Arts, Leisure and Sports
ROANOKE, Va. (Feb. 21, 2022) – The Freedom First Down by Downtown Music Festival is back in a big way with headliner The Wallflowers. The ticketed headliner show will be held in downtown Roanoke’s outdoor amphitheater, Elmwood Park, on Saturday, April 16 alongside the Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon race festivities. The four-day music festival, created to showcase the city’s vibrant downtown, will feature 15 or more live music acts at 11 different venues from Thursday, April 14 through Sunday, April 17. Performances include a variety of genres from acoustic sets in intimate settings, to rock concerts at outdoor breweries, to funk and reggae shows at local venues, to the national headliner in Elmwood amphitheater.
For the past 30 years, The Wallflowers have stood as one of rock’s most dynamic and purposeful bands – a unit
dedicated to and continually honing a sound that meshes timeless songwriting and storytelling with a hard-hitting and
decidedly modern musical attack. That signature style has been present through the decades, from 90’s hits like “One Headlight” and “6th Avenue Heartache”, to their recently released album Exit Wounds. The band is also known for lead-singer and primary
songwriter Jakob Dylan, who is legendary song-writer Bob Dylan’s son.
“The festival was founded as a way for venues to work together to shine a light on Roanoke’s music scene, and by
shining that light, grow it into something special,” said Kait Pedigo, events manager for Roanoke Outside. “The pandemic
hit and could’ve stopped things, but it’s 2022 now and the venues are working together, Freedom First is championing
the event, Berglund is involved, and we have a great act like the Wallflowers. All that’s left is for Roanokers to come out
and show that having a live music culture is important to them.” The partnership between Down by Downtown and Freedom First is part of a larger regional economic development initiative of the Roanoke Regional Partnership and Roanoke Outside Foundation, with a goal to add to the vitality of the community and in the process, help attract talent and business investment to the Roanoke Region of Virginia.
“Our mission as a financial institution is ingrained in supporting the Roanoke Region,” said Steve Hildebrand, Senior VP
of Marketing for Freedom First Credit Union. “Working with Down by Downtown to showcase our great community and
support our local arts and culture seems like a natural fit. We are looking forward to four days of great live music.”
Since 2009, Roanoke Outside Foundation, the non-profit that owns and operates the marathon and the music festival,
has been changing the region’s narrative to one that plays to its strength, the outdoor lifestyle. That community culture
is attractive to young professionals – a healthy active region with vibrant nightlife that includes live music, breweries,
and diverse food offerings.
Participating venues in the 2022 Freedom First Down by Downtown are Elmwood Park Amphitheater, Martin’s
Downtown, Big Lick Brewing Company, Starr Hill Pilot Brewery and Side Stage, Three Notch’d Brewing Company, Twisted
Track Brewpub, Sweet Donkey Coffee House, 5 Points Music Sanctuary, Fork in the Market, The Jefferson Center, and
The Spot on Kirk. Tickets for the Saturday, April 16 The Wallflowers concert at Elmwood Park are $25 in advance and $35 at the gate.
Tickets are on sale now at https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/8510269/the-wallflowers-roanoke-elmwood-park.
Individual venues may have separate ticket prices, and links to those pages along with the full lineup can be found at
downbydowntown.com.
Dan Bremner – Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs photo
With his team on a bit of a slide lately – 3 wins and 7 losses in the last 10 games – Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs head coach Dan Bremner says he’s changing things up a bit lately – with yoga and spin classes instead of just practicing on ice. He also wants to see more consistency when they drop the puck – like he saw just before this current slump. Hear more in this extended conversation below. The Dawgs have 3 home games with Pensacola this weekend:
As the LA Rams celebrate their Super Bowl win, the Washington Commanders head coach sat down to answer questions looming over the newly renamed franchise. WFIR’s Ian Price has more.
You may be a true-blue football fan, just want to root for the underdog, or will tune in on Sunday mainly to watch the commercials or the glitzy half-time show. The Super Bowl is a cultural phenomenon and an unofficial holiday. A Cincinnati Bengals fan – also a Radford professor – offers her take, as WFIR’s Gene Marrano reports:
After more than 2 years, a musical returns to the Showtimers Community Theatre in Roanoke, starting tomorrow night for a two-week run. Its the two-time Broadway musical “She Loves Me.” Stevie Holcomb is the director, Brad Craft plays the salesman Sipos and Gary Reid is the show’s producer. They joined WFIR’s Gene Marrano earlier this week for a preview, and here is a “Longer Listen”: