Front Royal – While the organizers complete details about the 10th Appaloosa Festival, there is a chance that it could be the last.
Dan Fedoryka and his brother Alex grew up in front of Royal before starting the Americana/Bluegrass/Folk -Band Scythian. Inspired by her love for Warren County and the desire to organize a family -friendly festival for the community, the couple set out to create an event that is normally reserved for larger cities.
The two -day event takes place at the Labor Day in the Skyline Ranch Resort on Mountain Road in Warren County and has a call to find talent.
Appaloosa was the host of Billy Strings before being one of the country's top acts. Molly Tuttle adorned the stage in 2022, two years before winning a Grammy Award for the best Bluegrass album. Jake Kohn, inhabitant of Stephens City, played the festival in 2023 weeks before signing a contract with Atlantic Records.
“Our hashtag is” where you can find the next big thing, “said Fedoryka and realized that the brothers can use their tour experience and connections to create first -class talent.” We are good at finding and putting together a musical line -up. We bring the best production company in Washington, DC, the best sound, the best light show. The actors love to come here because it is such a rock star experience. “
This year's festival will open for the 30th and 31st August at 10:30 a.m. at 10:30 a.m. It will contain Skythian, steel wheels, Jigjam, screaming orphans, Driftwood, Smoke & The Dichter, Wels in Heaven and Goldtop Ramblers.
The festival is not only to bring first -class entertainment into the scenic landscape, but also endeavors to remain accessible, said Fedoryka. Children from 12 years are free and the festival offers special family prices to make it more affordable for large families.
“I come from a 10 -year -old family. We could never grow up because we couldn't afford it. The festival is available for families who make it easier for families,” he said and noticed the free children's zone.
He added that Appaloosa threads the needle between family -friendly and “nervous”. Vibrissa Beer is back with his Appaloosa label and Rappahannock Cellars will return with an Appaloosa apple wine this year. Fedoryka added that Amanda Corcoran, the artist of Apple in Residence, designs art for the festival as a volunteer.
“It's a nice festival. It has a great feeling,” he said. “People come from all over the country. We have a map and last year, I think we had people from 40 states.”
Appaloosa caught the attention of Fest X, where last year it was nominated for the best family festival together with many larger events such as South von Southwest in Austin and Jazz Festival in New Orleans.
Despite the awards, economical and cultural factors combine to create Appaloosa a difficult reality, said Fedoryka and found that festivals across the country have had a decline in 30% in recent years.
“Many festivals have just folded,” he said. “We are very aware of the trends. Every music event location and every festival has a large decline.”
He said that the increasing popularity of the big name, multi -day festivals with considerable price tags, means that many young people invest in an event for the year and cannot afford to visit smaller festivals. In combination with a general economic belt lift, the trend is to have devastating effects on events such as Appaloosa.
Appaloosa rely on ticket sales to survive. Sponsors, which include Warren County and his contribution of 10,000 US dollars this year, pay about a quarter of the costs of the festival. The rest comes from the ticket sale, he said.
“We only hope that people will come so that it can only survive,” said Fedoryka and noticed that the 8,300 people lasted over two days last year. “I speak to people all the time who say that they want but not managed. This should be the year. It is our 10 year and it is not a matter of course that there will be an 11th.”
He said that the organizers only offer a special ticket campaign this Friday. Tickets that were bought on “Fomo Friday” are rated as previous ticket level, he said.
For more information, see www.appaloosafestival.com.