Festival brings country, bluegrass and beer to Virginia City

Country and bluegrass sounds fashioned to lure music and party fans will mark next weekend’s three-day Americana Music Festival in Virginia City.

Headlining this sixth annual Americana festival is country singer James Otto. He appears at 8 p.m. Saturday, July 20, on the main outdoor stage as the featured act during the Friday-Sunday event.

CW and Mr. Spoons, a duo based in Carson City that plays Americana music, will perform in conjunction with contra dancing on the outdoor stage at 4 p.m. Friday. The duo plays again at noon Sunday at Piper’s Opera House. That gig is just before the performance of the Mountain Girls, a bluegrass foursome from Reno.

The overall lineup also features The Novelists, The Tuttles with A.J. Lee, Rita Hosking, Steve Spurgin and various other bluegrass or country acts.

The event also plays host to the inaugural All-Americana Beer Crawl. This year the music festival is an official Artown event as well. That is a Reno-based art festival in July extending its reach to Virginia City.

Along with Otto’s headliner performance Saturday night, the opening night’s headliner act is The Novelists. That band’s sounds are set to start at 8 p.m. Friday on the same outdoor stage on C Street, VC’s main drag being closed for the event. Besides the main stage and Pipers, venues are the Presbyterian Church and VC’s Middle School.

In addition, there will be workshops at the Fourth Ward School and hosted jam sessions at the Bucket of Blood Saloon.

The beer crawl tickets cost $10, which will provide a free beer and a commemorative cup, plus discounted beers at 10 VC saloons.

General entry festival tickets are on sale for $20, which includes access to each show during the weekend except the Friday and Saturday night headliners. A $30 “all-inclusive” pass provides access to the acts, including the headliners. VIP passes cost $100 and not only include access to all shows and the beer crawl, but unnamed “exclusive perks.”

More festival information is at www.visitvirginiacitynv.com, or by reaching the VC Tourism Commission at 775-847-7500.