Contributed by Mike Feazel
Five years ago, the music scene at Lake Monticello was what long-time Lake musician Gary Hawthorne called “dead, dead, dead.” Now it’s like a thriving mini-Nashville, with a dozen or so bands and maybe a score of single performers playing at multiple Lake venues and throughout the state of Virginia and beyond.
“This place reminds of the 1950s and ‘60s when there were music hotbeds like Liverpool, London, Laurel Canyon, San Francisco and Nashville,” said Ron Ganz, a Lake resident and bassist for the popular South Canal Street band, which plays two or three gigs a week throughout central Virginia. “There are hidden musicians living down this way and every couple of months, there seems to be new bands or solo or combo performers turning up.”
“The growth of the music scene at the Lake feels like a perfect storm of positive factors: a mix of people from all ages and backgrounds, a deep love of music, and a genuine sense of community,” said “Hurricane” Phil Spence, guitarist for Back 40 East. “No two bands or performers are the same, and that diversity keeps things fresh. The environment here is especially welcoming … and that warmth encourages even casual ‘living room’ musicians to take the leap into live performance.”
The quality and experience of the musical acts at the Lake varies widely, ranging from professionals and semi-pros like 40-year pro Hawthorne and Brian Franke of Faraway who’s constantly on the road throughout northern and central Virginia, to newcomers who perform on open mic nights every other week at the Lake’s Bunker Bistro or at the Fluvanna Farmers Market. One Lake group, Cake Fight, will be featured at a Fridays After Five later this fall.
But on the whole “the bands and musicians here are quite good, and are really honing the craft of playing out, and not just ‘jamming,’” Hawthorne said. “It’s not amateur hour at the Elks. It’s accomplished musicians coming together to re-ignite the spark that drove their youth.”
Two performers, Mark Patrick and Scott Murdoch, created the non-profit Lake Music as a central place for performers and venues to contact each other, encourage each other, and cooperate with each other. The Lake Music Facebook page quickly grew to more than 1,000 followers, many of them musicians, but also including many enthusiastic fans.
Lake Music volunteers such as Kevin McMahon help organize the open mic nights, which have been filling the Bistro every other week since October, many of the Lake Monticello free dock concerts that typically raise money for a local community service organization like the Lake Monticello Community Foundation, and the farmers market performers.
Last fall, after Hurricane Helene devastated North Carolina, Lake Music members organized a Help for Helene concert at Cunningham Creek Winery within five days that netted more than $7,000 in help for the Asheville area.
Lake Music’s next big project is the free Rockin’ Fourth concert at the Lake’s Ashlawn Clubhouse that will feature five musical acts between 2 and 5 p.m. on July 4, with donations being collected for the Foundation.
“Something like this takes some time, but people in community are helping keep the buzz high,” Patrick said. “The idea is to be a community-building place. A lot of musicians aren’t good at promo, but that’s an integral part of the success here. We provide a way to promote their performances.”
“It used to be a conversation about where could find music on the weekends,” said Laker Karen McIntyre, lead singer for Wrong Way Johnny. “Now it’s a hard decision about which band you want to see on a weekend. How awesome is that?”
It’s not clear exactly why the Lake Monticello music scene bloomed from virtually nothing to a mini-Nashville almost overnight.
Hawthorne attributes some of it to Covid, saying people who were cooped up at home during the pandemic dug instruments out of the closet, dusted them off, and re-found the joy of performing.
Covid also spawned the spate of dock concerts at Lake Monticello, which allowed musicians to get out and play for an audience, and an audience on their boats to watch safely, well-separated from others. The popular free dock concerts developed a name for some of the performers, such as Faraway, and a Lake audience that relearned the joy of live music.
“During Covid, music became vital at the Lake early on when people were not going out,” said Faraway’s Brian Franke. “Dock concerts gave music an opportunity to connect with the community at a time when we were all in a tough time together. We as Faraway also believed in giving back to the community.” Faraway also launched its Tuesday Tributes online concerts during Covid, reaching a new audience.
Another factor has been the proliferation of performing venues after Covid, said Murdoch, who formed the popular Jefferson Speedboat group at the Lake. Noting the score or more of central Virginia wineries that now feature, and pay for, live music, Murdoch said “the wineries provide a lot of opportunities for bands at different levels. We certainly enjoy playing there.” In addition to the Bistro, which offers paying gigs a couple of times a week, the wineries and the free concerts, Fluvanna County now sponsors monthly “Groovin’ at the Grove” concerts at Pleasant Grove park.
“It all starts with just an opportunity to come out and play,” Murdoch said. “Things like the farmers market provide a very casual atmosphere. The people who come out and play feel it’s fun. Then maybe they move on to an open mic. And then who knows. The opportunity we created has been just tremendous.”
For some, taking up performing is a time of life thing. “I think a lot of us are at that point in our life that we can slow down, relax and actually pursue getting together and playing music and supporting one another,” McIntyre said. Ganz agreed that “now-retired folks whose kids have grown up are reverting back to a happy time in their lives where we could dedicate the time” to making music
The money aspect of a band or solo performer varies widely. Some newer bands perform for free. Many play for $400 or so per gig. Others make some sort of living at music. Many do it primarily for fun. F.O.G. (originally Four Old Guys, now Five Old Guys) plays nearly as many benefit concerts as it does paying gigs.
The whole community, not just the performers, benefits, Spence said: “What music lover wouldn’t want this? Open mic nights at Bunker Bistro, live sets at the farmers market, the dock concert series, Groovin’ at the Grove. It all enhances our quality of life. More importantly, it brings people together. There’s something special about seeing your neighbors at a gig — supporting one another and building a stronger, more connected community.” Franke noted “it has all been a positive all around whether you play or enjoy listening to music, and adds value to the culture here at the Lake raising the quality of life.”
About Lake Music, Patrick said “I’ve done various forms of public service in my life, but I have to say, this one seems the most fun. It’s fun, gratifying, unifying, and uplifting. It’s a labor of love.”
“I hope we as a community of bands/musicians will continue to make the Lake a fun, vibrant place to be and that the lake will embrace and support us,” McIntyre said.
