Calling it an “agonizing decision,” the founders of the band Scythian say that the popular Appaloosa Music Festival in Front Royal is officially on hiatus.
Brothers Alex and Dan Fedoryka, who have been touring together almost nonstop for 23 years, said that prioritizing family life and economics were the main factors in ending the Labor Day weekend “roots music” festival after 10 years. They have also curtailed their concert touring schedule.
“First and foremost, on judgment day, God’s not going to ask, ‘Did you throw a good festival?,’ ” said Dan, 48. “He’s going to ask, ‘Were you there for your family?’ I just had my third child. Alex just had his second, and Ethan (bass player) just had his seventh. My wife (Therese) was one of the key personnel. She managed all the 300 volunteers, the vendors, and the last two years we were like, ‘We need to offload this,’ and we just could not find people that would take the job.”
“Dan and I want to have as many children as we can have, but at the same time you have the realities of life,” said Alex, 51. “I don’t want to be in a hotel in Chicago when my son takes his first step.”
Dan estimates that in one five-year span, Scythian averaged 180 shows a year. “I did the math and I figured that over a 10-year period, I spent seven years not sleeping in my bed,” he said.
Trends in the music business are forcing many bands to make hard decisions, explained Alex. “Everyone’s feeling the pinch and major acts who sold out arenas are literally canceling,” he said. “When you do some digging, it shows that they were just not able to fill seats. But our main motivation was, we want to be home at night with our kids and help our wives. Now we’re seeing that God was preparing us for a major shift in the industry.”
Loyal fans will be happy to know that the band continues. Known for their spectacular live shows, Scythian’s hard-driving blend of folk, bluegrass and Celtic rock can now be enjoyed weekly in another format. A downtown Front Royal building has been converted into a high-tech studio, where weekly livestreams on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok allow fans to interact and see guest bands such as the Grammy Award winning Steep Canyon Rangers joining the livestream on Thursdays at 7:30 p.m.
“We wanted to create an environment where we could be much more casual and interact with the viewers,” said Dan. “At a concert, fans are down there reacting and jumping around, but imagine if you could actually talk to the guy on stage and he talks back to you. We riff off of funny banter that’s going on and it’s been fun seeing the community grow in the last four weeks. It’s very much in-the-moment. Sometimes our wives jump in there.”
A special bond was fostered between band members and fans in a decade when Scythian hosted 13 tours of Ireland, performing in pubs and small gigs. The Irish tours have also been shelved due to family obligations, but fans can now experience “Appaloosa at sea” as Dan describes it.
The annual Caribbean “String Break Cruise” attracted 600 in 2025 and 1,000 this past January. Tickets are nearly sold out for the Jan. 17-23, 2027, cruise. Father Bjorn Lundberg, pastor of Sacred Heart of Jesus Church in Winchester who was Dan’s roommate at Christendom College, celebrated Mass daily aboard the Regal Princess.
It’s the same formula that made Appaloosa a unique experience — Mass and good music.
“My mom always said that music is one thing we know for sure is going to be in heaven,” said Dan. “The love of song and the need for song is in the very fabric of our being. It taps into the deepest part of our soul.”
“The power of music is when a collection of strangers come together and in 60 minutes, you see all the walls break down,” said Alex. “So many things in the world overemphasize our differences, instigating little fires of dissension between people. Music can calm that and create the opposite effect. I can’t exactly articulate why and maybe that’s the way it should be. It is a mystery. We’re just ministers of it. I always feel like it’s something larger than us.”
One of the best opportunities to see Scythian perform live this summer will be at the Diocesan Family Fest at the Clarke County Fairgrounds June 13. “That show is going to absolutely rock,” said Dan. “Come out and you’re going to have a great time. We promise it will be worth your while.”
Find out more
For information about the Jan. 2027 “String Break Cruise,” go to scythianmusic.com.
