Grace Potter to headline Rooster Walk 12

MARTINSVILLE, VA – Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival has announced the third and final wave of music performers for the much-anticipated 2022 festival, scheduled for May 26-29, 2022 in Martinsville, Va. Rooster Walk returns with an extraordinarily diverse bill featuring a remarkable selection of roughly 50 artists performing across 6 unique stages over the four-day festival.

Grammy-nominated rock’n’roll artist Grace Potter will bring her full band to the 12^th annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival for a headlining set. In today’s announcement, she is joined by arena rockers Moon Taxi, 16 more bands, and five Artists at Large.

Described by Spin Magazine as “one of the greatest living voices in rock today,” and heralded as one of the world’s best live performers, Grace Potter has played every major music festival from Coachella and Lollapalooza to Bonnaroo and Rock in Rio. She’s had the honor of sharing the stage with artists such as The Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson, Robert Plant, The Allman Brothers Band, Neil Young, Mavis Staples, and The Roots, to name just a few. She will be making her Rooster Walk debut at Rooster Walk 12.

Other new bands added to the RW12 lineup today include: Moon Taxi (arena rock), Ryan Montbleau (singer/songwriter), Town Mountain (honky tonk/bluegrass), Kendall Street Company (jam/rock), Fireside Collective (progressive bluegrass), The Dead Reckoning (Grateful Dead tribute), Daniel Donato (cosmic country), TK & The Holy Know-Nothings (rock), Disco Risqué (funk/hard rock), Goodfellers (bluegrass), After Jack (folk), Into The Fog (progressive bluegrass), TC Carter Band (blues), Jules & The Agreeables (rock/Americana), The McGee Family Band (bluegrass), DJ What (DJ), and Pumphouse Blues (blues).

In addition, Rooster Walk 12 will feature five immensely talented Artists at Large in Ron Holloway (saxophone; Allman Brothers, Susan Tedeschi Band), John Bryant (drums; Ray Charles), Josh Shilling (keys; Mountain Heart), Roosevelt Collier (pedal steel; The Lee Boys) and Wallace Mullinax (guitar; Dead 27s). This quintet of artists will form the basis of the RW12 Artist at Large Band, which will perform a different themed set on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, respectively, at the festival.

The new additions above join a Rooster Walk 12 lineup that already included: Little Feat, Lettuce, BIG Something, The War and Treaty, Tab Benoit, Andy Frasco & The U.N., Sammy Rae & The Friends, Fruition, Brandon ‘Taz’ Niederauer, The Nude Party, Yarn, Mike & The Moonpies, Mountain Heart, Sol Driven Train, The Wooks, Crawford & Power, Los Colognes, Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast, Sanctum Sully, Isaac Hadden Organ Trio, Striking Copper, The Stews, Big Fat Gap, The Wilson Springs Hotel, Pirates of the Piedmont

Rooster Walk will take place Thursday-Sunday of Memorial Day weekend in the rolling countryside surrounding Martinsville, Va. Rooster Walk is a 4-day festival celebrating music, art, and the great outdoors at the idyllic Pop’s Farm venue. With roughly 50 bands performing on 6 different stages, an eclectic roster of great music guides the Rooster Walk experience.

In addition to four days of amazing tunes, the family-friendly Rooster Walk will offer a wide variety of kids’ activities, craft beer, great food, arts and numerous opportunities to enjoy Virginia’s great outdoors with kayak tours, bike rides, yoga, a disc golf course and beautiful on-site camping.

VIP tickets, General Admission weekend passes and camping upgrades are on sale now through www.roosterwalk.com. Single day tickets will go on sale in the coming weeks.

Rooster Walk has been consistently voted as a Top 3 Best Music Festival and Best Family-Friendly Festival by the Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine’s Best of the Blue Ridge. It also has been voted the region’s Most Creative Charitable Event by readers of Virginia Living Magazine, among other accolades. The festival was created in memory of late Martinsville natives Edwin “The Rooster” Penn and Walker Shank, who graduated from Martinsville High School in 2000.

A portion of proceeds from the festival will be donated to local and regional charities, including Rooster Walk’s own Penn-Shank Memorial Endowment Scholarship Fund for students at Martinsville High School, and the Rooster Walk Music Instrument Program for public band programs in the local city and county school systems.

The festival is produced by Rooster Walk Inc., a 501c3 nonprofit dedicated to promoting music, arts and education in its home of Martinsville-Henry County. Since 2009, Rooster Walk Inc. has donated more than $220,000 to local and regional charities.

moe. playing two nights at Pop’s Farm!

We are SO excited to announce Moe.morial Day Weekend: A Rooster Walk Family Gathering!

On Friday and Saturday of Memorial Day weekend (May 28-29), Pop’s Farm will play host to seven great bands, plus on-site camping, delicious beer, libations and food trucks.

This will not be a pod show but it will be a socially distanced show. All in attendance will be required to wear face coverings. For more information, please CLICK HERE.

Rives Theatre destroyed by fire; concerts will continue

Rives Theatre destroyed by fire; concerts will continue

On Sunday, Sept. 8th, the Rives Theatre was destroyed by fire. The building cannot be saved, but thankfully, no one was hurt in the blaze, and no other buildings were damaged. The Rives Theatre was built in 1928 as a playhouse, enjoyed more than 60 years as a movie theatre, and has served as Martinsville’s primary indoor, live-music venue over the past 10 years. We are heartbroken to lose the Rives, which has been a mainstay in our community’s cultural (and physical) landscape for nearly 100 years.

Organizers of events at the theatre – Arts at the Rives and its parent nonprofit company, Rooster Walk Inc. – are not sure what the future holds on the venue side of things. ART and Rooster Walk were leasing the building (we did not own it). We are just beginning the process of exploring our short-term and long-term options as we continue to pursue the goal of continuing to bring amazing live music to Martinsville and Henry.

Countless individuals have reached out asking how and where to donate. All donations are tax deductible, and will be used to help Arts at the Rives’ mission of bringing high-quality live music to Martinsville-Henry County during this transition period.

Donations can be made by clicking HERE, or via check to “Arts at the Rives” and mailed to Arts at the Rives, PO Box 3067, Martinsville, Va., 24115.

Band lineup completed with additions of Sam Bush, Steep Canyon Rangers, many more

The band lineup for Rooster Walk 11 is now complete! Please make welcome the following additions to the RW lineup: Sam Bush Band, Steep Canyon Rangers, Sierra Hull, Ghost Light, The Steel Wheels, ‘Yarn Morrison,’ Runaway Gin, The Trongone Band, Sanctum Sully, Disco Risqué, Kate Rhudy, Adar, The Folly, Chamomile & Whiskey, The Drove, PHCC Jazz Band and MHC Praise Band.

RW11 will take place May 23-26, 2019 at the idyllic Pop’s Farm in the rolling hillsides near Martinsville, Va. These new acts join a lineup that already features names such as Galactic, Shovels & Rope, The Marcus King Band, Billy Strings, King & Strings, Turkuaz, BIG Something, The Lil Smokies and many, many more. Click here for a Full List of Bands.

The festival features beautiful on-site camping, food, art, crafts, a lauded kids’ area and outdoor activities. Ticket prices will never be cheaper, and you can get all the ticket info HERE. Prices will increase based on quantities sold, meaning that some of our most popular tickets (like VIP Weekend Passes) will increase in price within the first day or two of being on sale. Based on past years, we expect VIP tickets and RV Passes (both VIP & GA) to be some of the fastest selling ticket options. RV Passes, in particular, may sell out extremely quickly.

Click HERE to Buy Tickets

SOLD OUT: Brunch, Ballads & Beer

Tickets for Brunch, Ballads & Beer now on sale!

This event has sold out. Thank you Rooster Walkers!

RW10 Preview Video!

Live For Live Music: Marcus King & Billy Strings To Join Forces For ‘Kings & Strings’ Set At Rooster Walk

Marcus King and Billy Strings, two of the country’s hottest guitar players, will join forces this May for a first-time-ever collaboration at the Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival in Martinsville, Va.

King, a southern rock/blues star, will sit in for the full show with progressive bluegrass ace Billy Strings and his band on a midnight-2 am “Kings & Strings” set at Rooster Walk 10. The pairing of two guitar-shredding icons, each age 25 or younger, is sure to be a showcase of frenetic fretboard work, improvised from start to finish.

In addition, legendary drummer Jeff Sipe (Aquarium Rescue Unit) will sit in during the latter portion of the set to give a little extra backbone to the big finish.

“I’ve never met Marcus, but I really love him, and I love his band, and I love what they’re doing,” said Billy Strings, a 25-year-old Michigan native. “It’s just awesome. I’ve seen that guy come up so quick, you know what I mean? That band, they’ve been out there touring relentlessly and just killing it at every show. And I think that’s incredible.“

Click Here To Read The Full Story on Live For Live Music

RW10 tickets now on sale!

JJ Grey & Mofro, the heralded “southern swamp” rockers from Florida, headline the early bird band lineup for Rooster Walk 10. Tickets are now on sale at this link. The family-friendly festival, set for May 24-27, will take place at the idyllic Pop’s Farm music venue located in Axton, Va., just outside of Martinsville.

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Other early band announcements include the return of The Marcus King Band (southern psychedelic rock), Billy Strings(progressive bluegrass), The Jerry Douglas Band (progressive bluegrass), Yarn (Americana/alt-country) and The Commonheart (R&B/rock).

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Of these acts, The Marcus King Band, Billy Stirngs, Yarn and The Commonheart are slated to play two sets each.

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Rooster Walk 10 will feature roughly 50 bands when all is said and done, as well as arts/crafts/food vendors, kids’ activities, outdoor activities, on-site camping and more.

RW9 Review: Bullet Music

‘Rooster Walk Is Grassroots Festival Perfection’

A cluster of smiling faces met me at the entrance to Rooster Walk in bright yellow t-shirts welcoming me and handing over parking passes and credentials. “Is this your first Rooster Walk?” was one of the first questions asked to me, but it wouldn’t be the last time. I answered, “Yes it is, and I’m so excited to be here!”

“Well it won’t be your last” an immediate and almost afterthought response followed combined with a grin that spread wider on the man’s face as he opened the door to the car.

No sir, it definitely won’t be.

READ THE FULL REVIEW HERE.

PART 4: LIVE FOR LIVE MUSIC’S ‘ROAD TO ROOSTER WALK’ STORY SERIES

ROAD TO ROOSTER WALK: ANDERS OSBORNE TALKS SONGWRITING

Live For Live Music is running a six-part series looking at the process and craft of songwriting. Each story in the series features a band leader who will perform at Rooster Walk 9. The fourth story focuses on Anders Osborne.

From the story:

Despite touring roughly nine months a year, Osborne is an ardent proponent of daily writing as habit.
“You’ve got to be grabbing at the stuff every single day, or I do. I have to grab at it every day, because I think the way I look at it is that inspiration and the muse is always dancing. And ideas are always out there. And if you miss it on a Thursday in February, I don’t think it shows up again, you know, in August. I think you missed the opportunity to write that song,” he said.