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POST #11 - Festival of the Red 2019

Y’all, in the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, about 50 miles east of the Horse Capital of the Word, is what I often refer to as “my favorite place on earth.” The Red River Gorge National Geological Area. The Red River Gorge is known for many things worldwide. Native American Artifacts, Petroglyphs, and Moonshiners made this place a hotbed among researches in years passed. The Red, as it is referred to by many who call it home or frequent the area, is also a Mecca for outdoor activities. Activities such as Rock Climbing, Hiking, Backpacking, Camping, Kayaking and now Music Festivals make the Red an outdoorsman’s (and outdoorswoman’s) destination.

Yeah, y’all heard me. Soon enough the Red will be known for what I believe is one of the best music festivals in Kentucky. And y’all, with the musical talent in Kentucky, that’s saying something. This year Chase and Miranda Fallen put on the 2nd Annual Festival of the Red! The festival was a stacked 3 day event with good country music and some rock that snuck their way to be headliners. And before I catch any grief, if y’all don’t think Justin Wells and the band are a rock band, just ask him.

While Festival of the Red was primarily Kentucky artists (and rightfully so, I mean Kentucky is known for horses, bourbon, basketball and music, if you disagree you’re wrong), the Fallen’s were able to sneak some talent in from all over the country. Our good friends from the Midwest, Chris Stewart and Chad Vaughn were there, along with a our favorite Alabama boy Ritch Henderson. It’s always good to see these fellas along with General Jim and his better half Victoria from The Honky-Tonk Hotel. If y’all aren’t familiar with them, check em out and give em a follow. They do some amazing things to help the small time artists that are trying to make it in this crazy business.

The lineup in no particular order was as follows: Ed Hughes, Spooky Fox, The Handshake Deals, Waylon Nelson, Jinx Machine, Aaron Boyd, Jeremey Short, TA Clay and the Soulminers, Donovan Howard, Ritch Henderson (with special guest MarDe Brooks), Jen Richardson, Luna & The Mountain Jets, Chris & Jen Shouse, Chad Vaughn, Chris Stewart (aka King of Algeria), Charles Wesley Godwin, Eric Bolander & These Assholes, Laid Back Country Picker, Josh Nolan, Sean Whiting and the Handsome Bastards, Chelsea Nolan, Justin Wells, Don Rogers, The Local Honeys, Ethan Wayne, Tyler Smith, Seth Ferguson, and finally John Clay. Y’all, if you don’t think that is an absolutely incredible lineup then your moonshine is gonna make you go blind, your beer is hot, and your bourbon ain’t from Kentucky.

While we got there to setup camp on Thursday (in what felt like the Sahara), the music didn’t start until Friday. At 2pm on Friday Mr. Ed Hughes broke the stage in and kicked things off. This was a simple set with Ed playing and singing while sitting on a stool. Honestly, because it was the first set on a Friday, the crowd was a little scarce , but it was pretty cool just to see him give it his all anyways. Y’all, Ed is one hell of a guitar picker and is pure country when he sings.

After Ed, a new act that I hadn’t seen before graced the tie dye stage with his presence. Spooky Fox came out and just filled the holler with energy. He had one of the best stage presence acts I have ever seen. Jumpin up and down, head bangin, jumpin off the the stage and shreddin guitar. He was one of my wife’s favorite acts of the night. Not to mention he is a great and personable guy. Y’all check out ol Spooky Fox on which ever fancy device you listen to your music these days. He is an electrifying entertainer and will not disappoint in a live performance!

After Spooky Fox, The Handshake Deals took the stage. Y’all, honestly I’m not sure there is an instrument that these fellas (and lady) can’t play. Acoustic and electric guitar, drums, stand up bass, mandolin, accordion, vocals. Y’all they switched every song and absolutely killed it. If you have a stand up bass and play real countryish music I’m an instant fan. I think they have an album coming out soon and I can’t wait to review it!

When The Handshake Deals finished their set, another Eastern Kentuckian Waylon Nelson took the stage. First off, I only got to talk to ol Waylon for a few minutes, but I’m pretty sure that is his real name. Waylon Nelson. Hot damn, it just sounds cool. I mean Willie, Waylon and Jesse Colter were all pretty tight together, so having your name as Waylon Nelson, you were born to play country music. So Waylon, if you are out there, start marketing yourself more, work at it a little more and play some country music. I’m pretty sure that’s what you were born to do. But, back to the review...Waylon’s type of music is really chill. As soon as he started singing, I looked over at my wife and said “now this is some whisky drinkin music.” It’s tranquil and relaxing with great lyrics. When y’all get a chance, check out his music page and give “Colorado High” a listen! I also wouldn’t do this bit justice if i didn’t mention who he had on stage with him. The lovely Kris Preston played with Waylon and y’all she is talented. She can sing and play multiple instruments, including the mandolin and the banjo. Yes, the freaking banjo. If you can do that on stage, you are talented and can put on a good show. I always say that you never see super young people play the banjo, because it takes a lifetime to master. Kris however, is young and killed it. She’s definitely a great musician!

After Waylon, a lineup change gave the Alabama boy Ritch Henderson a chance to play 2 sets. Y’all, I saw Ritch at Tumbleweed, I’ve got his EP and I’ve gotten to know the guy well. He served our country in the Marines and he is a heck of a guy. When it comes to his singing and songwriting, he is next to none. If y’all dig a down home fella that has a passion for music and is giving it literally everything he has, then listen to Ritch Henderson. “The Story So Far,” “We All Fall Sometimes,” and “Lonesome, All I’ll Ever Be” are masterpieces that can stand up to the likes of Jason Isbell, Arlo McKinley and so on.

Unfortunately, due to some unforeseen circumstances, my night ended there. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get to see the other sets, especially Aaron Boyd and Jeremy Short, but hey in the words of the late great John R. Cash, “I guess things just happen that way.”

Saturday came early with a 9am set from Livingston Kentucky’s Donovan Howard. Y’all, as unfortunate as it is, someone has to start the day off and Donovan pulled that straw. There were “maybe” 20 people out there watching, which is a shame, because Donovan is stone cold country. The guy was reppin’ a “Death Before Pop Country” shirt and playing a vintage guitar. It was acoustic set with just him singing and it was a great way to start the morning. The fella has a traditional sound and will throw a little new age flare in there every once in awhile. Donovan writes about things he knows and he does it well.

When the big hand struck 10am, Ritch Henderson got another chance to grace us with his presence. Unfortunately Ritch’s voice wasn’t allowing him to sing a lot. I blamed it on the eastern Kentucky allergies. Ritch however, told us that the real reason is because he played back to back shows and sang for an ungodly amount of time in 3 different venues over just a few days. So, Ritch sang one song before giving the Stage to MarDe Brooks. MarDe is another Bama boy who I had recently met and y’all he’s talented. MarDe is one of those fellas that helps to “make country music sad again” and he likes to write songs about whisky. Sad country music and whisky, the fella has my vote. MarDe Brooks 2020. Y’all, MarDe also covered “Hurricane” (no not the Luke Combs one...) and freaking knocked it over the hills. I’ve been debating recently if I liked The Band of Heathens’ version or Shane Smith and the Saints’ version better. I was having trouble deciding and then this guy threw his hat into the ring and I’m at a stalemate. MarDe, if you are reading this, RECORD HURRICANE AND RELEASE IT!

When Ritch and MarDe finished up their set, Ed Hughes took the stage again, but this time he was accompanied by Jen Richardson. I’ve already talked to y’all about Ed, but y’all Jen can sing! She’s extremely talented and her voice is like that of yesteryear women singers. She can stand with Trisha and the best of em! A cool little moment was when Jen and Ed had some “special guests” on the stage to sing Ed’s son’s favorite tune. Y’all can catch a glimpse of that below:

After Ed and Jen were finished filling the holler with good country music, another great Kentucky band took the stage. Luna & the Mountain Jets laid out a great set full of mountain music. I tell y’all, Dave and Teresa Prince put together one heck of a band and can jam out like no other. Y’all just ask ol Timmy Tyler Childers and Kid Rock if you don’t believe me. And if y’all don’t know what I’m talking about somewhere on the internet is a video of Tyler, Teresa, Dave and some other great musicians singing with a smiling Kid Rock runnin around filming it. Without me getting too long winded, I’ll just tell y’all to check them out when you get the chance, you can thank me later!

After Luna & The Mountain Jets, the heat got to me and I had to take a little break in the AC. So, I’ll talk about the sets I caught and then I’ve got a special surprise for y’all. With that being said, the next 2 sets I did see were Chad Vaughn and Chris Stewart. For those of y’all that aren’t familiar with these two, they are from the Midwest. If I remember correctly, both from KC, just from different states...Yeah KC works that way. It’s weird. Actually I think there are 2 Kansas City’s, but whatever, we are hear to talk about music, not geography. Anyways, despite attending 2 years of Tumbleweed right in their backyard, this was the first time I was able to catch a live set of either. Chad went on first and y’all I was impressed. Chad isn’t a hard core honky-tonk type musician. In the words of the lady standing by me, Chad is a technical singer. He hits all of those notes perfectly and knocks it out of the park every time. He is also a great song writer! You combine a mellow and technical voice with a great song writing ability and you’ve got one heck of an artist right there. But y’all Chad doesn’t stop there. He is also one heck of a picker. I’ve only been playing guitar for a few months and I’ve been bad at practicing. But seeing Chad Vaughn, Ed Hughes, Josh Nolan, Dave Prince, Donovan Howard and Jermey Short out there, y’all i was inspired again! Y’all look this fella up on the YouTube and follow his music page.

Chris took the stage right after Chad and y’all, Chris is another fella making country music sad again. Now, I know I say that a lot, but its true. I’d be willin to bet that this guy can play more sad songs than David Allan Coe. While Chris doesn’t move around and put on a show, he doesn’t need to. His voice and song writing fills the presence of the stage. He draws you in to listen to his songs and to feel the emotion! It’s also worth mentioning that he has what may be the best beard in the business. And apparently there are rumors of him becoming a leader in Algeria or something? Y’all check him out before he head overseas, or wherever the heck Algeria is!

The next set that I caught was Laid Back Country Picker. If y’all ain’t sure who ol Laid Back is, then crawl out from under your rock and give him a google. Laid Back is actually Dave Prince as the frontman, with Teresa Prince, as Honey. Y’all this set was awesome! Laid Back just about couldn’t keep Honey contained as she was so excited to perform at Festival of the Red. Laid Back may also be one of the best guitar players I have ever seen and can put on quite the show. His crowd engagement, stage presence, antics, song writing and vocals are Kentucky gold. If you’re from Eastern Kentucky like myself, Magoffin County Cadillac is sure to make you chuckle and remind you of times when you would drop from 70 to 55 in about 0.3 seconds. Y’all just do me a favor and check our ol Laid Back Country Picker. You might even be able to catch him on the party line now and then.

After Laid Back, the next set that I watched was Josh Nolan. But, as I hinted at previously, I’ve got a surprise for ya on this one. I collaborated with a “contributing writer”, yeah that sounds fancy. Anyways, her coverage of Josh was top notch, so I’ll just post her notes on him in just a minute.

I capped my “official” night off with Chelsea Nolan followed by Justin Wells. Chelsea took the stage about dark and led us down a rockin’ path to end the night. Chelsea played some off of her album and some new ones. With live versions of “Rock Bottom,” “Bootlegger,” and “Yard Sale Yolanda,” Chelsea kept us entertained! When she writes songs, she tells stories from experiences. Just like any great song writer, especially from Kentucky, that is what makes her special. When you have Chelsea’s powerful and energetic voice on stage with Josh Nolan, John Clay, AND Jeremey Short, you know you’re in for a treat. Her set was nothing short of flawless. From her down home humble attitude, her story telling, vocals, instruments, y’all it was a good time. If I had to guess, it was also special for Chelsea to play in front of a hometown crowd and get a response like that. Her and the band gave it their all, and you could tell!

My “official” night ended with the headliner; another Kentucky product in Justin Wells. While up until now, Festival of the Red was stone cold country, somehow when Justin and the fellas took the stage, a rock band was suddenly headlining a country music festival in the middle of the Eastern Kentucky Mountains! After coming off of a hiatus to rest up his vocal chords from a scary situation, Justin ended the night with a bang! Along with some hits off of his previous album, Justin played a couple of new ones in “Ruby” and “Temporary Blues” This fella is another song writer that writes about experiences and what he knows. Justin’s lyrics tell a story and put you in the right in the middle of a scene. Justin’s passion shows through in his lyrics and in his performance. If y’all don’t believe me, just take a look at thie picture below. If that ain’t a passionate performance then I don’t know what is. Especially for a guy that recently had his vocal chords on the verge of hemorrhaging! I can’t stress enough how much y’all need to catch Justin. I mean heck, I’ve seen him 3 times this year. I also cannot wait for his new record “The United State” to come out. All I know is what Justin told the crowd. It will come out when it comes out.

Y’all unfortunately I had “responsibilities” back in the city and didn’t catch any other sets. It was nothing against any artist, because everyone there was extremely talented! However, I do have a write up from our new contributing writer, Amy Fletcher! Amy knows her way around the music scene and I am honored to have her write with me. And, shameless plug, her daughter Hannah Fletcher is also an artist so y’all be sure to look her up! Anyways, I’ll quit ramblin’ and let y’all hear what Amy had to say about a few of the sets that I didn’t catch:

Charles Wesley Godwin. This guy put on an amazing set. His music is a wonderful representation of Appalachia. His voice resonates a beautiful vibrato with lyrics so simple and well put together. His song "Coal Country" strikes a sympathetic nerve with his description of the struggle of the fading world of the coal miner.

There aren't enough adjectives to describe Josh Nolan. His newly released Album, "Kind Heart To Follow" is one that cannot be missed. Not only is Josh a lyrical genius, he is an arrangement genius. He was joined onstage by a band who worked together like a well-oiled machine. His song, "East Kentucky Skyline" allows an opportunity for listeners to put themselves in a relatable situation of the colors peeking over the trees during the sunset. One can tell that Josh disappears in his mind during his performance, giving so much emotion it's as if one can reach out and feel it. This album is a must on the playlist.

Sean Whiting.....there are no words. Joined on stage by Laid Back Country Picker, Sean put on a performance that cannot he forgotten. His talent of raw southern rock-and-roll put him in a special class. His lead guitarist (I can't remember his name) made his guitar speak. For 20 years old that person was something special. Sean celebrated his birthday Saturday but the audience were the ones who walked away with the prize. His performance was one to stick with you.

The only show I caught Sunday was John Clay. John and his guitar is all that was needed. His audience consisted of about 6 people as his set was the last of the day. The rain had set in and drove many home earlier in the day. John has an uncanny ability to tell a story through his music and put the audience in the specific location. He finished out Festival of the Red and those who rode out the weather were given the treat of witnessing his performance.

Earlier, I kept saying my “official set” and other mysterious things. That was because I stuck around until a little after 2am on Saturday Night/Sunday Morning for a Song Swap around the campfire. Ritch Henderson, Chad Vaughn, Chris Stewart, Jermey Short, Sean Whiting, Josh Nolan, MarDe Brooks, and Hannah Fletcher stood around a campfire with 25 or so people and just played guitar, sang and just had a good ol time. There were a ton of originals mixed in along with Outfit, Can’t Ya See, In Color, Mama Tried, Queen of My Double Wide Trailer, Seven Spanish Angels, Ring of Fire, and a slew of other great tunes. Ya’ll it was a crazy surreal time as it was my first campfire song swap surrounded by that kind of talent. There was even a freaking tetradactyl screeching occasionally! Yeah, you read that right. Weird things happen in the mountains at night. If you don’t believe me ask Amy and Hannah. They will back me up on that!

Alright y’all, that’s my write up on Festival of the Red. Make sure to check out the photo album on the facebook page! Share and give us a like so others can discover the greatness that is Festival of the Red and these artists that deserve WAY more recognition than they get!

A special thanks to Chase and Miranda Fallen for putting on a great festival and letting me cover it. To Amy for teaming up with me and writing part of this! And to my wife, Lauren, for taking notes, editing this post, and enduring the heat with me! Until next time...

-Cheers, N.

*This is an independent review. The Hillbilly Hippie Music Review was not compensated for this review.

*The opinions expressed are solely that of the author(s).

*The artwork shown is not ours, nor do we claim it in any way. Rights belong to Festival of te Red.