Interlocken Music Festival is already a hit

LOVINGSTON — More than 15,000 tickets have been sold so far for the Interlocken Music Festival next month — four days of rock 'n’ roll at the foot of the Blue Ridge Mountains in Nelson County.

The newest and, likely, the largest musical gathering to hit Central Virginia will feature performances by legends Neil Young and former Grateful Dead members Bob Weir and Phil Lesh at the nearly 5,000-acre Oak Ridge Estate, south of Lovingston.

Organizers anticipate a crowd of 30,000 to 40,000 people. About 60 percent of the tickets have been sold, and some VIP packages — like RV, luxury tour bus and on-site tent rentals with twin and queen beds, ranging from $799 to $10,000 — are already sold out.

“Yeah, I was surprised,” festival co-founder Dave Frey said. “The upper echelon of things has done really well.”

Scheduled for Sept. 5-8, the lineup will also feature Zac Brown Band, jam-band specialists Widespread Panic and The String Cheese Incident and Georgia-bred Southern rockers the Black Crowes.

The wide array of ticket packages — from $10,000 luxury tour bus rentals to $285 general admission passes to the four-day festival — have already sold out of lowest ranges, meaning costs will continue to increase as the festival approaches. There is also a student admission rate, but organizers have no plans to offer single-day tickets.

For those looking to attend the event in style, there are VIP and “Super” VIP packages, ranging from $599 to $999, available (for “Super” VIP, you must be at least 21 years old). These tickets offer an assortment of additional perks, from exclusive access to air-conditioned bathrooms with flushable toilets and showers to complimentary late-night munchies and an invitation to a private acoustic performance by Further, featuring Weir and Lesh.

Camping is available, too.

“We’re just booking a show we’d want to go to,” Frey said. “We’re trying to make it special. That’s kind of our objective. We’re just having one band play at a time. We don’t have a bunch of bands playing all at once. We don’t like that.”

Frey said attendees can expect 90- to 120-minute sets from the list of artists .

On-site dining and concession options will consist of area eateries and feature a large portion of the wine, craft beer and cider industries that have seen a boom around Central Virginia in recent years.

“A brewery like Devils Backbone may have 10, or Starr Hill might have 12 brands, and we’ll have each of those brands represented,” Frey said. “We’re trying to do the same with food. We’re going to have a tent that we’re calling ‘Local,’ and it’ll be right in the center of the place. The idea is to have different restaurants from the area, like The Rock Barn or Mono Locco.”

Devils Backbone owner Steve Crandall and his staff are gearing up for the event. He’s anticipating increased traffic at his 100-acre property in Roseland, which is roughly 20 miles from the Interlocken site.

“For us, we will definitely see a bump in business, the week proceeding and the week after,” he said. “We are also opening up a new beer garden to accommodate the extra folks coming in. My brewer is going to be working around the clock now. ”

For those not staying on site, some hotel accommodations still are available in the Lynchburg, Nelson County and Charlottesville areas, but are filling up fast.

“I would say that the flow of reservations for Interlocken is steady,” said Becky Aleman, the director of sales for Courtyard By Marriot on Murray Place in Lynchburg.

Shuttle service will be provided to and from the venue for attendees staying at the Courtyard By Marriot, Wintergreen resort and in Charlottesville, where pick-up locations will be the Fashion Square Mall and downtown on Market Street . It’s included in some of the accommodation packages, but will cost $40 (daily pass) to $120 (four-day pass) for people who are not staying in those hotels.

Frey said he and his team have been meeting with local officials since last year, hoping to limit the wait time festival-goers experience getting into the event. The site is located near U.S. 29, between Colleen and Lovingston.

“It was our biggest hesitation with coming to this property,” he said. “But we’ve had a very comprehensive traffic plan that we’ve been working on since October with VDOT, the state police, the county police, EMS and fire. My thing is safety first.”

Frey said he is pleased with how plans are progressing.

“One of the interesting things is that we’ve really sold a lot for out of state,” he said. “ Things are going well.”

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