Photos by Nick Fitanides

The Infamous Stringdusters, Trampled By Turtles, Leftover Salmon, Keller & The Keels and Rubblebucket were among the acts who appeared at the 3rd Annual Festy Experience this past weekend. The three day Infamous Stringdusters curated bluegrass festival featured two stages of music and a variety of outdoor activities. The event took place at the Concert Ground at Devil’s Backbone Brewing Company in Roseland, VA, just outside of Charlottesville.

The weekend was filled with plenty of great covers from a variety of bands. On Friday night, The Infamous Stringdusters did renditions of “Walking on the Moon,” “He’s Gone” and encored with “Up On Cripple Creek.” On Saturday they busted out a cover of Bill Monroe’s “Fork in the Road.” The Stringdusters closed out the main stage both nights. At one point on Friday night, bassist Travis Book told the audience to “throw all your glowsticks now and get it out of your system.” The crowd obliged, tossing glowsticks toward the stage as the band averted their eyes and laughed nervously.

In addition to these fantastic covers from the Stringdusters, fans were also treated to a version of Lauryn Hill’s “X Factor” from Margaret Glasby, who brought Bridget Kearny of Lake Street Dive to sit in. Josh Panda did renditions of Rod Stewart’s “(I Know) I’m Losing You” and Floodwood did Peter Rowan’s “The Hobo Song.” Floodwood’s set was particularly well received, with hundreds of fans filling up the Southern Stage tent past capacity Saturday night to see the side project from Al Schnier and Vinnie Amico of moe.. Frequent Dave Matthews Band collaborator John D’Earth brought a crowd pleasing set of top notch jazz to the tent on Saturday afternoon with his John D’Earth Cohort.

A few other acts went cover crazy as well. The No B.S. Brass Band put their spin on Led Zeppelin’s “The Ocean,” Aha’s “Take On Me” and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller,” among others. Sons of Bill did a fantastic version of R.E.M’.s “The Finest Worksong,” as well as a take on Springsteen’s “No Surrender” that included two guitars and a pedal steel.

The festival also featured a number of interesting sit ins. Danny Barnes and Andy Hall joined Keller & The Keels Friday night on banjo and dobro, respectively. On Sunday, Mike Compton joined Tony Trischka for a Lester Flats/Bill Monroe tune, and Nathan Moore sat in with his friend’s Elephant Revival.

While the stages never stayed open past midnight, the party was kept going all night at various “Campfire Jams”. The Stringdusters led one well into the late hours on Saturday until inclement weather forced them to call it a night. The wet and cold weather on Saturday night and Sunday was the only downside to an otherwise fantastic weekend. In any case, the rain cleared up Sunday afternoon and the brave festygoers came out in their mountain gear for Tony Trishka and Elephant Revival. Leftover Salmon closed out the festival’s main stage on Sunday night. The band also announced their pick for “Fan of the Year.”

All in all the third annual Festy Experience was a success, with thousands of fans making their way out to Virginia for a few days of bluegrass. With a top-notch line up of artists and a scenic location, who could expect anything else?