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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!
Gaelic Storm on stage at The Birchmere, where they played to a sold-out audience, Nov. 21, 2019. (Photo by Ari Strauss)
Gaelic Storm breezed into town recently to perform in front of a sold-out crowd at The Birchmere. It was the band’s 41st appearance at the iconic Northern Virginia music since forming as a Santa Monica, California pub band in the mid-1990s.
The Waterboys (Photo by Xavier Mercade)
The Waterboys released Where The Action Is in May via Cooking Vinyl, and the British/Irish folk rockers tour the United States for the first time since 2015 with a stop at the Lincoln Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 22!
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.
Mike Peters fronts The Alarm at the State Theatre on Aug. 25, 2019. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Guitar-wielding swashbuckler Mike Peters and his rockstar crew highjacked the State Theatre in Falls Church, Virginia, recently on the strength of sheer charisma. Mike, a seasoned showman, wailed and strummed his way through a dramatic set celebrating the summer release of a new album, Sigma, and all of the Celtic power of the post-punk band’s famous numbers.
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!)
Mark Knopfler performs at Wolf Trap on Aug. 18, 2019. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)
Mark Knopfler, former frontman of Dire Straits, released Down the Road Wherever, his ninth solo studio album, last year. He dropped by Wolf Trap on a solo tour Sunday, and Jason Nicholson took some pictures!
Joe Harkum (Photo courtesy Ticketfly)
Baltimore’s reputation has taken a hit over the past year or so due to a recent spike in violence and crime in the city. Friday night, I got to witness first-hand how music can bring people together and help us to be bigger than our problems at Baltimore Soundstage thanks to Maryland’s own Pasadena.
Glen Hansard performs at the Lincoln Theatre on June 3, 2019. (Photo by David LaMason)
When I listen to Glen Hansard’s music — especially songs from the new album, This Wild Willing — I can picture a man who has two feet planted firmly in the past but is stretching out across this temporal divide to grasp the future. His music often straddles the line separating old folk tradition and modern tones and feeling.
Glen Hansard (Photo by Stephan Vanfleteren)
Irish troubadour Glen Hansard released The Wild Willing, his fourth studio album, in April via Anti- Records. Now, Glen visits the Lincoln Theatre on Monday, June 3, to regale us with song and story.