“Where we are /I don’t know where we are /But it will be okay.”
On Sunday evening at the 2025 Iron Blossom Festival, while singing from a catwalk in the middle of a crowd several thousand strong, the Lumineers’ lead singer Wesley Schultz summed up the two-day event succinctly with that questioning, yet reassuring lyric from his song, “Where We Are.” After an early stretch defined by displacement and doubt, attendees enjoyed sunshine and a stacked lineup of artists led by Vampire Weekend and the Lumineers, resulting in a successful musical escape on Midtown Green.
The 15-acre facility is situated behind the Science Museum of Virginia, stretching out parallel to a stretch of West Leigh Street, which should be familiar to any Richmonder who has stopped by the downtown Department of Motor Vehicles or caught a film at Movieland at Boulevard Square. Yet it’d be easy to pass the Midtown Green, once the training facility for the Washington Commanders, and not know it was there. Walking into the third Iron Blossom Festival felt like stepping into a world hidden in plain sight. With the iconic Famous Foods of Virginia sign looming and apartment buildings — some recently built, others currently being built — walling off the western and northern skylines, the setting is expansive yet cozy, and more than a little surreal.
The first artist to grace the Blossom Stage, which closely neighbors the larger Iron Stage, was indie-pop artist Catie Lausten. The Blossom Stage was a hotbed for Richmond-affiliated acts throughout the weekend, Lausten included. A group of devoted, early-arriving fans cheered on familiar singles — “Corvette” and “Man, Ur Not My Man” among them — as well as a new composition, “Fires All Around Me,” and “Far From Me,” the opening track from her 2025 album, “All Roads Lead To Parking Lots.” The latter solicited an immediate and clearly audible “I love this song” from one listener. Lausten returned the love: “To those who are joining us now, I’m so happy to be here. Iron Blossom is such an amazing part of Richmond.”
Options everywhere
As attendees streamed in the main entrance, they had several options for where to settle in and what to take in. They could set up a blanket on the hill opposite Leigh Street for an elevated view of the Blossom Stage. They could follow that hill to the back of the grounds and browse a craft bazaar, with tents offering necklaces, stained glass art, tie dye, hemp hats and alpaca fur items benefiting mission trips to Peru. They could check their voter registration at the HeadCount tent, or get swabbed to join a national marrow donor registry at the Punk Rock Saves Lives tent. They could breeze through to the official merch tent in the Green’s back corner, grab a shaded seat on the stone steps leading back down to the field, or a spot under the large sunshade overhanging the field’s back third for a remote view of the main stage. They could choose from a dozen food vendors lined along the facility’s perimeter — everything from hot dogs and lobster rolls to Thai food and 1115 Mobile Kitchen fried chicken. Alcohol vending being interspersed throughout the grounds, grabbing a drink was an ever-present option.
One decision you didn’t have to make is which band to see. Some festivals have overlapping sets, making for tough calls on what to catch and what to miss, or stages so spread out that catching the end of one artist’s performance means forgoing the start of another’s. But the close proximity of Iron Blossom’s two stages — not to mention the festival’s tightly packed schedule — meant that mere moments after Catie Lausten finished, Atlanta-based quartet Improvement Movement was ready to roll on the Iron Stage. That sense of flow pervaded the group’s performance, with a fluid approach to genre, graceful guitar playing, songs that transitioned into one another and harmonies stacked so high you couldn’t remember who was singing lead in the first place. Dave Pierandri, a festival attendee and the drummer for local Americana outfit Chris Leggett & the Copper Line, called Improvement Movement his “sleeper set of the weekend.”
The sense of flow was short lived, however. Though Los Angeles-based Virginia ex-pat Kate Bollinger did complete an enthusiastically received set of her own on the Blossom Stage, including multiple new songs and a concluding rendition of her 2024 B-side “Sweet Devil,” thunderclaps accompanied the end of her performance, signaling the start of a hectic period during which the festival was evacuated twice due to unexpected severe weather in the area.
Showers over flowers
The first delay lasted around 40 minutes, starting at 3:20 p.m. Some who heeded the official social media directive to “seek shelter outside of the venue” stayed close by, lining the wall of the building housing the artist accommodations, or huddling under the overhang at the entryway to the Dewey Gottwald Center. Others ventured further afield as lightning split the sky — to friends’ apartments nearby or bars along Broad Street willing to take in a rush of soggy customers.
Once back inside, under the relative protection of the sunshade spanning the VIP area, which was furnished with cushioned benches, high-top tables and flower arrangements, I traded a sigh of relief — plus a few stories about close encounters with lighting and rainbows — with Loudon County resident Sarah French-Fleming. “The rain really wasn’t the problem,” she said. “Obviously lightning is a serious threat… I think they handled it very well. It was kind of like a fire drill.”
French-Fleming’s top reason for attending Iron Blossom was the Teskey Brothers, the Australian soul outfit whose main stage set had already been pushed later and extended to cover the time originally assigned to Khruangbin, the groovy Texan trio that canceled the previous day due to a back injury sustained by bassist Laura Lee. French-Fleming estimates that she spent nearly four figures on travel and tickets to witness the generational talent that is lead singer Josh Teskey. “It’s like Robert Plant. It’s like Sam Cooke. It’s like Joe Cocker. It’s like once every 30 years,” she said.
Yet the Teskey Brothers’ performance was anything but assured at that point. Rain persisted. While those who sheltered close to festival entrances were likeliest to have soaked in a few songs played on the main stage by Medium Build, led by the charismatic Alaskan singer-songwriter Nicholas Carpenter, it quickly became clear that the weather wasn’t cooperating. “Festivals are fucking silly as hell,” Carpenter joked when he took the stage. He also made a few telling cracks about the nearness of those who rushed back to the Iron Stage and the potential for conducting electricity — not the charged festival atmosphere one would hope for.
Rain intensified, thunder clapped and wind began gusting. Flower arrangements were thrown to the floor of the carefully curated VIP area. A few VIPs even hoisted one of the benches aloft to use as an umbrella. Around 4:30 p.m. a second evacuation order was issued, and few stuck around the gates this time, with the majority walking, driving or Ubering to wherever dry clothes could be found. With so much water coming down and little information available about when attendees might get a second green light to reenter, the sounds promised for Saturday night seemed far from certain.
Back on track
Is there any vibe that Butcher Brown can’t remedy? A little after 6 p.m., once skies cleared and organizers reopened the doors, the preeminent Richmond-based fusion quintet struck up a Blossom Stage set that immediately began to correct Saturday’s trajectory. Next-level soloing from sax and trumpet player Tennishu and guitarist Morgan Burrs drew a thankful crowd eager to see the night turn around, generating plenty of momentum for the Teskey Brothers’ sundown set.
It takes only a few notes to understand why someone might go to great lengths to see Josh Teskey perform. Singing songs written in collaboration with his brother, guitarist Sam Teskey, Josh sounds every bit like he just finished cutting a 45 for the Stax label. Josh Teskey’s voice and the band behind were as big as the Iron Stage, the field it faced and the tenuous moment the Brothers inherited. Josh used songs’ most emotional passages to urge the crowd on, pleading on his knees at times to wring out every ounce of impact. A rendition of “Rain” was particularly well-timed: “Now there’s clouds between us all / And the road ain’t so clear / But we still walk or crawl.” Sam Teskey put on a show of his own, soloing with a keen sense of dynamics and sending his guitars airborne in simultaneous, high-flying exchanges with his guitar tech.
Soon after once Dexter and the Moonrocks got started on the Blossom Stage, it was F-bombs that were flying around, starting with the one emblazoned in all caps on the kick drum. While the musical mood throughout the day had been relatively mellow, this Texan outfit drew the rowdiest of the Saturday Iron Blossom attendees with a mix of hard-edged country and rock that the band calls Western space grunge. Lead singer James Tuffs sent out the call to open up a mosh pit, with the group’s drummer issuing the following challenge: “If you’ve got health insurance, now’s the time to prove it.” A spot-on cover of Green Day’s “Basket Case” got a broader audience moving – both those inside the pit and those assiduously avoiding it – before a rendition of the recently released single “Ritalin” showed the range of the group’s pacing and songwriting.
After the day’s uncertainty and readjustments, Vampire Weekend taking the stage expertly and on time for the night’s closing set was a relief. Still, the Columbia University-born group came with its own set of surprises. After a few early-catalog songs played in front of a massive curtain by the three original members, the curtain dropped dramatically to reveal the group’s revamped touring outfit, complete with multiple backing multi-instrumentalists tasked with bringing to life the group’s increasingly complex recordings, including tracks from Vampire Weekend’s latest full-length triumph, 2024’s “Only God Was Above Us.”
One of those backing musicians got a special shout-out from lead singer Ezra Koenig two thirds of the way through the set. “Make some noise for Colin Killalea on the saxophone,” Koenig said moments after concluding “New Dorp. New York.” “You know he’s a saxophone professor at UVA,” Koenig continued, before joking about being a professor at Virginia Tech. Killalea’s connections to the region are sincere; in addition to providing instruction at the University of Virginia, Killalea has collaborated with local avant drummer Brian Jones, and he’s worked as a producer and engineer at nearby studios like White Star outside Charlottesville and Spacebomb in Richmond. Koenig concluded the shout-out by encouraging the crowd to “stop by one of our office hours.”
Newcomers to the Vampire Weekend live experience received the perfect introduction: the curtain drop, the rendition of “A-Punk” in the neighborhood of 10:10 p.m. — the timing being a new running bit in the band’s Instagram stories — and a classic “Walcott” closer in which Koenig belted out: “Walcott, don’t you know that it’s insane? / Don’t you want to get out of Cape Cod / Out of Cape Cod tonight?”
Midtown Green may not be Cape Cod, but it’s not hard to imagine that festival-goers who didn’t manage to make it home for a change of clothes were ready to escape, dry off and recharge their batteries ahead of the second of Iron Blossom’s two full days of music.
Wiping the slate clean
With a friendlier forecast and flawlessly executed first Blossom Stage set from the up-and-coming Richmond-based guitarist and singer-songwriter Jack Stepanian, Sunday at Iron Blossom felt like fresh start. During a post-performance interview with Style Weekly, Stepanian guessed that “because of the dampened spirits yesterday, I think people were ready to come and come early today.” He also shared that one of the songs he played, “Restless Love,” will be released on Friday, Oct. 10 as the first single from his debut full-length album, which is due out in the spring. He also put in a plug for his next in-town performance, scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 20 at the Broadberry.
Sunday’s first performance on the Iron Stage could easily have been mistaken for a closing one, given the outpouring of energy from Richmond-based Americana outfit Holy Roller. The group rolled deep for its first show in Richmond in six months, with a three-piece horn section providing extra oomph. It was truly a team effort; co-lead vocalist Brady Heck fought through a vocal injury sustained during the group’s previous gig at the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion. “I pushed way too hard over the weekend,” Heck said in an interview with Style Weekly after the set. “We had such an incredible response at that festival. I probably left more out there on the table than I had to give, and it caught up with me today.”
Those gathered at the Iron Stage on Sunday might not have known, had Heck not explained the situation. His delivery was as impassioned as ever, though the group’s other lead vocalist, Rebekah Rafferty, filled in in spots where Heck needed to take a step back. The collective effort was goosebump-inducing, echoing for returning Iron Blossom attendees the 2024 performance by Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats.
You could easily make a case for Palmyra being a fit for the Iron Stage, as well. One year out from signing to the John-Prine-founded label, Oh Boy Records, the Richmond-based folk trio continues to expand its footprint and sound. They expanded in number for this show, bringing on a drummer, and I caught my first glimpse of Sasha Landon contributing electric guitar. A bowed bass solo from Mānoa Bell solicited a big response, as did the shout-along “Aw hell” in “Happy Pills,” though the crowd’s reverent silence during “The Shape I’m In” spoke loudest of all.
If any band could be described as a drug for instant happiness, it’s the 502s. With a brightly colored backdrop, even brighter saxophone solos and a crowd that seemed to spontensouly sprout Hawaiian shirts, the self-described “beach folk” band from Florida seemed to pose the question of what would happen if any reasonable ceiling on joy was blown away by an intense seaside breeze — a welcome metaphorical shift from the literal winds of the previous day. Perhaps the group’s euphoric chorus in “Waves” put it best: “I’m soaking up the good times now.”
If the 502s were a carefree beach party on the perfect day, the act that followed on the Blossom Stage represented the murkier depths churning on the other side of the breakers. Hazlett is the project led by Australian singer-songwriter Mitchell Hazlett Lewis, who wasted no time in acknowledging the contrasting moods from the preceding set to his: “The festival is sounding very happy today,” he said. “I’m sorry to let you know I’m playing sad songs.” Heavy bass tones and distant-sounding pedal steel gave Hazlett’s set a submerged feel, like the notes were bubbling up from the deep. It may have been a pivot from the preceding bonanza of bliss, but there’s a different joy in receiving those fleeting signals, lending special meaning when Lewis sang: “I felt a shiver and that’s all that it takes.”
Somewhere in the middle of those two moods was North Carolina folk group Watchhouse, which graced the main stage next. Lyrics about “Dreaming of a life with you in the sun” were particularly welcome, though most affecting was a mini set during which Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz gave the backing band a break and exhibited otherworldly poise and presence as a duo. The performance ended with “The Wolves,” a song from the group’s days as Mandolin Orange, forming a benediction each listener could stand to take home and reflect on: “Everything’s so great, can’t get better, makes me wanna cry / That I’ll go out howling at the moon tonight.”
A picturesque festival day
On a late afternoon lap around the grounds it was easy to see how Sunday’s clearer weather paved the way for the festival experience attendees had initially envisioned. Blankets were laid out across the back half of the field, which held up well in the face of the soaking rain, aside from mud along the more frequently traveled pathways. Snacks were being eaten. Uno was being played. Group photos were being taken. Coachella-style festival fashion was everywhere, as were T-shirts proudly calling out to fellow fans of the Lumineers, Rainbow Kitten Surprise and Vampire Weekend. The Paper Kites, yet another Australian group, serenaded this scene from the Blossom Stage with a touching rendition of new single “When the Lavender Blooms,” singing: “I want to kick my heels out again / Down a road to something true / Find some good living / When the lavender blooms.”
The space looked and sounded quite different as Rainbow Kitten Surprise put on a dazzling display that extended past nightfall and included songs from the soon-to-be released album, “Bones.” The Iron Stage crowd was pressed in close, reflecting an anticipation for the alternative band that was palpable all weekend. Yet the group’s brilliant use of sonic space left plenty of room for Ela Melo’s vocals to stand out, despite packing enough collective power to regularly shake the video screens on either side of the stage. The sparse moments and punchy beats also resulted in echoes coming from the surrounding buildings — an audible reminder of the world-within-a-world Iron Blossom succeeds in carving out. “We make the space possible,” Ela Melo pointed out between songs, reflecting on the need for audience members to look out for one another’s safety at such a densely populated event.
You could think of indie music in a similar way. As the title of a genre, it’s been used past the point of distinctiveness, and it’s not uncommon to find fans and critics alike shrugging at what indie represents these days. If this year’s Iron Blossom shed any clarifying light, it surely had something to do with the fact that each group blazed a trail of its own to earn a place in the lineup, or with the fact that bouncing between stages brings out real and meaningful distinctions between bands that might get grouped together by an overly expansive category. Also that banding together — as fans, as artists and as fans and artists in the same space — is critical at a time when the multiplicity of streaming options makes it easy for good music to get lost in the shuffle.
The festival’s last two performances illustrated that idea beautifully. Jack Stepanian could be found in the Futurebirds’ crowd, a reminder of his stellar performance opening for Futurebirds at the National last May. The drummer for the Head & the Heart, Tyler Williams, was also on hand and ended up onstage playing tambourine. Also guesting with Futurebirds was Stelth Ulvang, the multi-instrumental touring member of the Lumineers who can frequently be found flinging instruments — and himself — through the air during that band’s performances. He joined Futurebirds on accordion during “Rodeo,” making that song’s signature singalong line, “Goddamn, I miss my friends,” feel a lot less lonely.
During a quick interview on Sunday afternoon, Ulvang noted how festivals like Iron Blossom keep touring bands sharp. “When we play our own show, we know the songs that will keep our skipping stone of music afloat,” he said. “When we play to people who are here for all sorts of reasons, it’s interesting because sometimes those don’t land. So there’s moments where you realize halfway through a song that you have to try in a different way… Any musician can get in the habit of coasting through a set, and I think it’s good for festivals to reinvigorate.”
Lighting up the night
The Lumineers headlining set opened with a vigorous version of “Same Old Song,” one of the singles the Denver-based band released ahead of its 2025 album, “Automatic.” From that moment on, it became clear the group wasn’t there to coast.
Plenty of bands would trade places in a Denver minute, but the Lumineers’ popularity does present a certain spacial challenge: How can you connect with audience members when they number in the thousands, and when their faces are so distant you can’t register their expressions? One solve is to turn a big place into a series of smaller ones. Between songs, technical crew worked tirelessly to create ad hoc micro setups along the catwalk extending from the Iron Stage. These momentary, movable places included Wesley Schultz solo spotlights and duo pairings highlighting Schultz’s core collaboration with drummer Jeremiah Fraites, as well as larger group settings resembling a living room hang.
Satellites stages are nothing new; the Lumineers employed one during a 2016 stop in Richmond at what was then called the Classic Amphitheater at Richmond International Raceway. But the variety of Sunday’s setups felt novel and went a long way toward approximating what a show might have felt like during the band’s early days in Colorado, lending an improbably personal feel to hit songs like “Ho, Hey” and “Ophelia.”
Schultz and company didn’t stop there in their attempt to reach fans, a goal Stelth Ulvang articulated in multiple ways during a conversation with Style Weekly ahead of his April solo performance at Révéler. He and Schultz each made their way into and through the massive crowd at different points, splitting a sea of phones taking video, trailed by crew members projecting their chaotic journeys to the screens on either side of the stage.
Richmond had its own moments in the sun during the Lumineers performance. Jonathan Russell of the Head & the Heart stopped by to sing a verse of “Gale Song” — a happy turn of events, since his Saturday time slot on the main stage was erased by one of the festival’s evacuations.
During one of two stoppages of the kind Ela Melo foretold — where medical teams were dispatched to help audience members in need of care — Schultz, who attended the University of Richmond, acknowledged his ties to the city, going so far as to shout out Potter’s Pub, the off-campus bar where his college band, Wesley Keith and Co., played gigs. He called the gig he was playing at that moment “surreal” in comparison.
Twenty years and billions of streams later, it’s remarkable that Schultz continues to connect deeply, a fact that’s plainly evident as a cross-generational fanbase accompanies him word for word, thousands of individual associations and webs of meaning being reaffirmed simultaneously. After the last singalong was over — to “Stubborn Love” — the precariousness of Saturday afternoon seemed distant. Midtown Green’s boundaries may not have the natural beauty of a Red Rocks, and they may not keep out a downpour, but the unique enclosure helped bottle and concentrate a sacred feeling: that there’s great pleasure and important purpose in coming together to see musicians pour their hearts out. No rain delay can wash that away.
For future updates relating to the Iron Blossom Festival, visit ironblossomfestival.com.
