RW9 Band Schedule Announced!

The hourly stage schedules for Rooster Walk 9 are now available on the Band Schedules page. Hop on over and take a look so you can start planning your weekend in detail!

If you still need tickets to RW9, don’t forget that prices increase May 1st. Grab yours now to save some cash and lock in your Memorial Day weekend plans! Check out the Buy Tickets page for info and pricing.

Rooster Walk 9 will feature nearly 50 amazing bands, plus food, craft beer, kids’ programming, a 5K trail race, plus arts, crafts and beautiful on-site camping. Rooster Walk was named one of the Top 5 Festivals in Virginia last year by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. 

ROAD TO ROOSTER WALK: MARCUS KING 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 third story focuses on Marcus King of The Marcus King Band.

From the story:

Perhaps no Rooster Walk artist has seen his popularity rise quicker in the past 12 months than 20-year-old Marcus King, and certainly no artist interviewed for this story likes to write on a quicker timeline.

“I’m pretty hard-headed when it comes to that. As far as the bare bones of the song, I want to finish it within the first day that I come up with the idea. That’s the goal,” he said. “A long one for me would be a week-long process. That would be a crazy amount of time.”

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL READ.

The Beers of Rooster Walk unveiled!

We’re delighted to feature a slew of amazing craft breweries, plus cider and wine, at Rooster Walk 9! Check out the BEERS!!! page to learn more details about the beers that will be poured by Miller Lite, New Belgium Brewing, Foothills, Founders and Lagunitas. We’ll also have Angry Orchard Cider and Potter’s Craft Cider, plus a variety of Black Box wines.

‘The Jamwich’ previews Rooster Walk 9

Our friends at The Jamwich have a story previewing Rooster Walk 9. From the article:

These two headliners could not be more distinctly different in their own ways, a smart move by Rooster Walk in my opinion.  Give the people variety, praise Jah! The music never stops!  Rooster Walk has done it again, a mixed-bag lineup that makes me think, “Grass and brass!”  Bluegrass, Americana, rock and folk groups mixed right in with that NOLA soul, funk, blues and beats.  Anders Osborne, Pimps of Joytime, Eric Krasno, The Nth Power, The Motet, and Empire Strikes Brass will be dropping the funk and soul.  Hot licks and cool bass lines are on the menu from this impressive list of musicians that are sure to keep things loose during the weekend.   Marcus King Band, Anderson East, The Trongone Band round out the rock groups for the weekend.  These folks will leave it all out on stage and should not be overlooked!

Click Here to read the full story.

Road to Rooster Walk: Lyle Divinsky of The Motet 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 first story focuses on Lyle Divinsky of The Motet.

From the story:

When lead vocalist and hype-man-extraordinaire Lyle Divinsky got approached about joining The Motet a year and a half ago, his audition had little to do with stage presence or singing ability. Those were skills the band had already verified. Instead, Divinky’s tryout was largely about putting lyrics to a pair of instrumental songs the band had already demoed . . . before he’d met a single member of the group.

“It was kind of a fun challenge to know that this was my audition for the band, to write for them, and to know that and to just get excited about how much fun their music was,” Divinsky said. “The Truth’ was the first song that I wrote and that one, I wrote most of it in three hours of sitting down. And then took, I think, a day or two to just kind of sit with it, make sure it was exactly what I wanted and just kind of fine tune a couple things. And then, ‘Fool No More’ was the second song that I wrote, and that one was pretty quick, as well. That one might have even been just a day.”

Click here for the full read.

RW9 band lineup is complete!

Mandolin Orange, Pimps of Joytime, Mountain Heart and more than 20 other bands have been added to Rooster Walk 9, completing the Memorial Day weekend festival’s band lineup. Progressive stringband Greensky Bluegrass and legendary reunited reggae band The Wailers were announced in early January as overall headliners of the festival.

Rooster Walk, scheduled for May 25-28, 2017 at the idyllic Pop’s Farm festival venue just outside of Martinsville, Va., was named one of the Top 5 festivals in Virginia by the Richmond-Times Dispatch last year.

With more than 40 bands performing on five different stages, an eclectic roster of great music guides the Rooster Walk experience. In addition to four days of amazing music, the family-friendly festival offers a wide variety of kids’ activities, craft beer, great food, arts and numerous opportunities to enjoy Virginia’s great outdoors with a 5k trail race, yoga, a disc golf course and beautiful on-site camping.

Other new band additions include: The Nth Power (funk/soul; New Orleans), Love Canon (bluegrass tribute to 1980s rock; Charlottesville), Mipso (Americana; Chapel Hill, N.C.), Jon Stickley Trio (bluegrass/jazz; Asheville, N.C.), The Commonheart (R&B/soul; Pittsburgh, P.A.), Stop Light Observations (rock; Charleston, S.C.), Empire Strikes Brass (brass band; Asheville, N.C.), Sanctum Sully (progressive bluegrass; Asheville, N.C.), Mason Via Funk Band (funk/soul; Danbury, N.C.), After Jack (folk; Rocky Mount, V.A.), Mighty Joshua (reggae; Richmond, V.A.), South Hill Banks (progressive bluegrass; Richmond, V.A.), Violet Bell featuring Lizzy Ross (folk; Durham, N.C.), Disco Risqué (funk/rock; Charlottesville, V.A.), GOTE (rock; Roanoke, V.A.), Monster Atlantic (rock; Roanoke, V.A.), The Fernandez Sisters (bluegrass; Durham, N.C.), Rex McGee & John Garris (bluegrass/jazz; North Carolina), Martinsville-Henry County Praise Band (Gospel/praise; Martinsville, V.A.), ShadowGrass (youth progressive bluegrass; VA & NC), The Delics (teen rock/punk; Collinsville, V.A.), The Bucket Brothers (youth jazz; Chapel Hill, N.C.), The Wildmans (youth bluegrass; Floyd, V.A.) and The PHCC Jazz Band (big-band jazz; Martinsville-Henry County, V.A.).

“Booking a festival lineup is a lot like working a jigsaw puzzle,” said Johnny Buck, a co-founder of Rooster Walk. “We’re really proud of the way this one turned out. It’s a really fun combination of bands that features a good mix of genres, as well as a variety of first-time Rooster Walk performers and returning, ‘fan-favorites.’”

Mandolin Orange, a critically acclaimed folk band from Chapel Hill, N.C., first performed at Rooster Walk in 2010. Since then, the band has built a groundswell of national support through countless miles on the road and appearances at numerous festivals, including Newport Folk Festival, Austin City Limits Fest, and Telluride Bluegrass. In addition to Rooster Walk 9, Mandolin Orange is booked to perform at Bonnaroo and Red Rocks this summer.

Based in Brooklyn, N.Y., the Pimps of Joytime are known for their infectious, dance-inducing brand of funk/soul music. The band has created a devoted following across the country and in the state of Virginia, in particular, with past performances at Rooster Walk and FloydFest, and countless club gigs.

Led by vocalist, piano player and Bassett native Josh Shilling, Mountain Heart has been fearlessly revolutionizing the way acoustic music can be presented and played. Mountain Heart or its members have been nominated for Grammy’s, ACM and CMA awards. The Nashville-based band has appeared on the revered stage of the Grand Ole Opry in excess of 130 times, and has shared the stage with acts ranging from Lynyrd Skynyrd, Montgomery Gentry, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Brad Paisley to Alison Krauss, Tony Rice, The Avett Brothers, Yonder Mountain Stringband, The Punch Brothers, Levon Helm, John Fogerty and many more.

Rooster Walk Inc. is a community-nonprofit dedicated to promoting music, arts and education in its home of Martinsville/Henry County. A portion of festival proceeds go to the Penn-Shank Memorial Scholarship as well as the Rooster Walk Music Instrument Program for entry-level band programs in Martinsville/Henry County public schools. The festival is proud to have Bassett Furniture return as its title sponsor once again.

Used band instruments can be donated to program at Woodall’s Music, Denton Music or the Rives Theatre

By BEN WILLIAMS
Bulletin Staff Writer

Area residents with musical instruments cluttering the attic, take note: The Rooster Walk Music Instrument Program is ready to put that old clarinet or dusty trombone in the hands of a young aspiring musician.

According to Rooster Walk co-founder Johnny Buck, instruments can be dropped off at Woodall’s Music and Sound or Denton Music Company. When instruments are donated, Rooster Walk serves as the clearing house and contacts Martinsville High School Band Director Brian Joyce and Bassett High School Band Director Trey Harris to see if they have a student in need of the instrument.

“If they want it, Rooster Walk has donated money to the Henry County School System and the city school system specifically to repair these instruments,” Buck said. “Mark Denton with Denton Music Company has agreed to do all the repairs at a great bulk repair rate. Then they become the property of the Henry County band system or the city band system for entry-level band students in their first two years. The student doesn’t own the instrument; it’s a loaner for up to two years.”

Buck said that the program was created in 2014 with donations made in memory of Todd Eure, a 2000 Martinsville High School graduate who grew up with Buck, William Baptist, the late Edwin Penn and the late Walker Shank.

Buck and Baptist created Rooster Walk to honor the memory of Penn and Shank; when Eure passed away, they wanted to find an appropriate tribute for him, as well.

“He was in the (Martinsville High School) jazz band for three years, along with me, William and Edwin,” Buck said. “Jazz band was still playing the same keyboard they had been playing in the early ‘90s. We partnered with Todd’s employer (American Global Logistics) and matched them on raising the money to buy a new keyboard. Once the keyboard manufacturer realized who was buying it and what it was for, they cut us a really good deal and we had money left over. Then we said, ‘Well, what are we going to do with this? It’s not Rooster Walk’s money. It was raised in memory of Todd.’ That’s where this program started.”

FULL STORY HERE.

Want to donate an instrument? Click here: Instrument donation form

Grant will be used exclusively to market RW8

By MICKEY POWELL || Bulletin staff writer

The annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival has been awarded a $10,000 state grant that will be used toward marketing this year’s event.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced the Virginia Tourism Corp. Marketing Leverage Program grant on Monday. Grants totaling more than $812,000 were awarded to 39 projects statewide as part of efforts to attract tourists.

“These grants are proven to increase visitation by creating marketing partnerships and effective marketing programs,” McAuliffe wrote in a news release.

Grant recipients must match the state funds with at least twice as much of their own funds.

Piedmont Arts, the Rives Theatre and the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corp.’s (EDC) Tourism Division partnered with Rooster Walk Inc. to come up with a $20,000 local match.

The eighth annual festival, to be held May 26-29 at Pop’s Farm in Axton, will feature 45 bands performing on five stages and 35 arts and crafts vendors. It also will include children’s educational activities as well as the Tuff Strutter 5K, a trail race being held as part of a partnership with the Martinsville-Henry County Family YMCA.

Portions of festival proceeds will be donated to the Penn-Shank Memorial Scholarship Fund at Martinsville High School and Rooster Walk Inc.’s Band Instrument Donation & Repair Program for city and county school bands.

More than 4,000 people attended Rooster Walk last year, said co-founder and Executive Director Johnny Buck. Attendance has increased by 15 percent to 20 percent each of the past five years, he said.

Among this year’s headlining acts will be Lettuce, a funk band, and the Sam Bush Band. Bush is a bluegrass mandolin player who is considered one of the originators of the Newgrass style, according to information online.

As a festival gets bigger, it is able to attract more well-known bands, and more people start coming, Buck said.

“If they see bands they know and love (on the itinerary), they’ll come to your festival,” regardless of whether they know anything about the community where the festival is being held, he said.

“Rooster Walk has grown to become one of the premiere cultural events in our community,” attracting visitors from throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, said EDC Tourism Director Jennifer Doss. “We know that with increased marketing, this following of loyal fans will continue to grow, boosting area tourism.”

Visitors to Martinsville-Henry County generate $66.1 million dollars in revenue, U.S. Travel Association data shows.

Information provided by the EDC shows that tourism generates about $1.37 million in tax revenues for the city and county annually and 735 people have tourism-related jobs in the community.

Buck said the state grant will become part of Rooster Walk’s marketing budget.

Plans are to market the festival through radio, television and website advertising and social media as well as distributing fliers, he said.

He and Jason Lagesse, president of Rooster Walk’s board, said that in marketing this year’s event, emphasis will be placed on reaching music lovers in metropolitan areas of North Carolina, including the Piedmont Triad, Charlotte and Raleigh-Durham.

“There are a lot of folks who live within a two-hour drive (of Henry County) who don’t have awareness” of Rooster Walk, Buck said.

Lagesse added that he wants those people to realize, “Hey, there’s a lot of cool stuff going on just across the border!”

This was the first time that Rooster Walk applied for state tourism dollars, said Lagesse, who prepared the grant application along with Phil Wenkstern.

He said it did so in part to help bring money into the community.

Buck emphasized, however, that the festival has been successful over the years largely due to support from the community and local volunteers.

MHS band benefits from Eure memorial donations

Rooster Walk Inc. and American Global Logistics have partnered to buy one new instrument and create a program to repair numerous older instruments for the Martinsville school system’s band program.

The contributions will memorialize Todd Eure, who participated in the city schools’ band program from fifth grade until he graduated from Martinsville High School in 2000. Eure, who died nearly a year ago, played trombone in the concert, symphonic, jazz and marching bands.

Rooster Walk Inc. and American Global Logistics (AGL), Eure’s former employer, made matching $1,000 donations in his memory. Some of the funds were used to buy a new Casio Privia keyboard from Woodall’s Music & Sound for the MHS Jazz Band.

“We’re very proud of the jazz program within our school system, and in order to have a great jazz band, you have to have solid equipment behind that,” said Martinsville High School band director Kevin Lewis. “This keyboard replaces one that’s close to 25 years old.” The jazz band’s previous keyboard began to deteriorate about three years ago, he added.

The remaining funds will be used to create a new instrument donation and repair program that will be overseen by Rooster Walk Inc. As part of the program, Rooster Walk will solicit and accept donations of used instruments from the public. The instruments will be repaired, when cost effective to do so, and donated for use in entry-level band programs by needy fifth- and sixth-grade students.

To read the full story from the Martinsville Bulletin, CLICK HERE.

For portable stage to use at festival, concert series

By The Martinsville Bulletin | Sunday, December 7, 2014

The Harvest Foundation has awarded a $146,450 grant to Rooster Walk Inc. to buy a portable stage for use at the Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival and its Turn 5 Concert Series.

Rooster Walk’s mission is to promote music, arts and education in Martinsville/Henry County. It produces live music events that support charities and worthwhile causes in the area.

“By owning our own portable stage, we will save thousands of dollars each year in rental fees, which in turn will be donated to local charities, such as the Penn-Shank Memorial Scholarship Fund at Martinsville High School. And, we will be able to rent the stage out to other event producers in the region, creating a new revenue stream to increase our charitable giving even more,” said Johnny Buck, Rooster Walk executive director.