LOCKN’ Continues H.O.R.D.E. Festival Traditions

H.O.R.D.E. Festival was founded on the idea of bringing open-minded touring artists to a new community through live music. As co-founder John Popper once said, “There are 29 bands on this tour and all of them can really play their hearts out.” HORDE took the idea of the concert experience to the next level, a traveling tour featuring bands and artists that prioritized compelling live and often improvised performances. Several of these bands thrived by building loyal audiences through touring, regardless of industry acceptance or airplay. Many of these artists had yet to break out in the mainstream, yet this tour gave these bands the opportunity to showcase their talents to a larger audience that all enjoyed the same kind of music. Here are some awesome HORDE moments that we were able to dig up.

Like LOCKN’, H.O.R.D.E. brought together a group of musicians with a similar approach to playing live, which brought fans of many different bands to one place, and thus, a scene was created around the developing jam band genre. The timing was in their favor, as the heavyweights of the scene, the Grateful Dead, disbanded following the death of Jerry Garcia in 1995 and new bands were sought to follow. Since H.O.R.D.E. began, the jam scene grew, and in 2013, a second festival was born revolving around similar principles that H.O.R.D.E. encouraged. Dave Frey, who founded and co-owned H.O.R.D.E. with his client and partner John Popper, teamed up with Peter Shapiro to create an annual music festival in central Virginia that carries some of the core values of H.O.R.D.E.

In keeping with the H.O.R.D.E. vibe, LOCKN’ was founded on a few basic principles and unparalleled artist collaborations. LOCKN’ brings these principles, and more! H.O.R.D.E. was no stranger to collaborations, as the Allman Brothers Band invited John Popper and Jimmy Herring for a tasty “Statesboro Blues” in 1993. The Black Crowes took notes, and invited John Popper and Wilco up for a great version of Little Feat’s “Willin.” At LOCKN’, we’re also taking collaborations to the next level, where unlikely pairings have teamed up for magical moments on stage. Here are some of our favorites from over the years:

LOCKN’ 2018 will feature H.O.R.D.E. alumni Sheryl Crow, Blues Traveler, Agents of Good Roots, and Widespread Panic. Widespread Panic helped start H.O.R.D.E. and were an integral part of the epic 1992 tour that also featured Aquarium Rescue Unit, Bela Fleck and The Flecktones, Blues Traveler, Phish, and The Spin Doctors. In 2018, Widespread Panic will have performed at 5 of 6 LOCKN’ Festivals. Sheryl Crow has made an international name for herself since H.O.R.D.E. with massive mainstream hits including “Soak Up The Sun” and “All I Wanna Do,” the latter which was released in 1994, around the same time as H.O.R.D.E. was in full swing. We have no doubt that Crow will fit right into the LOCKN’ family.

Dead & Company features seasoned veterans of the music world with Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann, who have teamed up with a younger generation of players in John Mayer, Oteil Burbridge (of Aquarium Rescue Unit and The Allman Brothers Band), and Jeff Chimenti. Dead & Company will make their LOCKN’ debut this year and we are more than excited to see what they have in store. We know one thing, they will fit right into the LOCKN’ family and spirit, a spirit that continues in part from the H.O.R.D.E. vibe. Here’s to these visionary events and all they have done for the music community!