From funk to folk, blues to bluegrass and jambands to jazz bands, the eighth annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival will have something for just about every music lover.
Rooster Walk 8 made its last major band announcements Tuesday, unveiling an additional 30 acts that will take part in the Memorial Day weekend festival at Pop's Farm in Martinsville, Va.
The new additions to the lineup are: The Revivalists, The Motet, Rayland Baxter, TAUK, Larry Keel Experience, Cabinet, People's Blues of Richmond, Stephane Wrembel, Jon Stickley Trio, Jarekus Singleton, Wild Ponies, Erin & the Wildfire, Southern Belles, Annabelle's Curse, Trongone Band, L Shape Lot, Roosevelt Dime, Mason Via Band, Ghost Eagle, Welcome to Hoonah, Gabe Morales, Rex McGee & John Garris, Truckstop Preachers, Mission in the Rain, Juliana MacDowel, Slick Jr. & the Reactors, Maya Burgess, The Fernandez Sisters, the Patrick Henry Community College Patriot Players and a fire performance troupe, Fire My Spirit Productions.
These acts join previously announced co-headliners Lettuce and Sam Bush Band, as well as Perpetual Groove, Tab Benoit, Jeff Austin Band, Acoustic Syndicate, Yarn, Town Mountain, Billy Strings, Naughty Professor, Major & the Monbacks, After Jack, Sanctum Sully, Lizzy Ross, Junto, and Left Hip Pocket.
"Even before announcing these 30 acts, the fan response to Rooster Walk 8 has been phenomenal," said Johnny Buck, executive director of Rooster Walk. "We couldn't be happier with the way the lineup came together. We think it's our best one yet."
The RW8 lineup features a variety of musical styles, including funk (Lettuce, The Motet), bluegrass (Sam Bush, Larry Keel), blues (Tab Benoit, Jarekus Singleton), jambands (Perpetual Groove, TAUK), rock (The Revivalists, People's Blues of Richmond), jazz (Stephane Wrembel, Naughty Professor) and more.
Many of the bands will perform more than one set at Rooster Walk 8, which will take place May 26-29, 2016 and showcase a wide variety of arts, crafts, children's activities, food, on-site camping, a 5k footrace, delicious craft beer and more. For more information, or to purchase tickets, visit www.roosterwalk.com.
Rooster Walk was created in memory of two Martinsville natives who passed away while still in their mid-20s: Edwin "the Rooster" Penn and Walker Shank. The festival is organized and operated by Rooster Walk Inc., a community nonprofit dedicated to promoting music, arts and education in Martinsville and Henry County.
In less than seven years, Rooster Walk Inc. has donated more than $80,000 to local charities, among them the Penn-Shank Memorial Scholarship Fund for seniors at Martinsville High School and an instrument donation and repair program for entry-level band programs at public schools in Martinsville and Henry County.
This unique combination of a "full festival" experience and the charitable nature of the event leads many to call Rooster Walk "More than a Festival."
The festival's title sponsor, Bassett Furniture, is based in nearby Bassett, Va. For more than 100 years, Bassett has been perfecting the art of crafting furniture full of American ingenuity. Their dedication to comfortable, long lasting furniture remains without compromise. Learn more at www.bassettfurniture.com
