festival in the inaugural Parklife DC Thrushie Awards for a reason last year!)

Snapshots: Scythian @ The Hamilton Live — 1/5/19

Posted on 01/07/2019 by Ari Strauss in Live Review, Local Spotlight and tagged Appaloosa Festival, Celtic rock, Scythian, The Hamilton Live, Virginia.

Scythian performs at The Hamilton Live on Jan. 5, 2019. (Photo by Ari Strauss)

Scythian, DC’s favorite Celtic rock band, played to a capacity crowd of revelers who danced among tables (and a few on the tables) Saturday at The Hamilton Live.

Poll: 2018 Thrushie Awards — Results!

Posted on 12/05/2018 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review, Local Spotlight and tagged 9:30 Club, Appaloosa Festival, awards program, Bacchae, best of dc, best of the year, Broke Royals, City Winery, DC Rocks Music Festival, music festival, Pie Shop Bar, ShamrockFest, Sol Roots, The Anthem, Thrushie Awards.

Broke Royals

Parklife DC today announces the best in DC concerts with our inaugural awards program, named for our mascot, DC’s own state bird — the Wood Thrush. Our Thrushie Awards salute bands and venues in line with our mission to review live music concerts.

Congratulations to the 2018 Thrushie Awards winners, several of whom took their top spots from polling ran by Parklife DC over the last half of November.

Music Park: Appaloosa Festival @ Skyline Ranch Resort — 8/31-9/2/18

Posted on 09/10/2018 by Chester Simpson in Live Review and tagged Appaloosa Festival, Appaloosa Music Festival, bluegrass, Celtic rock, Gaelic Storm, Kentucky Ave., music festival, roots, Scythian, Tatiana “Tajci” Cameron, The Hillbilly Thomist, The New Familiars, Town Mountain.

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Scythian performs at the Appaloosa Festival over Labor Day Weekend. (Photo by Chester Simpson)

“The Appaloosa Festival is like building a giant tree fort as a kid, and it keeps growing!” said Dan Fedoryka of Scythian.

Interview: Town Mountain (@ Appaloosa Festival @ Skyline Ranch Resort, 8/31-9/2/18)

Posted on 08/23/2018 by Mickey McCarter in Interview, Live Review and tagged Appaloosa Festival, bluegrass, Celtic rock, folk, Gaelic Storm, Interview, Mandolin Orange, music festival, roots, Scythian, Skyline Ranch Resort, Town Mountain.

Town Mountain (Photo by Sandlin Gaither)

Appaloosa Festival returns as DC’s top roots music festival on Aug. 31-Sept. 2 at Skyline Ranch Resort in Front Royal, Virginia. Festival hosts Scythian, your favorite DC Celtic rockers, present a strong lineup, including Gaelic Storm, Mandolin Orange, Six-String Soldiers, Aoife Soctt (Irish folk artist of the year), and Town Mountain, the talented string band from Asheville, North Carolina.

Parklife DC recently caught up with Town Mountain banjo player Jesse Langlais via email to get the latest news about the band and to find out more about their upcoming sixth studio album, New Freedom Blues, due for release on Oct. 5.