Floydfest 2015 united artists and fans under the big Virginia sky

“Being in this atmosphere, these people are incredible,” said Annabelle’s Curse mandolinist/vocalist, Carly Booher.

“Being in this atmosphere, these people are incredible,” said Annabelle’s Curse mandolinist/vocalist, Carly Booher. “These people are here and they come from everywhere, all different walks of life, but they have one thing in common and it’s that they love great music. It’s a community.”

Another July has passed and another FloydFest has created a whirl of memories in the minds of the attendees. Luckily enough, I was able to attend this year’s festival with an open-mind and an all-access media pass which allowed me to indulge in more craft beer, barbecued meat, and tons of catchy music.

FloydFest 14: Fire on the Mountain left me a happy camper with a belly full of beer and barely enough energy to keep me awake while I drove home.

I was aware of the shuttle bus system, but it was a surprise to me that the venue was literally on the top of a mountain that needed to be shuttled to.

The festival venue is an outlanding the size of a colossal football field and perched on the peak of a mountain. While vendors and merch-booths line the sides of the field, stages and various means of amusement are centered inside, leaving the outskirts of the field for camping.

Although I camped next to a crew of teenagers who lacked camping courtesy, blasting dubstep the entire time, the wooded areas made for idyllic scenery and were particularly amazing for their sufficiently distanced trees perfect for hammock hanging.

I was a bit more privileged with my all-access pass, so on the first night I got to indulge in an authentic pig-roast backstage with the musicians and other VIPs. When I say authentic, I mean the chefs were dissecting the stomach of a freshly roasted pig while everyone in the food line stared into its dead, roasted eyes.

Never have I felt so savage, yet so grateful. Noted: Enthused mountain-hippies make the best cookout guests.

The next morning is when I began my interviews. I had the pleasure of interviewing Swampcandy, Skribe, Driftwood, Annabelle’s Curse, and Trampled By Turtles, all of which have members so down-to-earth that I felt I was speaking with people I’ve known for years.

Meeting band members on a personal level really impacted how I viewed them onstage. Once I had a casual conversation with the individuals, the sense of musician-versus-audience superiority faded and I was able to not only enjoy their performance, but develop an empathetic eye and ear that I may not have had otherwise.

When considering music festivals like Bonnaroo, FireFly, All Good, etc. FloydFest may seem small, but for the bluegrass/folk-rock/american roots scene, FloydFest is a lot larger than most.

“We actually think this is a really big festival,” said Driftwood violinist/vocalist, Claire Byrne in an interview. “We’ve played for a couple thousand people and we’ve played for like, 30 people who are just sitting there and nobody is saying a word. And you get different things from both crowds that’s really awesome.”

“We’ll show up to a place that we have never played before and they’ll be like, ‘We saw you at FloydFest’, said Booher. “This is an amazing music hub, it really is, and everyone is here for the same reason. And they’re open to not only going and seeing the incredible headliner, but they’re here to discover new music. They just support music and it’s so refreshing.”

Along with the welcoming nature of the musicians, all the bands seemed genuinely happy to be performing at FloydFest and they all showed support for the other performers. Standing onstage during the Trampled By Turtles performance, I took a brief moment to look around at my fellow VIPs only to recognize the familiar faces of smiling interviewees.

Throughout the festival, I saw musicians in the mix with the crowd, dancing and showing their appreciation for the music. Another feature that really harmonized the audience and artists was the camping layout and the leniency of where people pitched their tent.

Musicians ended up camping next to general admission attendees, as well as volunteers.

“We were going for a late night walk around the pond and found this group of bluegrass musicians,” said festival volunteer, Brian Zanti from Charlottesville. “We thought we were just gonna pass on through when one of their friends invited us to sit and listen and handed us some “Massive Grass” stickers. It was so cool and relaxing to have a private show played for us.”

Besides the food and beer vendors, I learned that each employee was a volunteer taking time out of their week to help others enjoy the festival. While volunteers were sectioned off into various tasks, a large portion of the first-year volunteers were assigned to the ‘Green Team,’ or trash duty.

“It was a lot of tough work and sometimes it sucked when you had to sacrifice seeing your favorite shows or doing what you want because there was work that needed to be done,” said Zanti. “But overall, it was worth it because I got to go to an awesome music festival I would have never gone to otherwise. Also, because of all the random ‘thank you’s we got from all the friendly people there. You don’t get that with most jobs.”

Although exhausted after the 5th day, it was difficult to say goodbye to FloydFest 14: Fire on the Mountain. I was sunburnt and in serious need of a shower, but I had the chance to meet incredible people, listen to authentic American music, and make an agreement to myself that I will return next year.