Floydfest announces incredible first round of artists

Phil Lesh, String Cheese Incident, Keller Williams, Karl Denson & many more!

Across-the-Way Productions, Inc. invites patrons to 'Voyage Home' to FloydFest 19, the latest annual offering of the Southeast's premier summer outdoor music festival, taking place Wednesday to Sunday, July 24 to 28, 2019, at Milepost 170.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Floyd, Va. Phil Lesh & the Terrapin Family Band, The String Cheese Incident, Brandi Carlile, Tyler Childers, Margo Price, Fantastic Negrito, Keller Williams' Grateful Grass featuring Love Canon, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Acoustic Syndicate, Songs From The Road Band, Kaleta & Super Yamba Band, Trout Steak Revival, Jon Stickley Trio, Nora Jane Struthers, Front Country, Pert Near Sandstone, Old Salt Union, The Yawpers, Bella's Bartok, Circus No. 9, Honeysuckle, and 2018 FloydFest On-the-Rise Competition winner, Magnolia Boulevard, and runner-up, Travers Brothership, round out Across-the-Way Productions' initial artist announcement for the 19th annual event, with more lineup announcements coming soon.

Across-the-Way Productions released early-bird tickets for FloydFest 19~Voyage Home at 9 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018, via its brand-new www.floydfest.com, and, today, releases a sampling of the artist lineup that will descend on Floyd, Va., July 24 to 28, 2019. Early-bird tickets are available through Dec. 31, 2018, with the first price increase scheduled for Jan. 1, 2019. Patrons will notice a simplified ticketing structure for 2019, based on patron feedback.

"Our 2019 theme speaks to returning to the source of where we all come from, mother earth. It is there where we find ourselves most at home. Welcome to the Voyage," Kris Hodges, co-founder and CCO, explained.

Recently receiving top accolades from TIME Magazine, Blue Ridge Outdoors and Fox News, among others, FloydFest 19's initial artist lineup celebrates the first trip to the mountain for Grateful Dead-founding member and Roll & Roll Hall of Famer Phil Lesh, who will perform alongside his Terrapin Family Band, as well as the first trip for The String Cheese Incident as a full band.

"'Without love in the dream, it'll never come true,' Robert Hunter, lyricist for The Grateful Dead, once wrote. And it's true. I haven't bailed from this ship of fools or love or heart ... whatever you wish to call it, but the truth remains that there's no place like home and that home is where the heart is. That's why we'd like to welcome you back home, to FloydFest. And we all know there's no better place to call home than this -- this voyage of love. Welcome to FloydFest 19~Voyage Home. Your crew is waiting," Hodges shared.

Like so many other musical endeavors that Phil Lesh of the Grateful Dead has been a part of, the Terrapin Family Band grew naturally and spontaneously out of something special. In this case, it was the unique environment that he fostered at Terrapin Crossroads, the music venue that he recently opened in Marin County, Calif. Using the Grateful Dead songbook as a springboard for reinterpretation and as inspiration to create original material, the TFB musicians were inspired as much by one another as they were by the diverse group of influences that they brought to the table; as a result, the music conveys friendship, respect, warmth and companionship for listeners and performers alike.

Although members of the Colorado-based The String Cheese Incident have played at previous FloydFests, 2019 will mark the first full 'FloydFest Incident' for the 25-year-old grouping, which has emerged as one of America's most significant independent bands. Born in 1993 in Colorado's Rocky Mountains, SCI has since released 11 albums, seven DVDs and countless live recordings from their relentless tour schedule. Their history is packed full of surreal experiences, epic moments, groundbreaking involvement, huge accomplishments and a dedication to artistic live expression.

Joining Lesh and family and The String Cheese Incident are fan-favorites Brandi Carlile and Tyler Childers, who topped many patron survey wish-lists. Carlile's new album, By the Way, I Forgive You, was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album, and she recently appeared in A Star Is Born, alongside Bradley Cooper and Lady Gaga. Childers' star was born almost simultaneously with his 2018 performance at FloydFest 18~Wild, inspiring many attendees to request a return trip to the mountain.

In 2015, Margo Price was a country underdog just trying to keep enough gas in the tank to get to the next gig, but by the end of 2016, she was one of the genre's most celebrated new artists and a ubiquitous presence on late night television and at major festivals around the world. Named Americana Music's 2016 Emerging Artist of the Year and winner of Americana Music's 2018 Song of the Year, Price makes her first trip to FloydFest for 'Voyage Home.'

Music that speaks of rebirth and life after destruction arrives with the addition of Fantastic Negrito, 2017 Grammy Award winner for Best Contemporary Blues Album. Fantastic Negrito is a man's truth told in the form of black roots music. Each song is a real story about a musician from Oakland who experienced the highs of a million-dollar record deal, the lows of a near fatal car accident that left him in a coma, and is now in the midst of a rebirth that took from the streets to the Grammy stage. On the way, he won the NPR Tiny Desk Contest and toured the world with artists like Chris Cornell, Temple of the Dog and Sturgill Simpson.

FloydFest-ambassador Keller Williams returns with 80s- and 90s-acoustic rock troubadours Love Canon in tow for a special 'Grateful Grass' set, and Across-the-Way Productions managed to steal away Karl Denson from The Rolling Stones' current touring band for a set with his Tiny Universe.

After performing at many of the first FloydFests, Acoustic Syndicate is jumping on the ship to 'Voyage Home,' along with FloydFest 18~Wild-standouts Songs From The Road Band and Kaleta & Super Yamba Band. A hand-picked grouping of innovative artists rounds out the purposeful programming for FloydFest 19's initial artist announcement. 

The next scheduled round of artist additions will be released Dec. 11, with more to follow in late-December, January 2019 and February 2019, according to Hodges. In addition to FloydFest newsletters, and new for 2019, patrons can also opt-in for the FloydFest 19~Voyage Home Text Club by texting "FF19Home" to 36000 on their mobile device. The Text Club will send lineup additions and other special announcements directly to patrons' smartphones.

The unforgettable magic that was FloydFest 16's (Dreamweavin'), FloydFest 17's (Freedom) and FloydFest 18's (Wild) Buffalo Mountain Jam returns in 2019 for its fourth-annual installment, with more details due for release in the coming months. Known for its impromptu artist collaborations, super jams and special guests, the Buffalo Mountain Jam's lineup is shaping up to be an exceptional moment in musical history for the 19th annual event -- not to be missed.

As always, FloydFest will also include vibrant and varied vendors, quality craft brews and chews, healing arts, workshops and whimsy, camping and children's activities, onsite art installations and a final lineup featuring more than 100 artists performing on eight+ stages.

Voted 'Best Outdoor Music Festival,' FloydFest is also selling tickets to its Outdoor Adventure programs during the early-bird ticket on-sale, including its popular On-the-Water Guided Float Trips and Belcher Mountain Beatdown mountain-bike excursion. 

FloydFest is located at Milepost 170.5 on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Floyd, Va. Detailed directions are available by clicking to www.floydfest.com.