Written by: Lorry Mulhern
Sam Calhoun, COO of Across the Way Productions, Producers of the enormously popular, annual music festival “FloydFest”, held in Check, VA (in Floyd County) likes to say, “Boone is Everywhere”. And he may just be right. On a recent vacation to Italy along with his wife, Trisha, while exploring the Trevi Fountain area, Sam and Trisha ran into a couple from Boone, NC, also on their first trip to Italy.
And this year’s FloydFest highlights that statement more than some may realize, as Headliners of this year’s festival include “Tedeschi Trucks Band” named for guitarist Derek Trucks, and his wife, guitarist and vocalist Susan Tedeschi. And Trucks practically cut his guitar sliding teeth in Boone.
Long before Derek became a member of The Allman Brothers band, or his six Grammy award nominations, and two Grammy wins, Trucks was practically a fixture on the Boone music scene, beginning at the age of nine, while a student at Watauga High. He was a regular musical act playing at Solicito’s, now the River Street Ale House, and Klondike’s, currently the Tap Room, located on Hwy 321 opposite the ASU Convocation Center.
As some readers may be aware there are strong ties between Floyd, VA and Boone, NC. Sam Calhoun is an alumnus of Appalachian State University. After college he became a writer for High Country Press, demonstrating his attention to detail and his penchant for music and adventure. In 2021, recognizing the large number of Boone festival goers regularly attending FloydFest he dreamed up “The BooneBeam”, a six foot tall, carved wooden “beam”, commissioned by the Festival and crafted by Floyd woodworker (and earth moving master) Bill St Pierre. Following Hurricane Helene, St Pierre trailered down several pieces of heavy equipment and spent weeks digging out High Country resident’s homes, volunteering his time, and setting aside his regular business and customers back home in order to help out in the massive recovery effort. Before traveling down with that equipment he and Calhoun collaborated on the procurement and delivery of urgently needed supplies, including highly sought after items such as generators, and fuel to supply them, and days later Calhoun arrived in Boone with trucks and trailers of these needed supplies.
Each year, since 2021, festival going Boone residents have shown up at the appointed time at the “BooneBeam” for a group photo, and a collective reunion, of sorts, sharing stories of other live music adventures they’ve had throughout the previous year and catching up on friends and family. And Floydfest 2026 will be no different.
The band My Morning Jacket will also headline 2026 “Daydream”. MMJ (as they are known) played crowd, and rave reviews, in the High Country in the summer of 2023, during Beech Mountain’s “Party on the Mountain” summer music series and the show was a sold out success, so Calhoun and his team can expect a lively crowd of Beaming Boonies for this year’s festival
And, who knows? Maybe a surprise guest will even show up for the FloydFest 2026 annual BooneBeam photo?
FloydFest Daydream will take place from July 22 – 26, 2026. Tickets to FloydFest Daydream are available now via AftonTickets.com and Floydfest.com with a limited number of VIP experience tickets still available. The currently announced line up for Floydfest Daydream is also available at FloydFest.com, with more bands and performers being announced over the coming months.
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