It’ just one month until jam loving fans will find themselves at the headiest of all festivals this summer. This August 25th through 28th, The Nelson County Preserve in Arrington, Virginia will host the 4th annual Lockn’ Festival and welcome thousands of friendly fans to make this truly beautiful place their weekend home. Extracted from the roots of the Grateful Dead subculture and influenced by decades of incredible jam bands, Lockn’ has a heart that beats like no other festival around. The vibe is one of family, fun, love of music and unmistakable positive energy.
Industry veterans and Lockn’ creators Dave Frey and Peter Shapiro are well known for curating music events that result in much success. Frey is responsible for creating the HORDE festival and bringing the interlocking, two stage, non-stop music format to Lockn’. Shapiro’s accomplishments are vast and include owning the Brooklyn Bowl, Brooklyn Bowl (Las Vegas), Brooklyn Bowl (London), Capitol Theatre, producing U2’s U23D film, publisher of Relix magazine, promoting the infamous Fare The Well reunion shows of the Grateful Dead and the list goes on. So with backgrounds of this magnitude, one could only imagine the time and care that is taken to produce a festival that is on the level of Lockn’.
Lockn’ has no overlapping shows in its schedule, leaving room for only the best bands in the jam circuit to hit the stages. Past lineups and highlights have seen the likes of Further, The Black Crows, The String Cheese Incident, Widespread Panic, Gov’t Mule, Trey Anastasio Band, Willie Nelson, Wilco and more. This year’s lineup raises the bar another notch with two nights of Phish, two nights of Ween, My Morning Jacket, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Brandi Carlile, EOTO and Galactic. Furthermore, Phil Lesh & Friends recently dropped their lineup of guests which include Page McConnell, The Infamous Stringdusters and finally Jon Fishman and Joe Russo to bring the classic Grateful Dead two drum format on Saturday. For Sunday night, Phil Lesh & Friends will feature members of The Chris Robinson Brotherhood and a special guest sit-in by Gary Clark Jr.
All of this goes without mentioning the possible special guests any of the bands could have. Lockn’ is well known for it’s epic surprise sit-ins. Many fans are anticipating the possible Ween/Phish combo after Trey professed Phish’s love for Ween and called for them to return to the stage and put an end to their long hiatus. Or could we see Trey jump in on the Phil & Friends lineup? After all, he knows the riffs and the lyrics after the amazing Fare Thee Well performances.
Located along the hills of the Blue Ridge Mountains near Richmond, Virginia, this majestic festival is a jam fans dream come true. It is locked n’ loaded with great music, great camping and nearby hotels, locally sourced food, creative artwork and vendors and above all, amazing fans who are dedicated to great vibes and an amazing music scene. Check out some photos from last year to get you pumped!! It’s just a month away and tickets are on sale now!! Scoop one up and head on down to Lockn’ !!
Buy Lockn’ 2016 Tickets