Photos and review by: Jason Robey

Axton, VA — For the 16th year, Pop’s Farm opened its doors to the community of music fans for a family-friendly weekend packed with music, good people, and all the other things that one could hope for from a festival. Mother Nature tried her best to put a damper on the weekend with constant rain and even knocking out the power on two occasions, but the dedicated Rooster Walk community wasn’t going to let that stand in the way of an incredible weekend. 

The first power outage happened a short time after the music started on the first day. Progressive bluegrass act Gabriel Van kicked off at 3pm, making it less than 45 minutes before the lightning hit and forced a shelter-in-place, and soon killing the electricity to the entire area. The lightning stopped after a short time, but with no electricity at their scheduled start time, a crowd gathered in tight as the bluegrass group Magoo went ahead with their set, without amplification or lights. The audience were unphased by the hiccup that would have kept less determined bands and fans from having the good time they came to have. That was a vibe that would continue through the four day festival, as the rain continued at varying intensity on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, before finally clearing up on the final day, as if by reward.

The main festival grounds of Rooster Walk consist of three stages: the Lawn Stage, the Lake Stage, and the Pine Grove stage. The first two are pretty standard setups for a festival, though the scenery behind the two give them distinct aesthetics. The Pine Grove stage is smaller, but one of the unique components of the festival, tucked in the forest just off the main path. With tall trees surrounding the wooden stage and a couple dozen hammocks tied to many of them, one can decide between dancing through the shows or laying back and relaxing while listening and watching. There are two other small stages on the farm, both with a handful of sets each day: the VIP stage in the main festival grounds, and the Eye-Level Stage, located in the car camping area. Besides the stages, there are vendors, food stands, and a good-sized kids area with a playground, a stage with entertainment for the little ones, and a massive slip and slide.

The power was restored in time for the last three acts of the first day, starting with a lively performance from the highly animated Paul McDonald & the Mourning Doves. McDonald brought engagement with the audience to a new level between this and the next day’s performances, climbing into the crowd to sing and dance with them. Equally energetic, Tan & Sober Gentlemen packed the stage and the forest surrounding the Pine Grove Stage for a set of their unique bluegrass-meets-punk-rock style. Reggae veterans John Brown’s Body closed the night with an hour and a half of exquisite bouncing rhythms.

The rest of the weekend, each morning started with a yoga session in the forest and an open public jam at the Eye-Level stage, as part of the community building aspect of Rooster Walk. The festival also had shuttles running constantly to get people from the multiple camping areas to the stages. A recent trend at many music festivals is the “artists-at-large,” musicians who may or may not be in scheduled bands, but are skilled enough to sit in with multiple bands throughout the festival, making for many once in a lifetime performances. This year’s roster included guitarists Isaac Hadden and Wallace Mullinax, vocalists Florencia Rusiñol and Caitlin Krisko, Saxophonist Sam Smith (known as Sam On Sax), bassist Jake Dempsey, keyboardist Josh Shilling, and drummer Jeff Sipe. Those artists would also make up the Rooster Walk House Band, who would play a couple sets over the weekend, including a set of all Grateful Dead covers, led by Keller Williams.

Friday was packed with non-stop music from 11:30am until sometime in the middle of the night. Kicking off with a set by the world music inspired fusion band Music Road Co, the day would have lots to offer fans of different genres. Indie rockers The Ain’t Sisters, Reggae outfit FeelFree, jam band Jacoozy, blues rockers The Moga Family Band, and Americana singer-songwriter Maggie Rose would keep the people moving from stage to stage all day for dancing and music discovery. As the sun went down, the headline acts for the evening came out in force. Psychedelic country band Daniel Donato’s Cosmic Country appeared for the fifth consecutive year at Rooster Walk, wowing the crowd with his impressive guitar skills and magnetic style. Bluegrass favorites Kitchen Dwellers and jam band Dizgo made for a tough decision for many playing simultaneously on different stages, and each offering unforgettable, top-notch sets. Friday was also the day that featured fire spinners performing next to the Lawn Stage after sundown, adding a dazzling visual experience to the evening.

The music continued on Saturday with just as full of a schedule, with Appalachian funk group Mountain Walrus kicking off the Lake Stage with the first of their two sets. The daytime featured indie folk music with Kindred Valley and Jayce Turley, the gritty blues rock n’ roll of Caitlin Krisko & the Broadcast, country music from Rooster Walk veterans Yarn, bluegrass from Mountain Grass Unit, and a solo performance from multi-instrumentalist Keller Williams. The day gave way to the evening with a captivating performance from the soul/rock group St. Paul & the Broken Bones. Jam scene veterans moe. hit the Lake Stage at 10pm, making it through an hour and twenty minutes of their electrifying set of crowd favorites when the second power outage of the weekend turned the entire area pitch black. What could have ended the night in an instant became just another adventure for the crowd, as the audience took over the performance with sing-alongs to keep the good times rolling until the power returned just in time for a late night set by jam group Eggy.

The fourth and final day of Rooster Walk opened with the pop-tinted folk sounds of Jules & the Agreeables, followed by concurrent sets by southern rock band Holy Roller and the unique soul/brass/americana blend of Hustle Souls. The day continued with Artist-at-Large Florencia Rusiñol leading her own band, Florencia & the Feeling, through their set of pop funk, Americana based group Clay Street Unit, energetic brass-meets-roots Sol Driven Train, bluegrass quintet Shadowgrass, and a solid set of favorites by the Rooster Walk House Band. The Lawn Stage closed with an hour and a half of face-melting virtuosity by the Issac Hadden / Kyser George led guitar extravaganza known as Guitarmageddon. The final set of the weekend is a longstanding tradition at Rooster Walk. Each year, Yarn plays a tribute set to one of their musical influences. This year’s set was two hours of music by Lynyrd Skynyrd. The crowd singing along to a ripping cover of “Free Bird” was the perfect way to close a four day party at Pop’s Farm.

Dates for Rooster Walk 17 have been announced as May 27-30, 2027, with blind faith (no lineup announcement yet) pre-sale tickets available until midnight on June 3rd. The lineup for next year will be out later this year.