Awards
2020
‘Best Festival Overall’ — Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Best of the Blue Ridge, January 2020
‘Best Kid-Friendly Festival’ — Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Best of the Blue Ridge, January 2020
‘Best Non-Food Festivals in Southwest Virginia’ — Virginia Living, 2020
2019
‘Best Music Festival’ — Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Best of the Blue Ridge, January 2019
‘Rowdiest Festival’ — Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Best of the Blue Ridge, January 2019
‘Best Family-Friendly Festival’ (Runner-Up) — Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Best of the Blue Ridge, January 2019
‘Weirdest Festival’ (Runner-Up) — Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Best of the Blue Ridge, January 2019
2018
‘Best Music Festival’ — Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Best of the Blue Ridge, January 2018
‘Best Kid-Friendly Destination’ — Blue Ridge Outdoors’ Best of the Blue Ridge, January 2018
‘Best Music Festival’ — Blue Ridge Country’s Best of the Mountains, Spring 2018
‘Best Place to Hear Mountain Music’ — Blue Ridge Country’s Best of the Mountains, Spring 2018
‘Best Quirky Festival’ (Runner-Up) — Blue Ridge Country’s Best of the Mountains, Spring 2018
2017
‘Best Southern Event’ — USA Today, 2017
‘Best Music Festival’ — The Roanoke Times, 2017
‘Best Outdoor Music Festival’ — Blue Ridge Outdoors, 2017
2016
‘One of the Reasons to Celebrate America’ —TIME Magazine, 2016
‘Hottest Music Festival of the Year’ — FOX News, 2016
2015
‘Best Summer Festival of Southern Virginia’ — Forbes Travel Guide, 2015
‘Best Music Festival’ — The Roanoke Times, 2015
2014
‘The 20 Can’t-Miss Summer Festivals of 2014’ — Smithsonian, 2014
‘Best of Virginia 2014: Sweet Sounds of Summer’ — Virginia Living, 2014
‘The Eight Can’t-Miss Festivals’ — OutsideOnline.com
2013
‘Art of the Festival’ — National Endowment for the Arts’ National Council for the Arts, 2013
‘Best Event’ — Blue Ridge Travel Association
Accolades
“Nestled high up in the mountains of central Virginia, FloydFest is a festival that has truly mastered the art of paying homage to the region’s musical heritage while still welcoming the eclectic new-age sounds of today. The 2018 lineup is already looking stellar, with Foster The People, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, and Langhorne Slim, to name a few.” - Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine
“No matter their age, kids will love exploring, creating, and imagining in the Children’s Universe and Little Planets play area at FloydFest. Bring some instruments and costumes, too, to participate in the annual Peace Parade.” - Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine
“In Virginia, FloydFest — a festival that spreads across nine stages in the Blue Ridge Mountains — echoes Bonnaroo’s care for the destination, and keeps their carbon emissions in check by relying on permanent timber-frame stages instead of temporary structures that arrive and depart via pollution-pumping trucks. ‘We have to be stewards of the land we’re given,’ says Sam Calhoun, FloydFest’s Marketing and Publicity Director. ‘And we have to try to impart that to our patrons.’
“… FloydFest donates thousands of pounds of leftbehind camping gear to organizations benefiting the homeless, and an increased presence of various nonprofit organizations looking to connect with festival attendees on-site reflects the average festivalgoer’s growing interest in activism when they’re taking a break from the music.” - MTV News
“Across-the-Way and FloydFest are absolutely great to work with, fully communicable, and eager to maximize the opportunities of the partnership. Equally important, they have a solid infrastructure and great support staff. We look forward to working together for years to come.” - Chris Myers, Lagunitas Brewing Co.
“While Osprey Packs sponsors and is involved in many music festivals our experience as sponsors of FloydFest is by far the most rewarding to the company on so many various levels. We are impressed as a sponsor with the sense of community and family feel of the festival as well as how the festival organizers strive to accommodate our needs while we connect with a very important demographic in an exciting, fun filled event.” - Sam Mix, Outdoor Marketing Manager, Osprey Packs, Inc.
“Virginia is for music lovers!” - Mark Warner, Virginia Senator and FloydFest Patron
“By far the best. Thanks for what you do.” - Ron Barker, vendor
“I hope you guys know how many folks out there just about blow a gasket when we hear plans for the next FloydFest. There is a frenzy of positive electricity out there as friends begin to make plans in the final days of autumn for the next FloydFest nestled in the middle of summer. We are relative newbies — this being our fourth FloydFest, but we love that it is not static but constant evolution of a wonderful concept that just gets better and better — the lineup ends up being the icing! We come with friends, our adult children, their friends ... it’s just a little slice of heaven on earth.” - Denise Schwandt, FloydFest patron
“The organizers of FloydFest truly made their best effort to give festival-goers a weekend to remember — from a wonderfully varied lineup featuring local favorites and national icons, to special activities for all ages and interests. Each of the five days that weekend was a festival in itself, and with such a strong history, fans can expect to be visiting Floyd, Virginia for many more years to come.” - JamBase.com
“Every festival has its fans, but those who return year after year to this 80-acre parcel of land know how special it, and the legions of staffers and volunteers, is and it’s their fervent loyalty that will make this a July tradition for years to come.” - ConsiderCollective.com
“I left a little piece of my heart up there on that mountaintop, so that when next year rolls around and I return to FloydFest, I’ll be coming home.” - AppalachianJamwich.com
“I still just have to write what an especially rare and inspiring environment you have created at FloydFest.” - Ben Harper, 2014 performer
“I’d never been before, but it was an absolute BLAST and we are already planning for next year. Huge shout out to the staff and volunteers ... I have worked in event planning, and you guys have it down to a science! Incredibly enjoyable.” - Sarah Reedy, FloydFest patron
“I was lucky enough to experience my first FloydFest as an OTR artist, and it was an absolutely amazing experience. Not only were all our basic needs well taken care of, but there were so many nice details that were not strictly necessary but just made the whole experience so enjoyable for everyone — patrons, artists — and staff, too, I hope.” - Bruce Elliott, performer