The Festy Experience, hosted by Devils Backbone Brewery and The Infamous Stringdusters will move locations in 2016, as the contract has run out between the festival and owner of DB, Steve Crandall. Crandall tells Blue Ridge Life Magazine, “The Festy was started by four partners. Devils Backbone had a 25% stake in ownership. Micheal Allenby of The Artist Farm owned 25% as did Justin Billcheck Productions, and The Stringdusters owned 25%. We all brought different skill sets to the table. After two years we gave up our ownership. We had a five year contract to have the event hosted on our site. This was the last year for that contract.”
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Crandall says he hopes to begin another festival in 2016 that is more in tune with the local community, explaining, “We want an event that’s about our brand and what Backbone is about. And, something we can take on the road to other areas where we sell craft beer. Nashville, Chattanooga, North Carolina, etc.”
As for the Festy, rumors have been swirling about the festival moving to Oak Ridge Farm in Arrington, VA, the site of the Lockn’ Festival, but nothing is set in stone. Michael Allenby of The Artist Farm notes, “No decision has been made on where The Festy will go. We are very interested in Nelson County and we know there is a lot of interest from the South Rockfish Valley area in having us stay nearby. While Dave Frey (Lockn’) has the cool infrastructure in place, we want to look at that, no decision has been made about where we will go.”
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Until then, enjoy some video from this year’s Festy with Sam Bush and Lyle Lovett sitting in with the Stringdusters for a rousing take on “Sittin’ On Top Of The World:”
[Via Blue Ridge Life Magazine]