WORLAND – The14th annual Pepsi Wyoming State BBQ Championship and Bluegrass Festival is Aug. 17-18 and features three bluegrass bands.

This year’s musical platter includes three bands: Wood Belly, Lochwood Bluegrass Band and The Barefoot Movement.

Bluegrass Festival Director and Event Organizer Dave Paxton said each year they try to bring back at least one band from the previous year along with two new bands.

The Lochwood Bluegrass Band is from Missoula, Montana. They play hard-driving traditional bluegrass with the inspirations of Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs and the Stanley Bros.

This is their second year playing in the festival as a band, but other members have played in the festival with other bands. They’ve been a band for about four years and recently released their first CD.

The Lochwood Bluegrass Band’s members include singer-songwriter Richie Reinhold on lead vocals, John Parker on bass and vocals, Steve Taft on banjo, Chad Fadely on mandolin and guitar, and Taylor Buckley on fiddle and

harmonic vocals.

Wood Belly is a band out of Denver, Colorado. According to their website, Wood Belly blends traditional bluegrass with modern songwriting. Band member Aaron McCloskey mentioned that they’ve been a band for about two years.

According to McCloskey, the last few months have been a crucial experience for the band. They recently released their debut album “Solid Ground” in May. In June they competed in the prestigious Telluride Bluegrass Festival band competition and won. “Just last week we were nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Association (IMBA) momentum award. It’s a very big honor for a new band like us.”

Musicians making up the band are Craig Peterson on guitar, Chris Weist on mandolin, Chris Zink on dobro, Aaron McCloskey on banjo and Taylor Shuck on bass. Each member also partakes in vocals.

The Barefoot Movement has been hailed “one of the most promising bands on the bluegrass scene” by CMT Edge.

Paxton said the committee was pleased to be able to get The Barefoot Movement who would be going through the area in between other appearances.

The down to earth band is Nashville based and, when playing, only intention is to get their audience to take a load off and relax. The band has two full length albums, an EP, several cross-country tours and appearances at some of the top bluegrass festivals in the United states under their belt as experience to bring with them to the festival’s stage. They’ve been named “Band of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

They’ve had appearances in Country Weekly Magazine, Rollingstone.com, CMT Edge, Music City roots and Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Their music has been featured on the Outdoor Channel’s program “Huntin’ the World: Southern Style” and their music video for their popular song “Second Time Around” has been featured nationally on the Zuus Country Network.

Noah Wall is on vocals and fiddle with the band, along with Tommy Norris on mandolin, Alex Conerly on guitar and vocals and Katie Blomarz on bass and vocals.

SCHEDULE

The performances start at 6 p.m. on Friday with Lochwood opening. Their performance is followed by Wood Belly performing at 7:15, and The Barefoot Movement wrapping it up at 8:30.

The fun continues on Saturday with Lochwood kicking things off at 12:30 p.m., proceeded by Wood Belly at 1:45, and The Barefoot Movement at 3.

There will be a break from music during the barbecue competition awards presentation from 4:15 to 4:45 p.m. Music resumes at 5 p.m. with Lockwood; Wood Belly at 6:15 and The Barefoot Movement at 7:30 p.m.