Small town, regional acts, national appeal
“It has been a hot minute since I played Fallsburg.” –Tyler Childers
BY PHILL BARNETT
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
FALLSBURG — Tyler Childers made a surprise appearance in Fallsburg Friday, closing out the first of two nights for this year’s Fallsburg Summer Stage. Childers was an unannounced replacement for Town Mountain, acclaimed Asheville-based bluegrass group.
On Friday morning, Town Mountain announced on social media that they would be unable to play their scheduled shows this weekend “due to a positive Covid case within the band.”
Fallsburg Summer Stage organizers shared Town Mountain’s post on Facebook confirming they would no longer be headlining the first night of the two-night festival.
Childers revealed onstage that he was rehearsing with his band the Food Stamps in Huntington when he heard that Town Mountain was going to be canceling.
“We were all speculating on who might get the slot now that Town Mountain wasn’t playing it. We were like, ‘Well heck, let’s see if they’ll have us,’” Childers said. “And here we are.”
Town Mountain released their song “Down Low” featuring Childers on vocals on their album “New Freedom Blues” in 2018.
“It has been a hot minute since I played Fallsburg… My second paid gig was in Fallsburg,” Childers said, referring to the first of two times he played Hollerpalooza in the early days of his career.
Because the performance was unannounced, Childers and his band played to a much smaller audience than they are used to, a seemingly intentional choice. The intimate yet high-energy performance consisted of a collection of his greatest full-band hits and covers.
Fallsburg Summer Stage 2022, like the inaugural festival last year, took place at Creekside Cabins & RV Park right outside of Fallsburg and was a non-stop barrage of the region’s top talent.
Along with Childers, an impressive list of rising stars and local legends graced Fallsburg Summer Stage on Friday and Saturday including Laid Back Country Picker and Luna and the Mountain Jets of Fallsburg, Luke Trimble of Paintsville, Savannah Wright of the Twin Branch area of Lawrence County, John R. Miller of West Virginia as well as legendary 80s/90s country band Shenandoah.
The event, attended by hundreds, featured local craft and food vendors as well as dry dock camping for festival goers in addition to Creekside’s existing cabins and camping amenities.
“The possibility of topping this year’s show seems to be somewhat impossible to say the least.” –Fallsburg Summer Stage organizers
When reached for comment, the Fallsburg Summer Stage organizers said “We could not be happier with how it went.”
“While at times we thought it was completely falling off the rails, the end result was something you only get in the movies. The way an entire community came together to pull it off shows in the end result.”
The team, which consists of Chad Simmons, Brian Cassady and Jimmie Lockridge are already looking forward to next year. “We absolutely cannot wait to get back to work on planning our next event, even though the possibility of topping this year’s show seems to be somewhat impossible to say the least.”