Name of band?  Old Sledge

Where are you based?  Floyd and Eggleston, Virginia

Where do you typically tour or perform?  Mostly on the East Coast, sometimes out West and Europe; next year we’re touring Canada, we get around.

What’s your most recent CD? Our first EP, it’s great, buy it, listen to it, love it.

Who are your musical influences? Lots of old timers, mostly from the 1930s. Most of our favorite musicians are dead.

Who are some musical acts that sound like you? Mmmm, we hate this question, how about Old Crow Medecine Show or Uncle Earl? Nah, you figure it out.

Why should I come see you at the festival?  Because you will be overcome by the urge to tap your feet if not downright dance, but please resist the urge to rush the stage, we have body guards, very tough large body guards.

When will you be playing? Saturday at 3:15-4 p.m. and Sunday at 12:45-1:15 p.m. & 3:15-3:45 p.m. in the Dance Tent. Y’all come.

What are you most looking forward to about playing at FloydFest?  Our fiddle player recently moved to Floyd! We prefer playing locally because it gives us a break from being on the road. We love playing outside at festivals and we dig what Floydfest is all about.

Name? The Sauerkraut Band

Where are you based? We come from all around the New River Valley. Several of us come from Blacksburg and Christiansburg; however, we have members in Floyd County to the south; Galax to the west; Newport, New Castle, Simmonsville, and Bluefield to the north; and Roanoke to the east.

Where do you typically tour or perform? We have been performing for the Mountain Lake (Giles County) Oktoberfest for 21 years but have performed for festivals and events all around the New River Valley. We have done other festivals in Richmond, Winchester, Roanoke, Wytheville, and several in North Carolina.

What’s your most recent CD? Our CD - The Sauerkraut Band Live at Mountain Lake - has been around for a number of years, and we are planning another recording later this year.

Who are your musical influences? We are influenced by any number of German beer tent bands that are pretty much unknown here in the States, but probably Dr. Fritz Guckenheimer with the Guckenheimer Sour Kraut Band is our main inspiration. He recorded three brilliant albums of German music in the 1950s, which are treasured possessions of the band.

Who are some musical acts that sound like you? There is no one that sounds like us in this part of the country.

Why should I come see you at the festival? You should come and see The Sauerkraut Band to experience the real spirit of the German beer tent and Oktoberfest. This is fun music that is well-suited for dancing, drinking, and listening. It is hard to sit still during this music, and it is hard to not like it. The biggest reason to see us is that we have fun when we perform, and we find that this has a habit of being contagious with the right crowd! So come have fun with us!

When will you be playing? We will be performing on Saturday, July 24, from 12:30 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on the Garden Stage.

What are you most looking forward to about playing at FloydFest? We have some Floyd folk in our band, so this will be especially exciting for them. But more importantly, we appreciate the festival atmosphere and embrace the energy that is ever-present. We look forward to ride the wave of energy from the audience and look forward to share our music with people who may not have seen us before. We feel that once they hear us, they will be fans!

Name? The Steel Wheels

Where are you based? Harrisonburg, Virginia

Where do you typically tour or perform? Predominately on the East Coast and Midwest but have toured anywhere from Alaska to Ireland.

What’s your most recent CD? Red Wing

Who are your musical influences? Townes Van Zandt, Garcia/Grisman, Tom Waits, old-time music, etc. We listen and learn from just about anything.

Who are some musical acts that sound like you? A recent review described the sound like this: ”If one must compare The Steel Wheels to another act in order to get an idea of their music, imagine a blend of the passion of The Avett Brothers, the instrumentals of Old Crow Medicine Show, and then sprinkle in the backwoods feel of The Legendary Shack Shakers.”

Why should I come see you at the festival? You will see great original music with some four-part harmony and grit and soul thrown in for good measure that really connects with the fans.

When will you be playing? Saturday at 2:45 p.m. (VIP Stage) and Sunday at 2:30 p.m. (Garden Stage).

What are you most looking forward to about playing at FloydFest? Being able to hang out and perform with our friends and fans, both old and new, at one of the most respected festivals on the east coast.

Name of band? My Radio

Where are you based? Roanoke

Where do you typically tour or perform? Mostly East Coast at this point. Usually Chapel Hill or Raleigh, N.C., Roanoke, D.C., NYC, and Boston.

What’s your most recent CD? Give Us The Sun, which we put out in October of 2009. We have a new EP that we will release at our Sept. 10 Kirk Avenue Music Hall (Roanoke) show.

Who are your musical influences? Tom Petty, The Beatles, U2, The Killers, and ELO to name a few.

Who are some musical acts that sound like you? The Killers and maybe a mix of Coldplay, Travis, and Muse.

Why should I come see you at the festival? There’s a lot of great, diverse music at FloydFest. As far as I know we are the only pop, indie-rock outfit playing. FloydFest has been a great venue for us and we always bring our A game.We haven’t played since our late May/early June tour so we are dying to get back on stage.

When will you be playing? 4 p.m. on the Main Stage on Thursday the 22nd.

What are you most looking forward to about playing at FloydFest? Besides playing on the Main Stage and kicking off the festival? Hmmmm … I would have to say camping out, the late night fire pit scene, the Dance Tent and also the Beer Garden. FloydFest truly is the best music festival out there.

Name? Dot Dot Dash

Where are you based? Southwest Virginia and North Carolina

Where do you typically tour or perform? Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and West Virginia.

What’s your most recent CD? Dot Dot Dash 2

Who are your musical influences? David Grisman, Django Rheinhardt, Larry Unger, Stephan Grapelli, Sam Bush, Leo Kottke, Keith Murphy, Doc Watson, Bela Fleck, Gillian Welch, Eileen Ivers, Natalie McMaster, Baka Beyond, Mark O’Connor, Richard Thompson, Solas, Lucinda Williams

Who are some musical acts that sound like you? Hmmmmm …. The Guy’s All-Star Shoe Band, Wild Asparagus, Hot Swing Trio

Why should I come see you at the festival? We will be playing Friday night in the Dance Tent with the exceptional dance caller Shawn Brenneman. We are a high-energy dance band, and Shawn is such a good caller that anyone can be dancing within minutes, whether they are a beginner or an experienced dancer. And, this will be a good way to work off some of the festival food and beer you consumed during the day.

When will you be playing? Friday night, Dance Tent, 10-11:30 p.m.

What are you most looking forward to about playing at FloydFest? We have played a few other festivals already this year, and this will be our first appearance at FloydFest. So, we are excited.

Name? Miss Tess

Where are you based? Brooklyn, New York

Where do you typically tour or perform? The eastern half of the U.S.

What’s your most recent CD? Darling, oh Darling

Who are your musical influences? Tom Waits, Billie Holiday, Bob Wills

Who are some musical acts that sound like you? No one I can think of right now.

Why should I come see you at the festival? Because it’s gonna be the best way to start your day.

When will you be playing? Friday at 12 p.m., Saturday at 11:30 a.m. (both performances at the Dance Tent)

What are you most looking forward to about playing at FloydFest? Jamming with other musicians and hopefully meeting Levon Helm.