Roots Music Festival returns to Lake Anne Plaza this weekend

After a muted 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, live music fans have a veritable feast of options for entertainment during this year’s long, hot summer days.

In addition to Reston Community Center’s ongoing concert series, this week will bring the launch of Friday Night Live! in the Town of Herndon, which scrapped the planned July 2 kickoff due to scheduling conflicts, and the Fairfax County Park Authority’s Summer Entertainment Series.

For anyone looking to spend a full day jamming to some tunes, however, the Roots Music Festival at Lake Anne Plaza (1609 Washington Plaza) might be the right tempo.

Launched in 2017, the festival focuses on folk, bluegrass, and other genres of American roots music. This year’s event will take place on Saturday (July 10) from 1-8 p.m.

The lineup features six bands that will each play for about an hour:

• 1 p.m.: Geraldine
• 2 p.m.: Split String Soup
• 3 p.m.: The Fly Birds
• 4 p.m.: Minks Miracle Medicine
• 5 p.m.: Annie Stokes
• 6 p.m.: Two Ton Twig

As in previous years, the music will be accompanied by a beer and wine garden scheduled to open at 12:30 p.m. Viewing areas are available at all restaurants around the plaza, including the patio at Lake Anne Brew House.

The festival is sponsored by the Friends of Lake Anne, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting Lake Anne Plaza with funding help from the CORE Foundation.

Friends of Lake Anne founder Eve Thompson, who serves as coordinator of the Roots Music Festival and owns the Lake Anne Coffee House and Wine Bar, says it has been gratifying to see the plaza come back to life over the past few months, as vaccines have allowed people to gather and socialize again.

“FOLA seeks to encourage vitality of the Plaza. It’s a great place to hear live music,” Thompson said by email. “It’s been a long hard year for most of the businesses on the Plaza…We are glad to see people out in the shops and restaurants again. We hope people will come out to enjoy the music!”