Lockn’ Festival 2015 Preview

Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, Virginia welcomes the third year of Lockn’ Festival, Thursday-to-Sunday, September 10th-13th....
Lockn'

Lockn' Festival 2015 Preview

Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, Virginia welcomes the third year of Lockn’ Festival, Thursday-to-Sunday, September 10th-13th:

 

Mickey Hart (Thursday through Saturday)

Thursday through Saturday at Lockn’ the festival welcomes Mickey Hart. The drummer for The Grateful Dead, he’s fashioned an impressive solo career since The Dead’s dissolution – not to mention the recent, massive, ‘Fare Thee Well’ concerts.

On Thursday he teams up with EOTO (QRO photos at a festival), Friday & Saturday late night with the Deep Rhythm Experience & Steve Kimock.
Mickey Hart
Robert Plant (Saturday & Sunday)

Coming to Lockn’ is the legendary Robert Plant. While he’ll always be best known as the singer/frontman of Led Zeppelin, he’s also crafted a very successful solo career for over thirty years now, not to mention teams up ‘Page and Plant’ in the nineties (with Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page) and, more recently, with Alison Krauss in Raising Sand, 2011 Grammy winner for Album of the Year. And while he’ll always be best known for virtually giving birth to hard rock, his post-Zeppelin work has allowed him to venture into folk and blues, such as on 2010’s Band of Joy (QRO review) and subsequent tour (QRO live review) – and he comes to Lockn’ behind his latest outfit, the new Sensational Space Shifters (QRO photos at a festival) and last year’s Lullaby and… The Ceaseless Roar.
Robert Plant
Mad Dogs & Englishmen (Friday)

The Tedeschi Trucks Band (QRO photos at Lockn’ ’14) play on their own on Saturday, but on Friday celebrate Joe Cocker as ‘Mad Dogs & Englishmen’ with Leon Russell, Chris Robinson (QRO photos at Lockn’ 14), and more.
Tedeschi Trucks Band
Bob Weir (Saturday)

The Grateful Dead’s iconic guitarist Bob Weir (who’s also had all other sorts of bands, including semi-reunion The Dead – QRO photos at a festival) is the ‘Featured Guest of the Day’ to headline Saturday at Lockn’.
Bob Weir
The String Cheese Incident (Thursday & Friday)

Colorado’s String Cheese Incident (QRO photos at a festival) had been one of the jam bands hardest working the road circuit, combining bluegrass and a whole host of other sounds. But after the 2007 departure of guitarist Bill Nershi following that summer’s tour, the band went into hiatus as they worked on their various solo projects. Only a couple of years later the group reunited for sporadic shows and touring (QRO photos), before last year’s A Song In My Head, their first new record in five years.

They’ve played every year of Lockn’ (QRO photos at Lockn’ ’14), and are not only doing two nights of the festival, but on Thursday also team up with The Doobie Brothers (QRO live review) as ‘The Doobie Incident’.
The String Cheese Incident
Phil Lesh & Friends (Friday & Saturday)

After the demise of Jerry Garcia and The Grateful Dead, the various members have done a lot else, but perhaps the most consistent has been Phil Lesh as ‘Phil Lesh & Friends’. The founding and only bassist of the many-membered Dead, of course Phil Lesh returns to Lockn’ for a second year in a row (QRO photos at Lockn’ ’14) for two nights.
Phil Lesh
Widespread Panic (Saturday & Sunday)

After Jerry Garcia’s death, The Grateful Dead could no longer be the greatest road-warrior jam band out there (despite pseudo-reforming as just ‘The Dead’ – QRO photos). That status was taken up by Phish (QRO photos), but then they went into their cycles of break-ups & getting-back-togethers. Neither is currently working the road like the band you could most point to as their successor, Widespread Panic, who play their umpteenth festival at Lockn’ (which they’ve played every year – QRO photos at Lockn’ 14).

Playing twice at Lockn’, Saturday features reggae legend Jimmy Cliff (QRO photos at a festival) sitting in.
Widespread Panic
Gov’t Mule (Saturday & Sunday)

Many festival jam bands draw their lineage back to sixties hippie bands like The Grateful Dead, but few as directly as Gov’t Mule (QRO photos). Originally begun as a side-project to the reformed Allman Brothers Band in the early nineties, Gov’t Mule was right at the cusp of breaking out on their own in 2000 when bassist Allen Woody died. But guitarist Warren Haynes and drummer Matt Abts recovered to become a festival mainstay, featuring a rotating cast of guest members and being guest members, like Haynes’ work in The Dead.
Gov’t Mule
Jefferson Airplane (Friday)

Jorma Kaukonen & Jack Casady will celebrate 50 years of Jefferson Airplane by getting back together – with special guests like G.E. Smith, Bill Kreutzman, and more.
Jefferson Airplane
Billy & The Kids (Thursday)

The first day of Lockn’ also welcomes The Grateful Dead’s other ‘rhythm devil’, Billy Kreutzman, who plays with a whole host of guest stars as ‘Billy & The Kids’.
Billy Kreutzman
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue (Sunday)

From west in New Orleans, Trombone Shorty (QRO photos) doesn’t just toot his horn but also integrates more modern funk and rap into his jazz.
Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Slightly Stoopid (Sunday)

Coming out of the melting pot of mid-nineties SoCal, thanks to being discovered by Sublime’s late frontman Bradley Nowell (while the band was still in high school), Slightly Stoopid (QRO photos outdoors) have lived out Nowell’s sunbaked combination of punk, reggae, rock, and hip-hop. Their loyal fan base has let them stay outside the major label system, while still filling venues worldwide (QRO live review), and being very active on the festival circuit (QRO photos outdoors).
Slightly Stoopid
St. Paul & The Broken Bones (Sunday)

From Birmingham, Alabama, St. Paul & The Broken Bones (QRO photos at a festival) bring the true southern soul.
St. Paul & The Broken Bones
Deer Tick (Thursday)

The dirty side of alt-country garage-rock comes to Newport Folk in the form of Deer Tick (QRO photos outdoors), who’ve been rockin’ bigger & bigger stages (QRO photos) and wilder & wilder shows (QRO live review) since the release in 2012 of their latest, Divine Providence (QRO review).
Deer Tick
Soulive (Thursday)

The Buffalo funk/jazz trio (QRO photos at a festival) is a touring mainstay, both in festivals & on their own, with a rotating guest vocalist slot.
Soulive
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe (Saturday)

Karl Denson first came to prominence as a member of Lenny Kravitz’s band. While he gained a following overseas, he joined Fred Wesley’s band touring and recording on multiple releases. Next came five jazz albums by Denson on Minor Music. Tiny Universe (QRO photos at a festival) creates a dynamic sound of funk, R&B and hip hop elements. The band members include Denson on vocals, tenor and alto sax and flute, guitarist Brian Jordan, bassist Chris Stillwell, keyboard player David Veith, trumpet player Chris Littlefield and drummer John Staten.
Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe
Steve Earle & The Dukes (Friday)

San Antonio’s Steve Earle began playing guitar at age eleven, and hasn’t stopped since. What he has done is become a major roots-country figure since his 1988 breakthrough Guitar Town, winning three Grammys and done everything from write a novel to play Bubbles’ drug counselor on The Wire (and is father to acclaimed-in-his-own-right Justin Townes Earle – QRO photos).
Steve Earle
Anders Osborne (Friday)

While he was born in Sweden, Anders Osborne hitchhiked across the world playing Americana music at the tender age of sixteen, and now calls Louisiana home.
Anders Osborne
North Mississippi Allstars (Friday)

From Hernando in – you guessed it – northern Mississippi, these Allstars are bringing southern blues & jam into the twenty-first century, fitting for Lockn’.
North Mississippi Allstars
Umphrey’s McGee (Friday late night)

The ‘progressive improvisation’ of Umphrey’s McGee (QRO photos at a festival) combines the live ways of such hippie legends as Phish and The Dead, with often-changing set lists, heavy live jam sessions, fanatic fans recording. Their more progressive-inspired music makes them a festival mainstay (QRO photos at a festival), including Lockn’ last year (QRO photos at Lockn’ ’14) & a late night ‘Blue Ridge Bowl’ session this year.
Umphrey's McGee
Galactic (Thursday)

Hailing from New Orleans, Galactic (QRO photos at a festival) is a five-man funk band. They combine traditional jazz with brass-heavy funk that’s much like the city’s signature sound. Thrown into the mix are their cutting edge, ‘new school’ horns and the regional hip-hop known as New Orleans Bounce. Galactic (QRO photos at a festival) succeeds in producing a sound that’s entirely new while still paying homage to the style that made the Big Easy famous. Since their latest album YA-KA-MAY was released, the band’s been touring across the country. They play a late night ‘Blue Ridge Bowl’ session at Lockn’.
Galactic

 

 

For festival website, go here: http://www.locknfestival.com/

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