The 8th Annual Festy Experience was truly an Experience, Thursday-Sunday, October 5th-8th. It was hosted at the beautiful Infinity Downs Farm near Arrington, Virginia, which is also the location for LOCKN Festival (QRO recap). This is the second year The Festy Experience has been at Infinity Downs Farm.
The Infamous Stringdusters have been central to The Festy Experience and have produced a wide variety of genres of music with a heavy focus on bluegrass as the true roots of the festival. They played Thursday, Friday, and Sunday.
As the old saying goes, if it is The Festy, it will rain… well, not this year. It was a flawless four days of perfect central Virginia weather enjoyed by all for this landmark event in Nelson County Virginia. Bands came from across the country to be a part of this event: The Infamous Stringdusters, Sam Bush Band, Drive-By Truckers, Joan Osborne, Cabinet, Ani DiFranco, Travelin’ McCourys, Elephant Revival, The Jerry Douglas Band, Phoebe Hunt, Carl Anderson, Shoot Twins, Danny Barnes & Nick Forster, Della Mae, Emi Sunshine, Gallatlin Canyon, Beats Antique, Dori Freeman, Sierra Hull, Love Canon, Erin Lunsford, and Billy Strings.
The Festy Experience at Infinity Downs Farm hosted two stages for the festival; the Blue Ridge Outdoors Stage and the Skyline Tent Stage for daily performances and the Almost eTown Stage for workshops and daily interviews hosted by Danny Barnes and Nick Forster. There was no shortage of music, fun, and learning; The Festy is a family oriented festival that hosted event a Little Planets area for kids activities as well providing fun for all.
One of the best features of this festival is the openness and participation from the artists and bands. The Almost eTown Stage hosted the workshops and interviews that allowed the festivalgoers the opportunity to learn as well and gain a more personal understanding of the artists. It is often you will be in the crowd watching a show with some of the artists that will be or have just performed that day.
The 8th Annual Festy Experience was a stellar event with amazing music, food, beer, and friends.
-words & photos: Neil Edward Peek
