What a summer! Live music was back in full swing, and music lovers across the region took full advantage of its return.  We relished in the springtime mainstay Charm City Bluegrass Festival, had a DELightful time at DelFest and took enormous pleasure in all the live music throughout the region.  Hopefully, you, like us, had some difficult musical choices to make over the summer as music made its triumphant return

As the official end of summer approaches this weekend with Labor Day, we’re thankful that live music shows no signs of slowing down quite yet. Cooler temperatures will be a welcome change from the sweltering heat for sure.  Not only that, but we also get amazing events close to home like the upcoming roots music festival, Appaloosa in Front Royal, Virginia, just a short drive away from the Nation's Capital to look forward to.

Boasting a wide variety of genres and musicians, including Celtic/Americana host band Scythian, award-winning vocalist, guitarist, and banjo player Molly Tuttle, D.C.’s “funk with soul” band, Everyday Everybody (formerly AZTEC SUN), and many more.

The family-friendly camping festival takes place Saturday and Sunday, September 3rd and 4th, respectively, and even invites those 12 and under to attend for free. Just over an hour outside the city, the festival offers plenty of fun for a quick trip out of town after re-adjusting to back-to-school schedules and traffic patterns. A kid's zone, beer garden, craft vendors, and four stages provide entertainment for the masses.

An added perk of the festival is the plentiful workshops available at the festival, which are put on by the Appaloosa Blue Ridge Arts Foundation (ABRAF).  This 501(c) non-profit organization was founded to reignite interest in roots music. The location of the festival is in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley, which was once known for its rich musical heritage, and was a bluegrass mecca in the 1970s. Since then, interest in folk music has dwindled - but ABRAF hopes to rebuild the roots community by providing FREE music workshops all weekend.

If you would like to support ABRAF, and make a tax-deductible donation, you can do so here.  

Make sure to click the links below to learn more and purchase tickets so that you can take part in the fun this Labor Day weekend!

To learn more about Appaloosa Festival, please see the following web resources:

• Webpage
• Facebook
• Instagram
• YouTube
• Spotify