What a wonderful world it is at the 8th annual Festy at Infinity Downs in Arrington VA a family friendly bluegrass festival. In the first day there was an eclectic blend of music based in the Bluegrass realm, but not restricted to that genre. There are 3 stages, the largest being the Blue Ridge Outdoors Stage or main stage, the Skyine Stage which is in a tent and the Almost e-Town stage, also in a tent. The Almost e-Town stage is hosted by Nick Forester who hosts the long running radio show e-Town. Some of these sets will be used on future shows.
On my first day I was able to catch some traditional bluegrass to start the day with Gallatin Canyon from just up the road in Charlottesville VA. They certainly helped kick the weekend off with a solid performance on the Skyline Stage. Their set included originals as well as some bluegrass standards, and a sweet tribute to Tom Petty. Next I was able to reintroduce myself to Sierra Hull, who I first saw last year at DelFest. She performed on the Blue ridge Outdoors stage. Sierra is an incredible, young mandolin player who performs as a duet with a bass player. She will be playing another set Friday on the E-town Stage.
The day would continue with my first chance to experience Beats Antique from Oakland. They brought an eclectic blend of beats with some Americana and bluegrass, as well as a show which included dancers and performers also performing on the Main Stage. I don't think I've ever seen or heard anything like it. My night would closeout with The Infamous Stringdusters on the Skyline Stage, who are considered to be the host band of the festival and will play a set each day. The tent setting allowed for a great light show and a very intimate and energized show from both the band and the audience. The tempertures were now dropping into the low 50s by their close at 1AM, making for some good camping weather.
Festy is a very unique "Green, Low Impact" festival where there is minimal waste on sight. All beverages are sold in reusable, commenmorative cups and there are no bottles of water being sold. There are water refilling stations provided by Kleen Kanteen. All festival attendees were provide a metal cup when entering that they will use throughout the weekend for all beverage purchases. This left one of the cleanest festival grounds I have ever seen at the end of the night. They also have a children's area and daycare available on sight allowing parents to take a break during the weekend.
This link will take you to a drone video o[[{"attributes":{},"fields":{}}]]f day 1
Photos are provided by JeffMyersPhotos
