Americana Beer + Music Festival = Summer Bliss
The essence of summer was celebrated at The Americana Beer + Music Festival on June 11. It was a beautiful summer day in the rolling hills of wine and horse country in Leesburg, VA. The setting was Morven Park, a 1,000-acre property just a few miles from Dulles International Airport, near the nation’s capitol. The festival was founded by Brews for the Brave, Inc., a non-profit dedicated to raising funds for regional veteran organizations on the East Coast through creative events. The June event benefited Boulder Crest Retreat, the nation’s first privately-funded rural wellness center dedicated exclusively to our nation’s combat veterans and their families.
So, let’s go through our “essence of summer” checklist. Fun & games: check. They had a life-sized Connect Four board, human foosball, and lots of cornhole boards. Beautiful location: check. We didn’t use nearly the whole 1,000 acres, just a nice grassy meadow that backed up to the woods. Adult beverages: check. Nearly sixty American craft brewers, the majority from the greater DC/MD/VA area with an incredible range of beers and ciders. Live music: check. Don’t let the “+ Music” in the title lure you into thinking the music was an afterthought. Four bands that represented a cross-section of American genres provided the soundtrack to this wonderful event.
The music started with Roosterfoot, a blues-rock band from the Tidewater area of Virginia and a personal favorite of mine. Frontman Seth Stainback on guitar and vocals is backed by Steven Yewcic on bass, Jason Bruner on drums and multi-instrumentalist (as in there’s probably not an instrument he can’t play) Stephen Lazar on keys. I’d normally be listing Larry Berwald on lead guitar, but he was unavailable for this road trip, so in steps local luminary Jesse Chong to ably fill the void. Back home, we call this RoosterChong. This event was the third stop on a 13-gig tour through Virginia, Tennessee, Georgia and Louisiana that wraps up on June 23 in Richmond, when they open for David Allan Coe at the Beacon Theatre (assuming he’s not locked up for tax evasion). They’ve got a new album in the works, the self-titled Roosterfoot, coming out this summer. You can have a taste of the first single, Foot on the Dash, at this link or maybe catch them at FloydFest in late July.
Did I mention there was beer? Oh, there was plenty of beer. It seems like there’s a new craft brewery opening up every week, each with its own spin/angle/style/process. Well, it’s probably true. I was talking to the rep from Adroit Theory Brewing from Purcellville, VA (near the festival venue), and he told me there were six new breweries opening in the next three months within a five-mile radius of where we were standing. So, it looks like it’s impossible to flood the market. Based on the wide variety of styles and flavors represented by this small sampling of the market, there’s room for everyone. More on this later.
The next act was scheduled to be Possessed by Paul James, but he had to cancel due to vocal strain. Luckily for us, the promoters were able to convince the band from Friday’s pre-party to extend their stay. Ladies and gentlemen, The Mobros, a trio from Camden, SC composed of brothers Kelly and Patrick Morris (guitar and percussion, respectively) and Canaan Peeples on bass. Can you say “funky white boys?” These guys can really bring it, with Kelly and Patrick possessing the harmonies and vocal range that remind you of some of the Stax soul groups of the Seventies. Talking with Kelly and Canaan after the show, I got a taste of their work ethic and the “glamour” of living out of a van, crisscrossing the country to live the dream. Give them a like, and if they show up in your town, get out and show them some love. Just don’t look for them in San Francisco anytime soon (inside joke: catch one of their shows and ask Kelly).
I have to take a minute to give a shout out to Hype Promotions, one of the hardest-working outfits on the entire East coast. They really put on a great event. Everything is always just right, from parking to security to check-in to food to activities to…. well, you get my drift. The VIP porta-potty was worth the extra money all by itself. They’re by no means a big team, but they pulled off two events (Americana and OBX Brewfest) six days and 300 miles apart with a combined attendance of around 5,000 music and beer lovers (or beer and music lovers) and made it look easy.
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.” This quote, widely misattributed to Ben Franklin and whose true origins are dubious at best, is still a nice sentiment. And there was bounteous proof of that love taking the forms of IPAs, lagers, goses, stouts, pilsners, hefeweizens, and even the odd kolsch here and there. I’m not the beer drinker I used to be, and dark beers were never my thing, but when you’re presented with a chocolate peanut butter porter with the name Sweet Baby Jesus (#sweetbj), I think you just have to try it. Thank you, Duclaw Brewing!!
The young lady hawking brews for Union Craft Brewing out of Baltimore reminded me that it’s a marathon, not a sprint (she actually said it’s a race, not a marathon but her friends quickly called her on it before I could), and that’s good advice when you’re “tasting” high-powered beers on a hot, sunny day. You should also eat, and just like craft breweries, food trucks keep showing up on streets across the country. Oddly enough, the lack of streets in this meadow didn’t prevent a Food Truck Rally from occurring. You had the Hog-It-Up BBQ Team, The Urban Poutine (go ahead and Google it; you know you want to), Red Hook Lobster Pound and my favorite, Karnage Asada (“The Latin-Asian Smack Down!”). Bellies full, we headed back to the music.
On a hot, sunny day in an open meadow it’s a challenge to get people to come out from under the shade of the tents, especially when that’s where the beer is, so the first two acts didn’t attract a lot of fans to the rail. That changed when Austin, TX-based indie faves Wild Child took the stage. They connect with a crowd in a way that makes you feel like you’re a part of the story with songs that convey emotions we’re all familiar with. They’ll lull you into a trance with Kelsey Wilson‘s lilting vocals, the shuffling rhythms making you sway in time to the music, then jar you back to consciousness with a sharply punctuated refrain. The tone of Alexander Beggins‘ baritone ukulele is so rich and mellow, and Sadie Wolfe is a beautifully fragile waif who plays an ethereal electric cello. Their third album, Fools, was released to critical acclaim last year, catapulting them from indie darlings to more mainstream outlets. Catch them as they tour North America this summer.
The rail got a lot more crowded as Trampled by Turtles took the stage. These Midwestern folk veterans from Minnesota have been thrilling audiences since 2003. They have the look of a band that has paid their dues, working hard to get to this point, clearly enjoying themselves and sharing that bliss with their fans. Dave Simonett‘s haunting vocals define their sound, but it’s the confluence of the acoustic music and vocal harmonies that make them so appealing to a broad fan base. They thrilled the crowd with a polished, energetic set that was a perfect end to the day.
So much about music revolves around journeys: the miles on the road by bands famous and obscure, the pilgrimages of fans who come from near and far, and the evolution of both the individuals and the collective body that comprise this wonderful music festival scene. Kelly Morris of The Mobros pointed to the road-weary white van behind the stage, his band’s mobile home for the past two years, and related a conversation with members of Trampled by Turtles. “They’re riding in the nice tour bus now, but they started out just like we did. Logging miles in a cramped van, playing for a handful of people in a small bar, paying their dues. One day, we’ll be riding in the nice tour bus.” You know what? I think he’s right.
