PHOTO BY Brendan McLean
Longtime enthusiasts of the band Scythian may recall when they were an unnamed trio of street musicians busking on the steps of the Torpedo Factory. Even as street performers in 2002, they had a loyal Alexandria fanbase.
Though Scythian has since made a name for themselves in the music world with their technically brilliant high-energy Celtic roots music, they still feel a close connection to Alexandria and the fans who followed them around the region — including a five-year stint on Thursday nights at Fado Irish Pub in Chinatown. It’s these supporters who inspired the band to launch their own music festival.
Now in its fifth year, Appaloosa Roots Music Festival (Aug. 30 to Sept. 1 in Front Royal) is three full days of music on five stages with more than 25 acts covering Americana, blue-grass, Celtic and Indie folk, along with a little Saturday night funk and soul.
FROM BUSKING TO PARTY BAND
Before Scythian became a festival host and a big name on the tour circuit, they were jelling as a band in the basement of a house off Russell Road. Danylo (Dan) Fedoryka said that back in 2004, he and his brother Alexander (Alex) and their roommate Josef (Joey) Crosby just played wherever and whenever they could. With the addition of the Fedoryka boys’ sister Larissa, the quartet began defining their Celtic-American sound and charismatic stage presence, which would electrify audiences with their signature crowd-stomping energy.
“Their musicality was just amazing,” remembered Kenyon Larsen. As one of the band’s first paid gigs, Kenyon and his wife Cynthia hired the band to play at a party for her dad, a Vietnam War Veteran in town for Rolling Thunder. Scythian kept the mixed crowd in the Larsen’s West Howell Avenue backyard dancing for hours — vets in their seventies, neighbors, friends, family and kids.
Fans talk about other nights, too. There were band-hosted house parties on South Royal Street, mostly off-season get-togethers when they weren’t playing the summer festival route. Lasting for more than a decade, Dan remembered, “It was a sort of hotspot in Alexandria. If there was a snowstorm, all of a sudden we’d hear a knock. They would keep coming for hours. The house would fill up with people looking for great music.”
Andrea Scott, who moved to north Old Town six years ago, described these epic invite-the-neighbors jam sessions as the kind of party where everyone felt like they were with the band. She said the party often spilled outside, gathering around a fire pit on cold winter nights.
Today, Scythian is a foursome with Ethan Dean and Fritz McGirr joining Alex and Dan. Fedoryka sister Larissa announced this past February that she would be leaving after playing cello/bass for more than a decade with Scythian. Nowadays, Alex’s wife Catie Parker Fedoryka is known to jump up on stage now and then. Co-founder Joey is no longer with the band.
A (REALLY BIG) BACKYARD PARTY
Scythian’s still got the juice and draws big crowds. Of course, to host a party these days, the band needs a much bigger backyard. Dan and Alex found that big backyard, producing a music festival nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains, an easy 90-minute drive from Alexandria.
PHOTO BY Brendan McLean
For Dan, the Appaloosa festival isn’t that different from the house parties on South Royal Street. “We’re still just a bunch of friends trying to put on a great party,” he said. To create Scythian’s I’m-with-the-band vibe at a three-day festival, Dan and Alex line-up top-notch musicians with a knack for cultivating intimacy with the audience. Acts range from Grammy Award winners to up-and-coming musicians.
Headliners for 2019’s festival are Scythian, of course, along with Dustbowl Revival and Grammy Award winner Steep Canyon Rangers. Over 20 other musical acts will perform including the United States Army Field Band Six-String Soldiers, DC’s funk and soul band Aztec Sun, Humming House, YARN, and the award-winning all-sister Celtic band from Donegal, Ireland, Screaming Orphans.
Local food, crafts vendors and a beer and wine garden stretch between Appaloosa’s five stages. In addition to the Mainstage and Salon Stage events, a new fan favorite is the Welcome Stage, show-casing up-and-coming musical talent, many of whom are youth musicians or aspiring performers.
Predictably, sticky cotton candy-handed guests tend to gather at the Kids Zone for the face-paint-ing, bounce house, and a dedicated music stage showcasing live music from the likes of Scythian’s Cake for Dinner album and others. Guests of all ages get up-close-and-personal with performers at the free workshops, made possible by the Appaloosa Blue Ridge Arts Foundation. VIP ticket holders can access the over-21 lounge.
Longtime Scythian fan Andrea says the Appaloosa festival delivers. “You feel really special — like you’re a part of something. There’s this excitement to dance.” She plans to return to Appaloosa for her fourth year, looking forward to that feeling of be-ing totally present, dancing under the stars in the middle of the fields in the mountains of Virginia.
MUSICAL LEGACY
Appaloosa is a family affair with many of the eight other Fedoryka siblings and their spouses contributing to the effort — along with the next generation of 30 or more cousins, at least those who are big enough to fit Festival Volunteer tees.
Sadly, one family member has never attended the festival. “Appaloosa is basically a tribute to my mother,” explained Dan.
Irene Fedoryka passed away in 2010. She earned a bachelor’s degree in piano performance from the Julliard School of Music in New York and homeschooled all 10 children, training them in classical music. Thinking of her, Dan said, “We want her spirit to be manifest in the hospitality, in the family-friendliness, and in the musical excellence.”
Dan is thankful for his mother’s strong influence which taught the family to see music as God’s gift to the world. “Music can reach people at their deepest level,” Dan remembers his mother telling him. “It’s a gift meant to be passed on. Its beauty that can touch you and heal you.”
The band’s name Scythian reflects this legacy. Dan and Alex relate how their then 92-year-old grandmother told stories of Scythians — nomadic people of Ukraine’s Black Sea region. She says her small village anticipated the arrival of a traveling minstrel every six months or so, caseless fiddle strapped to his back. For those magical hours while the fiddler played, the village’s worries vanished.
This tale gave Dan and Alex not only a name for their band but the rationale for pursuing folk mu-sic, one which embraces their mother’s conviction that music is an act of service. The band stays true to these folk roots, applying their classical training and impeccable musicality to seamlessly weave together influences of Celtic, bluegrass, Americana, and world music.
The result, Dan hopes, gives the audience an escape from life’s burdens. “If you come to Appaloosa, we want you to walk away feeling light-er and happier.”
BEYOND OLD TOWN
Photos by Danielle Lussier
Success has not caused the band to forget Alexandria. “We can truly say that our band’s heart lies there. There isn’t a time that I go back to Old Town where I don’t think back with fondness on those early days,” Dan said. “In Alexandria, we encountered people who were interested in live music and in ethnic music,” he continued.“
They encouraged us to keep moving forward. This grassroots support taught us that it is our audience, not record labels or radio stations, that should inform our sound — and so the audience has become a cornerstone of every show.”
Now, everyone’s invited to the party. The 2019 Appaloosa Festival in Front Royal is an easy day trip for Alexandria fans, yet still far enough away to feel away from it all.
One-day passes start at $55. Kids under 12 are free. Check ticket and accommodation options in advance by clicking on the dropdown “tickets” menu at appaloosafestival.com.
Guests wishing to explore the region are just a few miles from the entrance to Skyline Drive, the George Washington National Forest, and canoeing trips on the Shenandoah River.
TOUR WITH SCYTHIAN
If those South Royal Street house parties sound like your thing, why not go on the road with the band—to Ireland of course!
Experience Scythian’s Celtic tunes in the Old Country as a band groupie. Rumor has it this 8-night itinerary includes a few concerts, including a private Scythian concert during a two-night stay at the five-star 16th-century Dromoland Castle.
A Castle Tours itinerary leaves November 2. For more information or to watch for other opportunities to travel with Scythian, check scythianmusic.com/book-trip.
