Smaller Floyd Fest 14 May Be “Best Ever” Says Co-Founder

The Roanoke based "Groovascape" was a big hit at this year's Floyd Fest.
The Roanoke based “Groovascape” was a big hit at this year’s Floyd Fest.

Kris Hodges is an eternal optimist by nature it seems and towards the tail end of this year’s late July four-day music festival in the hills near the Floyd-Patrick County line the Floyd Fest co-founder was as upbeat as ever: “epic, one for the books,” is how Hodges described Floyd Fest 14 – Fire on the Mountain.

Standout main stage performances from Grace Potter, Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, Trampled By Turtles et al and a wide variety of music on eight stages kept a long weekend crowd of around 10,000 (Hodge’s number) on the move all weekend.

“A truly spectacular event … we really rose to the occasion,” said Hodges, who praised the interaction between Floyd Fest’s largely volunteer staff, the musicians and the people who paid to hear music and camp on the mountain. “This is a carefully executed event,” said Hodges of the small army of people that keep the trash picked up, the porta-potties serviced and the shuttles moving on the perimeter service road. “We all work together.”

Hodges said the festival “hit caps in a lot of areas” attendance-wise but did not reach the ceiling set last year after Floyd Fest had become too big perhaps for its own good in the few years before that. “There’s always room for improvement,” said Hodges about perhaps getting closer to that ceiling attendance next year.

The part time Roanoke resident, who owns The Phoenix club on 5th Street with his partner Erika Johnson, boldly declares that Floyd Fest “is the premier festival in the nation,” something he says veteran festival-goers who travel all over the country have told him as well. “That’s a great thing to hear … it keeps you going for the long haul.”

Meanwhile a Roanoke-based band that also seemed to have “it” was Groovascape, which plays local venues here in town regularly. Groovascape, which rocks with a dash of Motown and funk had a packed tent grooving when making their Floyd Fest debut. They had won a battle of the bands competition that Hodges and Johnson had held at The Phoenix – the payoff being a gig at Floyd Fest.

Lead singer Brittany Sparks joined the decade-old group five years ago. Getting to Floyd Fest this year was “awesome” said Sparks. “It’s been a pretty big goal of ours since we came together as a band.” The group performs plenty of covers but is also writing original songs these days. Sparks met Groovascape guitarist Henry Lazenby at an open mic night in Roanoke years ago “and things just clicked.” Now the band has an appreciable following and has released its own CD.

Look for Kris Hodges to announce the preliminary lineup for next year’s Floyd Fest before the end of this year.

By Gene Marrano

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