The second day of the LOCKN‘ Festival, in Arrington, Virginia, was stocked with non-stop music around the venue. Though the oppressive heat and humidity didn’t keep people away, as the crowd continued to pour into the main field throughout the day. The first full day of music featured everything from local acts to national headliners. This year, the event was being live streamed for free, making it easy for fans to couch tour around the world who have an internet connection.

Donna The Buffalo opened up the day at the Blue Ridge Bowl stage. This was the perfect setting to wake everyone up, as it’s situated in the middle of the venue. Moogatu, winners of last year’s Rockn’ to Lockn’ opened up the day’s events on the main stage. Each day will feature a winning Rockn’ to Lockn’ artist. Today was their day. These guys deserved it. They waited long enough for their moment on the big stage. They were winners of last year’s contest but, due to the micro-burst that blew through the venue causing the first day to be cancelled, they were unable to perform. However, this year, they were scheduled on the first full day, finally getting their moment to shine. They wasted no time getting things started, as they took over a few minutes before noon. Their stylistic sound was incredibly tight, tossing out tones that picked up and took the crowd on a wild ride. What a way to wake up! They had a funky sound full of high energy that got the festival off to a great start. Their set consisted of quicker paced jams that rolled along from one tune to the next, without taking a breather. They squeezed every last drop of fire they had into one massive performance. 

As soon as Moogatu finished, the stage turned and Turkuaz got underway without a break in the tunes. As if it wasn’t hot enough outside, their set broke the mercury. Jazzed up sax solos early on made sure to get the crowd out on the field and down from their sites. Their super colorful costumes lit up the stage. The female power duo of the band, Shira Elias and Sammi Garrett, beautified the set with their gorgeous yellow and pink outfits respectively. Bassist Taylor Shell got down and dirty with slaps dripping in funkaliciousness that melted faces. Their early afternoon set was a power house.

Vulfpeck busted out their set immediately after the last note dropped from Turkuaz. Tenor sax mayhem was created when Turkuaz’s Greg Sanderson took to the stage with the band early on. Once again, this playful group just had a blast on stage switching instruments and getting participation from the crowd. Antwaun Stanley jumped right in early on and added extra spice to Friday’s set. His soulful vocals dug deep as they pulsed right through your veins. Bassist Joe Dart banged out a juicy solo towards the end of the set. Overall, they had a more chill performance today, but fantastic. 

White Denim spun into view while beginning their show on the turntable. It was clear that not only the fans were enjoying the new stage, but the bands were having a blast on the rotations as performances started. Fans were already anticipating this band to blow the roof off. Scott Metzger joined in early on for a few tunes, beginning with their track “Ha Ha Ha Ha (Yeah).” White Denim blazed their tunes in the intense heat. Bordering on jam and rock, they crushed it and easily gained some insta-fans. 


Charles Bradley & His Extraordinaires came out of the gate running. Horns blaring and drums beating made for one hell of an entry. Charles Bradley then made his way on to the stage for a performance full of high octane energy. Bradley’s powerful voice beamed over the audience. Explosive vibes were spread out around the main field and sprinkled down upon the fans. The sounds of soul filled the venue throughout his set. He gave words of wisdom before kneeling and making a heart above his head at the end of the show. The band played on as he walked off. The crowd then yelled thank you’s to him as he left. 

Peter Wolf came running out after the band eased into their first tune, “Wasting Time.” Good ol’ rock and roll was in the house. He busted out the harmonica, stepping it up even higher. The J. Geil’s Band’s huge hit “Love Stinks” had the crowd revved up. He closed out his heavy rockin’ set with “Musta Got Lost.”

Ween busted out to a crowd that was so ready to hear a second night of their music. Fans were yelling out song names from all areas of the venue, hoping to hear their favorites played. Once they got underway, smoke filled the stage throughout the first part of the set. Today’s set was crammed with the heavy hits, including “Mutilated Lips,” “Bananas and Blow,” “Voodoo Lady.”

Before Phish went on for their first set of the evening, the Super VIP Lounge got treated to an early evening performance by Anders Osborne. He gave a wonderful acoustic show for about 100 people in an intimate setting. He took requests from the audience and performed what people wanted to hear, which included “Flower Box” off his new album.

Friday’s main stage headliner, Phish, gave an explosive performance, with one of the sickest light shows on the scene right now, pulling from a career-spanning setlist with heavy hitters “Fuego”, “Ghost”, and “Bathtub Gin” before ending the second set with a YEM for the ages. The full rundown of the two set show is available here.

Following Phish, Circles Around The Sun played deep in the woods for a late night set. This was their first time performing as a group since they were first introduced as the walk-in music for the Fare Thee Well shows last year. The extreme demand by fans contributed to an album release, which in turn helped put together this rare appearance by the group at Lockn’. The Woods Stage, set far back in the venue, drew a packed crowd. The music, from Interludes For The Dead, fit perfectly with the dimly lit forest area, as trippy, mystical and mysterious tones flowed in and out of the trees, through the crowd, back to the stage, and around again. There could not have been a more perfect place for this debut performance to occur. 

Joe Russo’s Almost Dead blew up the Blue Ridge Bowl once again on Friday night. Tom Hamilton and Scott Metzger have a way of playing ‘tag, you’re it’ with the guitars. Back and forth play makes for an exciting performance with one of the most intense jam bands out there right now. Their shows never disappoint. Marco Benevento took “Shakedown Street” on a trippy ride through the keys midway before sliding into a tasty jam session that seemed to go on forever. Psychedelic tones trickled in and out of the evening’s performance. “China Cat Sunflower” moved along like a lazy river slamming into a sudden rush of rapids. The energy released was explosive when they brought the jam to the back end. The crowd was dancing their ass off to “I Know You Rider.” Nicole Atkins took to the stage as “Dancing In the Street” began and stayed put to lend her powerful vocals for the remainder of their set. 

The late night crowd was on fire and ready to keep the party going.They played well into the wee hours, as “Jazz & Woods” featuring DJ Logic, kept the night owls going until 3 am. Overall, a successful first full day of performances gave attendees plenty of music to shake their bones.

Stay tuned as Lockn’ heads into the third day of the festival!

More information regarding Lockn’ can be found at their official website.

Words by Sarah Bourque.  Follow on Twitter.

Photographs by Sam Shinault Photography.