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PHOTOS: The Best of Lockn’ Festival 2018

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This past weekend, thousands of jam band fans, deadheads, festy fiends, and music lovers of all kinds flocked to Infinity Downs Farms in Arrington, Va. to see their favorite national, regional, and local acts perform at the annual Lockn’ Festival. Over 25 bands and musicians filled the bill for the four-day jam and rock music fest, which launched back in 2013, including major acts like Umphrey’s McGee, Lettuce, Dead & Company, funk legend George Clinton, Sheryl Crow, Matisyahu, and Widespread Panic. Of course, the usual suspects were there as well, with multiple performances by Keller Williams, along with Bob Weir and friends.

Lockn’ saw several Richmond acts take the stage including the psychedelic rock circus that is People’s Blues of Richmond and instrumental funky jazz group Butcher Brown, along with Charlottesville’s Erin & the Wildfire and Disco Risque. Although the music is what brings in attendees, the sense of camaraderie, good vibes, activities, and overall camping experience is what keeps them coming back year after year. All throughout the day, people could be seen doing yoga, riding around the campgrounds on bikes, hula-hooping, swimming in the Tye River, and dancing into the wee hours to late-night sets. A newer addition to the festival was Garcia’s Forest, a late-night dance party with DJs blasting the music of the Grateful Dead legend himself.

Also, new this year, was Hamageddon, a 14-inch high metal pig sculpture that cooks a pig-on-a-spit in its “belly” and shoots fire from both ends. LOCKN’ partnered with Chef Craig Hartman at Virginia’s BBQ Exchange to serve Hamageddon pulled pork sandwiches all weekend long. Yeah, you missed out if you weren’t there.

Photo Courtesy of Lockn Festival

RVA Mag was there to capture all of the great performances, barefoot dancing, chill vibes, and more. Below, check out what you missed, or relive the magic from Lockn’ Festival 2018:

John Mayer and Bob Weir
Lettuce
Butcher Brown

People’s Blues of Richmond
Tim Beavers, People’s Blues of Richmond
George Clinton

Erin Lunsford of Erin & The Wildfire

Sheryl Crow

Photos By: Branden Wilson and Darienne Skye Montgomery, Intro by Amy David 

 

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

RVA Track Premieres Erin and The Wildfire’s ‘Great Love’

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I have loved Erin & The Wildfire ever since I first had the chance to interview the Charlottesville-based band after hearing them play one night in 2015 at Cary St. Cafe. Lead singer Erin Lunsford has been captivating crowds with her sultry, wide-range vocals, along with the original crew, made up of UVA grads Matt Wood (bassist), Ryan Lipps, (guitarist) and drummer Nick Quillen, who have grown their fanbase at local and regional shows, and Virginia festivals with their folksy/funk tunes and unique spins on classics like “Stayin’ Alive” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered.”

In September, RVA Magazine caught up with the band right before they dropped their first full-length album, Thirst. On this record, we see Erin & the Wildfire switch up their sound to a more soulful, R&B vibe, And with the addition of newer members Garen Dorsey on horns and Austin Patterson on the trumpet, that jazzy/blues really comes alive.

Most recently, the band was in the studio with local film collective RVA Track to record a live music video for the song, “Great Love” off the latest album. Lunsford’s sweet, but powerful pipes have the ability to give you the chills when she hits those high notes on this one.  Combined with the harmonizing vocals from the rest of the band on this bluesy love ballad, its enough to send anyone back to a time to remember that former flame, or passionate lover that got away.

Lunsford told RVA Mag last year that much of Thirst is about unrequited love and personal experiences and relationships she’s been through.

“There’s one person in particular that several of the songs are about,” she said. “And a couple other random dudes that I dated sprinkled in. “’Great Love’ was the amalgamation of all of those experiences, it’s not actually a surrender, but its kind of close. Understanding what the realization of what I’m looking for and what I’m willing to give up and what I’m not willing to give up.”

If you haven’t had a chance to listen to this album yet, check it out below because you’re in for a treat.

The audio for the “Great Love” video is by Scott Lane, and the video was filmed and edited by Daniel Bagbey, along with Joey Wharton and Gabrielle Silvers. And be sure to catch Erin & The Wildfire at Floydfest July 25-29 and at Lockn in Arrington, Va. in August.

Music Sponsored By Graduate Richmond

Erin & The Wildfire on new sound, new album, & unrequited love before show at The Camel tonight

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It’s been two years since RVA Mag caught up with Erin & The Wildfire, the Charlottesville folky/funk group led by sultry powerhouse vocalist Erin Lunsford. The group has been busy touring, performing at festivals, and in the studio recording their first full-length album, Thirst, set to drop tonight at The Camel.

In 2015, the then four-piece had just a self-titled EP under their belts, but the group is back with two new members and has switched up their sound to a funkier, soulful, R&B vibe for their latest 12-track album.

Covers like “Stayin Alive” and “Signed, Sealed, Delivered”, paired with Lunsford’s vocals, and the band’s backing funky grooves helped them carve out their place in the Richmond music scene, but the vocalist said for this record they wanted to go with a different vibe.

“The first EP was more Americana and folk blues, and even then, we were talking about wanting a more R&B and funk feel, that’s the kind of stuff we were covering,” Lunsford said.

More recently, the band put out songs like “Here I Go” “Got Dem” and “Blame the Rain” that were a little closer to the sound the group wanted, but didn’t quite have enough soul for them just yet.

“It was still a little too folk, too Americana for what we wanted,” she said. “And they were still just singles, not complete pictures.”

After that point, Lunsford said the songs the band started writing, and the feeling they were going for just came together in an organic way and they were able to pinpoint that sound that they desired and what they thought represented them as a band.

A busy summer schedule playing at festivals like Rooster Walk, Red Wing Roots, Front Porch Fest and Steppin’ Out kept the band preoccupied up until early 2017 when they decided to take a couple months off to get into the studio to record the new material they had been hard at work on.

“It was an incredible experience and we’re super proud of this full product,” she said. “Everything we’ve done in the past has been bits and pieces nothing has felt really wholesome and like it represented our sound.”

Looking to stay local this time around, the band sought out the talents of Adrian Olsen over at Montrose Recording in February to lay down the tracks for their new full-length album and wrapped it up in May.

Erin & The Wildfire dropped two singles ahead of Thirst’s release, “One Woman Show” in July, an upbeat anthem to empower all us women, and “Great Love”,  a bluesy, heartfelt ballad that really shines light on how the band has evolved.

“To me, it is the ultimate tune from this album,” she said referring to the second single.

Much of the album is very personal, specifically about unrequited love according to Lunsford.

“There’s one person in particular that several of the songs are about,” she said. “And a couple other random dudes that I dated sprinkled in. “’Great Love’ was the amalgamation of all of those experiences, it’s not actually a surrender, but its kind of close. Understanding what the realization of what I’m looking for and what I’m willing to give up and what I’m not willing to give up.”


As far as the name of the album, there’s a little story behind that as well. There’s a track on the album called “Thirsty For Your Love” and the group wanted a title that would sum up the theme.

“We wanted to go with ‘Thirsty’, but that’s kind of a double entendre these days,” she laughed. “We thought Thirst represents the songs, wanting for love, wanting for something more.”

Part of the reason for those soul and R&B influences on the tracks could be attributed to the two members recently added to the group. The band brought on Garen Dorsey to play horns and Austin Patterson on the trumpet rounding them out as a six-piece with Nick Quillen on the drums, Ryan Lipps on the guitar, and Matt Wood on bass.

“I think that it really enhances our sound, its make our music much more interesting and much more vast,” she said. “Funk and soul is not funk and soul without horns. They are just awesome musicians in their own right so they just are raising our music to the next level.”

If one element stood out for me on the old EP, it was the amount of soul and passion that came through when Lunsford opened her mouth to belt out a tune. And if these tracks are any indication to the rest of the album, I’m really going to dig the new vibe!

You can catch Erin & The Wildfire perform Thirst at their album release party tonight at The Camel along with Mckinley Dixon and Sid Kinglsey. Show starts at 9 pm. Tickets are $7 and you can get yours here. Thirst drops online on Fri., Sept. 29.

And if you’re lame and miss tonight’s show in Richmond, the crew is also doing cd releases in Blacksburg on Oct. 12, Charlottesville at The Southern on Oct. 13, and in DC Oct. 20. Check out the rest of their tour schedule here.

*Photo Credit: Tristan Williams Photography