The Americana group Scythian, a national festival favorite, brings its blend of Celtic, Eastern European and Appalachian traditions to Lancaster Elementary School Theater Saturday, February 28.
Named after Ukrainian nomads, Scythian (sith-ee-yin) will fill the Lancaster Elementary School Theater with exuberant musical storytelling and barn-dance energy Saturday, February 28. The show, hosted by the Rappahannock Foundation for the Arts (RFA), begins at 7:30pm at 191 School Street, Kilmarnock. Doors open at 7pm.
The band—(left to right) Alexander Fedoryka, Danylo Fedoryka, Johnny Rees and Ethan Dean—plays roots music from Celtic, Eastern European and Appalachian traditions. They bring various influences together to create their signature sound. The classically trained Fedoryka brothers, sons of Ukrainian immigrants, grew up on Ukrainian folk music and bluegrass, while Ethan Dean was raised on the greats of ’60s and ’70s folk-rock. Lafayette, Louisiana-raised Johnny Rees brings a Cajun backbeat to the Celtic-Americana fusion. Together they produce a technically brilliant, high-energy sound that has, according to iHeart Radio’s Arroe Collins, “reinvented folk rock in America.”
“Scythian welcomes you into their music making like you are family. It’s uncanny,” says RFA board president Jamie Tucker. “Their skills are impeccable and the experience is always uplifting and energizing. Listen for yourself (www.scythianmusic.com) or better yet, join us February 28th and pull up a chair.”
In 2002 the Fedoryka brothers were performing on the streets of Old Town Alexandria, having left the seminary where they were studying to become priests. With a growing fan base, they formed Scythian and started playing in local pubs. By 2009, Scythian was named Best Local Band in D.C. by the Washington City Paper. They have since toured extensively on the East Coast and become a favorite at music festivals across the country, including Celtic Fest Ohio, Walnut Valley Fest in Kansas and MerleFest in North Carolina.
Each year the band, now based in Front Royal, Virginia, also organizes and plays in the Appaloosa Music Festival, held over the Labor Day weekend near Front Royal. That festival attracts thousands of people from across the Shenandoah Valley and some 40 states to celebrate the rising stars of roots music.
Scythian has released 16 albums, encompassing everything from traditional jigs and reels to contemporary covers to songs like “Go, Lovely Rose,” based on lyrics by the 17th-century poet Edmund Waller, from their 2014 album “Jump at the Sun.” Their latest albums are “Christmas Out at Sea” and “Roots and Stones,” both released in 2022. The latter album includes the song “The Motherland,” which offers a message of hope to Ukrainians, part of the band’s effort to support refugees through music sales and benefit concerts.
Single tickets to the show ($45) are available at 804-438-5555 or on the RFA website rappahannockfoundation.org. Tickets at the door will be $50. The RFA season is sponsored by Chesapeake Bank and Chesapeake Wealth Management. Series Sponsor: Susan G. Moenssens, Attorney at Law, Lighthouse Real Estate, Inc. Program Sponsors: Rappahannock Westminster-Canterbury, Sebra Corporation, Tri-Star Supermarket, and Two Rivers Communications. Support from the National Endowment for the Arts helps to make this and other RFA productions possible.
