An avid concert attendee with her husband for over three decades, business owner Amanda Kidd seized the opportunity to build up Fredericksburg’s local music scene when it came knocking at her door at The Pink Sloth store.
Kidd struck up a conversation with a former employee at Strangeways Brewery, and the two “got to talking about how Fredericksburg needed a music event in town and she mentioned that Strangeways had a great location for it,” she recalled.
The former employee noted that the brewery’s Fredericksburg location was looking to put on more events and put Kidd in contact with a local band called WOOKIE FLiP that shared their vision.
“And the rest is history!” Kidd exclaimed.
Once Strangeways Brewery, Kidd and WOOKIE FLiP got together, they realized how easy it would be to set up a music festival if they all worked together to make it happen. The idea of Strangefest Music & Arts Festival was quickly born and announced in May 2023.
“Everyone that lives in the surrounding area tends to go to Richmond, Virginia Beach, or somewhere in Northern Virginia for concerts and music festivals,” Kidd said.
“But downtown Fredericksburg is kind of like the center of the music and arts scene for the area without a lot of room for any events of a larger scale. It’s so important for Fredericksburg to have its own event to stand on and represent where some of us came from, or even came to in order to build a life.”
Strangefest Music & Arts Festival 2024 Poster (Graphic from Strangefest Instagram page.)
The Strangefest Music & Arts Festival will be held on Saturday from 2-11 p.m. at Strangeways Brewery (350 Lansdowne Road, Fredericksburg, VA 22408). The event is for all ages and tickets are $20. Children ages 12 and under get in free.
The following bands and artists are scheduled to perform:
- Dan & The Fam (funk/jam)
- JBB (southern jam)
- Mark Volten & The Scenic Roots (reggae/rock fusion)
- Lucid Evolution (jamtonica/prog-fusion)
- Grilled Lincoln’s (jam/rock)
- Greasy Bastards (jam/psychedelic rock)
- Colebrooke (southern/psychedelic rock)
- WOOKIE FLiP (EDM/jam)
Aerial Contortionist performer Tasha Stonelake from Shadowcirque. (Photo from Strangefest’s Instagram Page.)
In addition to live performances from various musicians, there will be:
- Live on-site tattooing by Black Horse Tattoo Studio
- Flow performers such as aerial contortionists and LED performers with hoops and fans
- Fire dancers and fire eaters
- Live art displays including painting, sculpting, and digital displays
- Live glass blowers
- Face paintings
- On-site tarot card readings
- On-site podcasts
- 40+ vendors with homemade crafts and other items
- Food trucks
The Strangefest Music & Arts Festival is family-friendly and pet-friendly. Parking available at the Fredericksburg Fairgrounds with a free shuttle to and from the event site.
“It’s so important for a town to have something to be proud of and I think the Strangefest Music & Arts Festival can help Fredericksburg get a good rep,” Kidd said. “It can tell other people not from this area that we’re strange, but we are awesome.”
