Option 22 Takes Career Leap Onto the Stage at Sold Out Floydfest 12
Princeton, WV- Princeton, WV’s Option 22 will make a major career stride this week as they take the stage at the 12th annual Floydfest Music and Arts Festival, a sold out four day concert in Floyd, Virginia July 25-28. Becoming known as the ‘Shangri-La of the East’, Floydfest is one of the premier musical destinations in the country, unique for its family atmosphere, environmental consciousness and great music. Option 22 shares the bill with The Lumineers, Old Crow Medicine Show, Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, John Butler Trio, Brandi Carlile, Gogol Bordello, Citizen Cope, Yonder Mountain String Band, Trampled by Turtles, Railroad Earth, The Infamous Stringdusters and many more.
Far more than a music festival, FloydFest offers patrons not only a harmonious experience in the scenic Blue Ridge Mountains, but a 4-day opportunity to enjoy a magnitude of pleasantries the beautiful area has to offer. A fresh new offering for 2013 is the Belcher Mountain Beat Down. Through a partnership with Pembroke, VA-based Tangent Outdoors and the Moonstompers Bike Club, FloydFest is offering a guided mountain bike tour that descends the Blue Ridge and finishes with miles of hand-built single-track trail. The 16-mile route includes 1700’ elevation gain and 3500’ of descending. If water is more of your thing, cool down with a float on the Little River. Through a partnership with On the Water, there are five opportunities to escape to the water for few hours of paddling down a gorgeous, undeveloped stretch of the Little River. Trips are limited so be sure to sign up in advance. Check out full details on all FloydFest outdoor adventures here.
A mystic experience with boundless opportunities, FloydFest also offers over 100 performing artists on 10 stages, with over 100 artisans, specialty craft beverages, a Healing Arts Village and Children’s Universe with an extensive children’s area. Festival goers can enjoy an intimate performance on the rustic and Appalachian-influenced Virginia Folklife Workshop Porch. Afterwards they can attend a nearby panel discussion on sustainable practices that engage the audience onlookers and includes renowned speakers and activists, headlining artists, and festival promoters. Rejuvenate and relax by joining in a belly dancing or hula dancing workshop, take a nap in an ENO hammock at the hammock lounge, or experience an incredible massage. Possibilities for festival bliss are endless!
Option 22 is a four piece band whose music is eclectic, positive and all original. Known for their ability to lift audiences out of their seats and induce joy and inspiration, the group is extremely thankful for the opportunity to share their musical gifts with the music loving audience at Floydfest. The group recently released a new album,”The Change,” and has been touring regionally. Days before the festival, they will swing through The Sweet Shoppe in Lewisburg, WV (Sat., 7/20) and Hullet C. Smith Theatre at Tamarack (Sun., 7/21), and after the fest they hit The Burrito Bar at Breeze Hill near Fayetteville, WV. They are also the core of an arts collective in downtown Princeton, WV which is revitalizing a once depressed neighborhood with color and creativity. The live and work in their studio there, and also organize arts events for the community. They founded Culturefest World Music & Arts Festival which is in its 10th year now. For more information about the group and their endeavors, visit www.option22.net.
For more information about Floydfest, visit www.floydfest.com.
The group welcomes and interviews and can be reached at 304-320-8833.
Option 22 “THE CHANGE” review by Larissa Nemeth
When I pressed play on this album and the opening chords were released on my ears, my first thought was clear and direct: I NEED to see this band play live. The initial groove was so infectious and powerful, even coming through my crude car speakers I could only imagine the energy it would invoke via giant amps and reverberated through a crowd of people.
Option 22’s THE CHANGE is a standout record for myriad reasons, such as the impressive range of musical styles and genres performed without a sonic hiccup to be heard. Despite dabbling in everything from folk to pop to funk to rock to new wave & electronica, the band is so consistently tight, and the tracks flow so well you’re never in doubt whose album you’re listening to.
Brandon Dunn’s bass is outlandishly awesome, it really is the heartbeat of this album and I caught myself saying out loud “aw man!” And “that’s so hot!” And “hot damn do you hear that bass line?!”. Robert Blankenship and Jordan Furrow are supreme in their multiple talents each playing the different instruments that give this album its international flavor and worldwide groove.
Lead vocalist Lori McKinney’s talent is nothing to shake a rage stick at, either. It literally gave me chills at certain points on my sonic journey. She has the singular ability to sound deeply soulful, delicately sweet, and forcefully passionate all at the same time. While vaguely reminiscent of bands like The Recipe or Bigfrog, Mckinney shapes her own unique presence on the scene. She is a stunningly talented front woman, and one with a purpose, too.
The Change is so awesome, too, because of its message. Option 22 does not make music for music’s sake. They play to be a part of something bigger. Their words and performance plucks on your soul strings. A deep listen really urges you to work in solidarity to uphold your part in the beautiful oneness that we as humanity and shepherds of Earth are part of. They as performers use the power of music to appeal to the deepest sense of yourself, and tell it secrets about the Soul of the World, and every person’s right to love and duty to protect It.
Option 22’s The Change may seem grand in scope and scheme but hot damn if they don’t do every note and line justice here. Maybe one day we’ll get to hear it live together.
Wanna buy their new album, or hear for yourself? You can buy their new album at www.option22.net/, as well as see more photos of the band’s members and events. There are even more pictures and their electronic press kit at www.sonicbids.com/option22!
