Blue Ridge Rock Festival kicks off with thousands of people ready to listen to live music again

The four-day long festival is sold out.

DANVILLE, Va. – The sold-out Blue Ridge Rock Festival began Thursday in Pittsylvania County.

The festival is expected to bring about 35,000 people each day of the four-day festival. Twenty-thousand of those ticket holders also plan on setting up camp in designated camping lots.

“The camping experience is a whole other level, not just staying in a hotel, getting to see everyone in the evening, hang out, talk to them and have a good time,” said Botetourt County native, Michael Boone.

Before attendees arrived, many sat in hours of traffic just trying to get to the campsite.

“[It is] total chaos, totally unorganized, way out of control. We are here now though, that’s all that matters,” said Rob Cross, who traveled from Hampton Roads to come to the festival.

“Overall, you got to expect this thing. They are bringing in a whole bunch of people in, in one spot, a whole bunch of cars in the course of one day. Maybe I’m a little biased. I’m kind of in a good mood,” said couple Dair and Mike Baldwin, who also sat in hours of traffic before getting to set up camp for the weekend.

10 News spoke with multiple people, many of which didn’t seem too concerned about the spread of COVID-19, and even those who are still looking forward to a weekend full of rock ‘n roll.

“I mean, I’m still worried about COVID, but I got the vaccine and stuff too, so I’m not too worried,” said Franklin County native, Travis Swain.

The festival continues through Sunday. Find a full list of performances here.


About the Author:

Sydney joined the WSLS 10 News team in June 2021.