Walnut
Valley Festival Makes Changes in Lineup
Winfield,
Kansas—Organizers have announced several changes in the
lineup of performers scheduled to play at the 49th Walnut Valley
Festival, which will take place September 15-19, in Winfield.
Media Director Rex Flottman: “Some
of the changes are cosmetic. Most of our hires were made in 2019, and a few
bands have changed their names in the interim. Missy Raines recently changed
her billing to Missy Raines & Allegheny. Helen Avakian & Dave Irwin are
now known as Red Door Duo.”
While most of the
performers originally scheduled to play in 2020 have agreed to play live this
year, festival officials note that a few are unable to appear for various
reasons. Marley’s Ghost, a West Coast band of veteran musicians loved by the
Winfield crowd for their ability to play a variety of styles, from roots to
rock, blues to bluegrass, gospel to country, will not return to touring out of
state until 2022. Adam Miller, an autoharpist, folksinger, and storyteller will
likewise stay close to home due to the wildfire situation near his residence in
Oregon.
The
festival had a few resources already on hand to fill the sets left empty.
Several additions to the lineup were announced in February 2021, including the
addition of the Dillards, a legendary band known to bluegrass aficionados and
newcomers alike. A second band, Pretend Friend, was added to this year’s list
of performers after winning the festival’s online Battle of the Bands.
Now
festival spokesmen have announced that several other performers have been added
to provide for the right ‘Winfield’ mix. Rachel Baiman and George Jackson are a
multi-instrumentalist old time and Americana duo from Nashville, Tennessee.
Baiman’s June 2017 album Shame was featured on NPR’s “Songs We Love” and
was nominated for Americana Album of the Year in the Independent Music Awards.
New Zealand native George Jackson spent years on the Australian festival
circuit, and since moving to Nashville has worked with bands including the
Missy Raines Trio, Front Country, and Peter Rowan.
Old
Sound is a trio based in Kansas City but with roots in Winfield, who craft
traditional and original acoustic folk music. Led by Grady Keller's
imaginative storytelling, the trio is strengthened by the exploratory bluegrass
flat-picking style of Chad Brothers and the playful doghouse groove of
Greg Herrenbruck on upright bass, both of whom also take turns leading the
group vocally. Brothers and Herrenbruck grew up in Winfield, and all three have
made appearances on campground stages at festival. Old Sound’s initial album
“Rain Follows the Plow was joined by “Deluge,” released in 2021.
They will be joined at Winfield by
Jo Ann Smith, a three-time Autoharp Champion (1999, 2013 at Winfield, and 2003
at the Mountain Laurel Autoharp Championship). She is known for her expertise
with the diatonic autoharp, and her unique, melodic and expressive playing
style has won her legions of followers on YouTube with over a million views to
date. Finally, three-time National Flatpicking Champion Allen Shadd will return
to play at both the Champions Concert (showcasing the previous year’s contest
winners) and on stage in a duo with flutist Kristen Holloway.
One final change, sadly, relates to
the recent death of legendary fiddle player Byron Berline. The Byron Berline
Band will be playing now as the Byron Berline Band & Legacy Grass. Berline,
a gifted musician, was at the very first Walnut Valley Festival in 1972 and
many thereafter, and played at various times with several of this year’s
performers, including Dan Crary, Steve Spurgin, and the Dillards. His Band is
planning to invite some special guests to join them in one of their sets, to
honor Byron.
The 49th Walnut Valley
Festival will be held September 15-19. For additional information about the
performers, contests and other festival activities, or to purchase advance
tickets, visit www.wvfest.com. Tickets may also be purchased by phone (620)
221-3250 or during business hours at the festival office at 918 Main Street,
Winfield, Kansas 67156, Monday through Thursday.
