Emmylou Harris, a 2018 Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and member of the Country Music Hall of Fame, will headline the 14th annual Rooster Walk Music & Arts Festival with her band. Celebrated guitarist Cory Wong, a rising star on the international music scene, will also top the band lineup.
Harris, estimated to have sold more than 15 million records worldwide, has earned 13 Grammy Awards and placed 27 singles in the top 10 of the US country chart. She will make her Rooster Walk debut with a Saturday evening set at the festival, taking place from May 23-26, 2024, at Pop’s Farm in Martinsville, Va.
Wong, a former member of Vulfpeck, will debut at Rooster Walk with his band's Friday night headlining set. His live shows are known for their instrumental mastery, cohesiveness, and high energy.
The lineup also includes Couch (Boston, Mass. – funk/rock/soul); Caitlin Krisko & The Broadcast (Asheville, N.C. – rock); Arkansauce (progressive bluegrass from Northwest Arkansas); Sneezy (high-energy party music from Chicago, Ill.); Sticks N Thorns (bluegrass duo featuring Andy Thorn of Leftover Salmon and Jon Stickley); Travis Book & Friends (Americana/rock band from Asheville, N.C., led by The Infamous Stringdusters’ Travis Book); The Jared Stout Band (southern rock from the New River Valley of Virginia); T.C. Carter Band (blues from Martinsville, Va.); Lua Flora (Asheville, N.C. – beach folk); Big Fat Gap (Chapel Hill, N.C. – bluegrass); Jules & The Agreeables (Key West, Fla. – rock); DJ What (Martinsville, Va. – DJ); and Pirates of the Piedmont (Martinsville, Va. – pirate shanties).
Previously announced for the RW14 lineup are: Broke Mountain Bluegrass Band (a Colorado supergroup featuring members from Greensky Bluegrass, Leftover Salmon, the Infamous Stringdusters, Jon Stickley Trio, and more); Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country (Nashville, Tenn., jam twang); TAUK Moore (a funk collaboration between Doom Flamingo’s Kanika Moore and TAUK); Dogs in a Pile (a New Jersey-based funk/jazz/rock jam band); Yarn (NC/NY roots rockers, performing an original set and a festival-finishing tribute set); The Mountain Grass Unit (up-and-coming bluegrass shredders from Alabama); Isaac Hadden Organ Trio (a North Carolina power trio with masterful musicianship); Sol Driven Train (upbeat, horn-driven rock'n'roll with beach vibes from Charleston, SC); J & The Causeways (a New Orleans-based soul powerhouse, reminiscent of St. Paul & The Broken Bones); Colby T. Helms & The Virginia Creepers (bluegrass from nearby Franklin County, Va.); Clay Street Unit (Colorado-based honky-tonk/roots rock); and Mighty Joshua (authentic reggae from central Virginia).
The final batch of RW14 band additions will be announced by February 2024.
Tickets for Rooster Walk 14 are now on sale at www.roosterwalk.com, which also features all the information needed to plan an amazing experience.
The festival, from Thursday to Sunday of Memorial Day weekend, is set in the rolling foothills surrounding Martinsville, Va. Rooster Walk is a 4-day event celebrating music, art, and the great outdoors at the idyllic Pop's Farm venue. With over 40 bands performing on 6 different stages, the festival offers an incredible music lineup.
In addition to about 80 sets of live music, the family-friendly Rooster Walk will offer a variety of kids' programming, family fun, craft beer, great food, arts, and numerous opportunities to enjoy Virginia's great outdoors with kayak river floats, pedal boats, bike rides, yoga, a disc golf course, and beautiful on-site camping.
Rooster Walk has been named one of the Top 5 festivals in the state by the Richmond-Times Dispatch and was voted the region’s Most Creative Charitable Event by readers of Virginia Living Magazine for three consecutive years. The festival was created in memory of late Martinsville natives Edwin “The Rooster” Penn and Walker Shank, graduates of Martinsville High School in 2000. A portion of the festival's proceeds will be donated to local and regional charities, including the Penn-Shank Memorial Endowment Scholarship Fund for students at Martinsville High School, and the Rooster Walk Music Instrument Program for public band programs in the local city and county school systems.
The festival is produced by Rooster Walk Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to promoting music, arts, and education in Martinsville-Henry County. Since its inception in 2009, Rooster Walk Inc. has donated more than $320,000 to local and regional charities.
