Rock Me, Mama, on a Floyd Friday night

An enthusiastic group of young women singing and dancing to a Bob Dylan song on Locust Street in Floyd on a Friday night.
Are the streets ready to come alive again on a Friday night in Floyd?

With COVID-19 fading and Summer approaching, the music should be returning to Locust Streets on a Friday night in Floyd. The Friday Night Jamboree is expected to return in July as the international event on the main stage of the Floyd Country Store and area musicians are looking for places to play.

I’ve shot hours of video and thousands of still photos of music on Friday nights in Floyd since returning to the area in 2004 and I’m looking forward to see the fun begin this summer after 14 months of pandemic.

“Wagon Wheel” by Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor is not a traditional Old Time Music or a Bluegrass composition but it fits right into Friday night music in Floyd. I shot the video above in August 2014 and a group of teenagers who arrived in a church bus added to the fun by singing and dancing along with Nothin’ Common, a band that often appeared on Fridays to play on the street and attract large and enthusiastic crowds.

On this Friday night, I plan to be on the streets with cameras to see what happens.

As the lyrics of “Wagon Wheel” illustrates:

So, rock me mama like a wagon wheel
Rock me mama any way you feel
Hey… mama rock me
Rock me mama like the wind and the rain
Rock me mama like a southbound train
Hey… mama rock me

“Wagon Wheel,” –Bob Dylan and Ketch Secor

See on the streets tonight.

Corrected above to add Keith Secor of Old Crow as a composer. Old Crow’s video of their version is shown below.

© 2004-2022 Blue Ridge Muse

2 thoughts on “Rock Me, Mama, on a Floyd Friday night”

  1. Wonderful video! It feels great to be able to venture out to see faces, smiles and interact again. I went mask-less to Food Lion yesterday! My first trip out alone without mask or reservation–2 months after my vaccine. I saw faces for the first time in more than a year! I smiled at those faces and they smiled back; what a wonderful feeling. Wagon Wheel is the perfect tune to make that feeling come alive.

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© 2021 Blue Ridge Muse