The first annual Red Wing Roots Music Festival was held July 12-14, 2013 in Mount Solon, Virginia. The festival was presented and organized by The Steel Wheels; sponsored by Blue Mountain Brewery and WNRN. Due to work obligations and a full schedule (Grey Fox was just around the corner) we could only attend on Saturday (July 13th) and while we missed many great bands, we were able to catch the awesome shows of Scott Miller, Ana Egge, JD McPherson, The Wiyos, The Sam Bush Band, and of course, The Steel Wheels.

This festival will be on our radar next summer for sure. Three things that impressed me were a) the line up, b) the quality of sound (see live recording download below) and c) the high level of organization, particularly for a first time event. For more information visit http://www.redwingroots.com.

Jonathan Byrd played at the Shenandoah Mountain Stage on Sunday afternoon. Jonathan and Chris Kokesh were at Chestnut House Concerts in October 2012 and audience members still comment on how engaging Jonathan was as a performer and wordsmith. This live set includes Paul Ford on cello, Omar Ruiz-Lopez on violin, Johnny Waken on electric guitar, mandolin, harmonica, Jonathan Byrd on acoustic guitar and vocals. “You Can’t Outrun the Radio” harmonies: Ana Egge, The Steel Wheels, Wild Ponies, Carrie Elkin, and Danny Schmidt

As I mentioned earlier, the sound at the festival was great, and the recording of this live performance is quite good – (Jason Misterka and John Neil). It’s available for download – at whatever price you want to pay. Do it!