One of the many reasons music festivals are fun is because there’s a chance you’ll see a musician from one of your favorite bands sit in with another of your favorite bands—possibly a once-in-a-lifetime occurrence.
Rooster Walk 15 (May 22-25 in Martinsville, Va.) is special because it’s specifically programmed to set up incredible collaborations every year. You’re guaranteed to see multiple instances of musicians sitting in with other bands, maybe for multiple sets.
Exhibit A: In 2018, Rooster Walk paired two up-and-coming guitarists from different musical worlds. “King and Strings” featured soulful guitar wailer Marcus King and ferocious bluegrass picker Billy Strings, both of whom were starting to get attention but weren’t huge stars yet. The musicians had never even met, and they still put on a show so epic that fans begged for an encore set—which they got in 2019.
Kyser George, guitarist for bluegrass unit Shadowgrass (performing this year at RW15), was a Rooster Walk patron in 2018 and still marvels about what he saw that night. “Marcus King and Billy are two very different styles,” George says. “What was so cool to see was Billy’s band and some of Marcus’s crew all playing to elevate both of them, because they both shine in their own way.”
The idea for King and Strings came from an unplanned collaboration in 2017 when Eric Krasno’s band was unable to make it, and Strings’ band backed up Krasno. King and Strings set a standard for festival collaborations that Rooster Walk continues to strive for. (It sparked a friendship between the two guitarists who later moved into houses in the same Nashville neighborhood.) And King and Strings wasn’t even King’s only collaboration at the 2018 festival—pedal steel guitarist Robert Randolph sat in with the Marcus King Band during their set. In 2017, King sat in with Greensky Bluegrass at RW.
Built-in band
In addition to Rooster Walk’s scheduled hybrid sets, the festival has a fully integrated way to foster collaborations throughout the weekend. Each year, several musicians known as Artists at Large (AAL) form what has become known as the house band. Many of the AALs have played the festival for years—keyboard player Josh Shilling, drummer Jeff Sipe, saxophone player Ron Holloway, bass player Jake Dempsey and guitarist Wallace Mullinax among them. All of those AALs return for RW15, joined by George, singer Florencia Rusiñol and guitarist Isaac Hadden.
“It’s honestly some of the most fun I get to have all year,” says Hadden, a serial collaborator who plays with numerous people year-round. “It is really an inspiring group to play with, and it’s also just a great time. You really do never know what to expect, but you know that it’s going to be cool.”
The house band plays several sets during the festival, often based on themes such as funk, Southern rock, jamgrass or the Grateful Dead. Shilling serves as the unofficial musical director, organizing set lists in advance via email and text.
“I definitely don’t think of myself at all as a band leader in that role,” says Shilling, a member of modern bluegrass band Mountain Heart and a professional studio and touring sideman. “Everybody there is a star and is a leader. I do try to head up gathering material and trying to coordinate guests and things.”
Yes, the house band invites guests to join them, too, so you never know who will be on stage at one of their sets. The same thing frequently works in reverse—artists often ask AALs to sit in during their scheduled sets.
Perhaps the best example of this is the annual festival-closing tribute set by Nashville Americana rockers Yarn, who have performed full cover sets of music by Bruce Springsteen, Van Morrison, Dire Straits, Guns N’ Roses, and many more artists. Yarn’s basic four-piece lineup is most always augmented by Shilling and at least a half-dozen or more guests. It’s become a beloved Rooster Walk tradition and a highly entertaining way to wrap up the weekend.
Rising stars
So what’s the King and Strings of RW 15? It figures to be on Sunday, May 25, when George and Hadden take the stage for a set billed as “Guitarmageddon: Isaac and Kyser Destroy the World.” That tantalizing title pairs the two young axe men in a collaboration that is nearly impossible to predict. George plays acoustic bluegrass guitar and dabbles with electric guitar in his free time, while Hadden plugs in for a living while working on bluegrass as a hobby.
“We both have a lot of respect and reverence and put a lot of time into studying each other’s world,” Hadden says. “The first time I met him was at Rooster Walk, and he was talking about getting into the electric guitar and stuff we were checking out that was kind of similar. It’s kind of two sides of the same coin.”
“He’s a phenomenal musician,” George says. “I’ve always been a fan and we’re kind of from the same area. It’s funny that we had never really met and played together before Rooster Walk. I’m down for pretty much anything music wise, but this one I especially was.”
Buckle up, Rooster Walk patrons. From Isaac and Kyser’s world-wrecking set, to house band members popping up like mushrooms all over the site, to Yarn’s concluding Neil Young tribute set, the year’s festival is a sure bet to be full of collaborations and surprises.
Get your tickets now and keep your eyes and ears open all weekend. You might see and hear something that never happens again.
Terms of Use
Privacy Policy
Cookie Policy
Accessibility Statement
© 2023 All rights reserved.
