New Orleans-based band Galactic will headline the 11th annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival, organizers announced today. Other bands added to the growing lineup include: Turkuaz (funk/Brooklyn NY); BIG Something (rock/jam Burlington, NC); The Lil Smokies (bluegrass, Missoula, Mont.); The Black Lillies (roots/Knoxville, Tenn.); The Roosevelt Collier Band (rock & blues/Miami, Fla.); Fireside Collective (bluegrass/Asheville, NC); South Hill Banks (roots rock/Richmond); The Vegabonds (southern rock/Nashville), Palm Palm (rock/Richmond, Va.) and After Jack (folk/Rocky Mount, Va.).
The festival will take place Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-26, 2019, at the idyllic Pop's Farm near Martinsville, Va. About 20 more bands will be added to the lineup before it is complete.
Formed in 1994, Galactic has spent 25 years touring the country and establishing itself as one of the Big Easy's most identifiable musical acts. The band has developed a unique sound in that time frame, drawing from rock, funk, brass bands, blues, jazz, hip hop, electronic and world music.
In the coming weeks, Galactic is set to release its first album in more than three years and will hit the road for a nationwide tour.
"Galactic is a band that we've always wanted to host at Rooster Walk," said Johnny Buck, a co-founder of the festival. "Their live show is fantastic and a great fit for that dance-inducing, 10 pm headlining set that our fans have grown to know and love as part of the Rooster Walk experience."
Turkuaz and BIG Something also bring post-sundown energy to the lineup.
Turkuaz, from Brooklyn, N.Y., is one of the hottest young bands on the funk/jam scene today. Their huge sound, which includes male and female vocals and a full horn section, is most notable for its innate ability to keep the audience dancing from start to finish.
Since forming in nearby Burlington, N.C., BIG Something has also made waves across the country as one of the jam/rock genre's brightest rising stars. They will make their third appearance at Rooster Walk, and their first since 2015 (Rooster Walk 7).
Bands previously announced as part of the band lineup include: Shovels & Rope, The Marcus King Band, Billy Strings, King & Strings, Mountain Heart, Yarn, Kendall Street Company, State Birds and C2 & The Brothers Reed.
With over 40 bands performing on five different stages over the four-day weekend, an eclectic roster of great music guides the Rooster Walk experience.
In addition, 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.
Rooster Walk has been named one of the Top 5 festivals in the state by the Richmond-Times Dispatch. It also has been voted the region's Most Creative Charitable Event by readers of Virginia Living Magazine. The festival was created in memory of late Martinsville, Va. natives Edwin "The Rooster" Penn and Walker Shank, who graduated from Martinsville High School in 2000 along with Buck and fellow festival co-founder William Baptist.
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. In 2018, Rooster Walk, Inc. donated more than $30,000 to local and regional charities.
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, Va. Since 2009, Rooster Walk Inc. has donated more than $175,000 to local and regional charities.
For more info, updates or to purchase tickets, visit www.RoosterWalk.com.
