Saturday Sunshine: Lockn’ Festival 2017 Day Three – Photos & Recap
By Jeffrey Greenblatt Aug 27, 2017 • 9:19 am PDT
The 2017 Lockn’ Festival rolled on Saturday at Infinity Downs Farm in Arrington, Virginia. The jam-packed day got started with an early-risers 10:00 a.m. set by pianist Holly Bowling at the Terrapin Porch and stretched late into the night with sets from both the Dirty Dozen Brass Band and Joe Russo’s Almost Dead, which featured a guest spot by Bob Weir. In between, the day saw a diverse slate of acts ranging from reggae to bluegrass to Americana to funk and more.
The day got into full swing with reggae act Mighty Joshua, who were the first act up on the Relix Stage, with Nashville rockers Los Colognes following. Hiss Golden Messenger came next, with the North Carolina Americana-act opening with the day appropriate “Saturday Song,” and offering up stand out tracks “Biloxi,” “Southern Grammar” and a set-closing take on “Lucia.” Pigeons Playing Ping Pong were up next, which the marked the first “jam” act of the day. The Baltimore-based electro-funk act worked a cover of Talking Heads’ “Psycho Killer” among their upbeat originals to close out the Relix Stage. All four Relix Stage bands had more time than expected with the unfortunate cancellation of The Suffers, as the Houston-based act backed out at the last minute to deal with the effects of Hurricane Harvey.
Saturday’s action moved over to the main stage with Keller Williams playing a solo set. The one-man-band’s set featured “She Rolls,” “Novelty Song,” “Mantra” and a cover of Weezer’s “Holiday In The Sun,” that Williams song as “Lockn’ In The Sun,” among others. Jamgrass act Greensky Bluegrass was up next, with a set that was heavy on their most beloved originals and covers. The Michigan-based band served up fan-favorites like “Old Barns,” “Windshield” and “Worried About The Weather,” alongside covers of Traffic’s “Light Up And Leave Me Alone” and a set-closing take on Bruce Springsteen’s “Atlantic City.” Australian roots-rockers the John Butler Trio followed, with band including takes on “Cold Wind,” “I’d Do Anything (Soldier’s Lament),” “Blame It On Me,” and “Funky Tonight” into their performance.
The first of Saturday night’s headliners came next, with a set from former Creedence Clearwater Rival frontman John Fogerty. Fogerty returned to Lockn’ for first time since inaugural 2013 event, when he sat-in with Widespread Panic. This time around he played a full set with his solo band. Fogerty’s nostalgia-filled set saw the singer-guitarist tell stories as he offered up hit after hit from CCR’s catalog which opened with “Travelin’ Band,” and featured “Born On The Bayou,” “Suzie Q,” “Lookin’ Out My Back Door,” and “Down On The Corner,” alongside some deeper tracks like “Keep On Chooglin’,” “Lodi” and “Ramble Tamble.”
Widespread Panic was tasked with closing out the night on the Main Stage, marking the fourth time that the Southern-jam act has played the festival. The Athens-based band went with an old school for their headlining slot as Panic’s 19-song set leaned mainly on original material that was debuted prior to 1998! John Bell & Co. kicked things off with a monster seamless run of “Fishwater,” Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth,” and “Who Do You Belong To?,” before working their way back into “Fishwater.” Other highlights included the pairing of “Airplane” with Bob Dylan’s anti-war anthem “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” and a closing run of “Blue Indian,” “B Of D” and “Chilly Water.”
Photographer Ian Rawn was on hand at Infinity Downs Farms, check out a full gallery from Saturday at Lockn’:
