Although it's starting one day late due to severe weather Wednesday night, this weekend, 25,000 attendees will descend on Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington for the third annual Lockn’ Music Festival. WMRA’s Kara Lofton reports.
[Music: The Letter by Mad Dogs and Englishmen]
If you could sum up Lockn’ Music Festival in one sentence it would look something like this: Four days,* 25,000 people, 550 acres, more than four miles of mountain biking trails, yoga, local food, craft beer and music lots of music.
[Music playing]
MARYBETH AUNGIER: The wonderful thing about Lockn’ really is the interlocking musical experiences and that’s really what sets this festival apart from a lot of the other festivals around the nation.
That was Marybeth Aungier, the Lockn’ promoter associate.
AUNGIER: This is the third year here in Nelson County and I think what the patrons in the audience really look forward to is it’s a multi-genre festival. So you have classic rock, you have jam band, you have reggae, you have amazing jazz, bluegrass, country…
That all play together through collaborative acts such as The Doobie Incident (a set of The Doobie Brothers and The String Cheese Incident) and Phil Lesh and Friends with Carlos Santana. But although new, interlocking musical sounds are the central tenants of Lockn’, it’s not all about the music.
AUNGIER: The local food, the local drink, beer, wine, concessions, the family tent, the amazing biking and wheelhouse bike initiatives, it’s really, it’s a festival where you can bring all ages.
DAVE FREY: Our initial vision for the show, and it still is, and it probably will continue to be, is that we wanted to book a show that we would want to go see, and we’d like to be treated at that show as we would like to be treated at a show ourselves.
[Music: Maria Maria by Carlos Santana]
Dave Frey is the festival’s co-founder. And his vision means a continual stream of music from the two side-by-side stages in the show field, a local food tent, beer from craft breweries (they are the first festival to offer only craft beer, no domestics), a large VIP area and a space for non-profits called “Participation Row,” where festival goers can take “action” to support more than 20 local and national nonprofits.
AUNGIER: The promoters of Lockn’, Dave Frey and Peter Shapiro, are really committed to creating an experience here, in Nelson County, that gives back to the community, in terms of hiring local, sourcing local, and doing everything that we can, as a festival to enhance the community. It’s a beautiful, beautiful area of the country, and they are committed to being the best stewards possible for the land and giving back.
That includes a commitment to being as “green” as possible through recycling (Lockn’ partners with the local company “Nelson Recycling”), repurposing waste materials into tables and even urinals, building an ever-growing “Lockn’ Tree” from scrap metal, and donating all perishable food leftover from the festival to the Nelson County Food Bank.
New this year are also more than four miles of mountain biking trails and a late night venue in “The Woods” complete with a full light show on cables strung through the trees -- a nod to the Michigan festival The Electric Forest.
Despite all the extras, according to Frey, the essence of the festival remains,
FREY: Music first.
[Music: Listen to the Music by The Doobie Brothers]
*ANNOUNCEMENT FROM THE LOCKN’ ORGANIZERS
"Opening of Campgrounds Delayed Until Further Notice and Thursday Performances Canceled
"Wednesday evening, a severe thunderstorm with high winds passed over Lockn' and caused damage to the festival grounds, particularly the parking and campground area. The good news is that no one was injured and the entire team is focused on cleaning up and preparing for a great festival. The unfortunate news is that we will be forced to delay the opening of the campgrounds and cancel Thursday’s performances in order to give the team the time necessary to make sure the festival grounds are safe for both our guests and our artists."