Every year, a jigsaw puzzle. But this year, the pieces gelled. On this episode of The Valley Today, host Janet Michael returns to the corporate headquarters of the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival in Woodstock (as always, delighting Dennis Lynch by calling it that) for her annual walk through the summer concert series at Orkney Springs. And Dennis has assembled a genuinely wide-ranging 2026 lineup — Little River Band, The Four Tops, Diamond Rio, a 250th-anniversary big-band night with the Lynchburg Symphony Orchestra, Al Jardine of the Beach Boys with Brian Wilson's band, the Bacon Brothers, and Hotel California to close out Labor Day weekend.

Dennis walks Janet through each show, the low-ticket alerts (Little River Band has fewer than 100 pavilion tickets left), why the venue is genuinely 5-10 degrees cooler than the valley below, what you can and can't bring (blankets yes, tents no, pets no, food yes), and the audience zones on the lawn ("we have what we call high chairs — that's where we put the babies"). Then the conversation turns to something new: the Community Art Collaborative is bringing a mosaic project into the festival this summer. On four select concert nights (Little River Band, Diamond Rio, Bacon Brothers, and Hotel California — with more possible if demand builds), concertgoers will help assemble a permanent glass mosaic that will travel between Woodstock and Orkney Springs. Plus: the Bacon Brothers' local hero nomination form, the Hot Strings and Cool Breezes free workshop, package deals with Shrine Mont, the "pick six" ticket discount, and a firm warning about third-party ticket resellers. Buy your tickets at musicfest.org — and only musicfest.org.

2026 SUMMER CONCERT SERIES AT A GLANCE

FRIDAY, JULY 17 — LITTLE RIVER BAND Australian rock legends, 30+ million records sold. Six years of top-10 hits. 🎫 LOW TICKET ALERT — fewer than 100 pavilion tickets remaining.

SATURDAY, JULY 18 — THE FOUR TOPS Motown royalty, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Ranked #79 in Rolling Stone's most influential bands.

FRIDAY, JULY 24 — DIAMOND RIO Classic '90s country. Grammy, CMA, and ACM Award winners. 6.8 million albums sold.

SATURDAY, JULY 25 — HAPPY BIRTHDAY USA (LYNCHBURG SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA) Big band classics + patriotic favorites for America's 250th.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 7 — AL JARDINE (of THE BEACH BOYS) & BRIAN WILSON'S BAND A Beach Boys tribute night led by one of the two remaining touring Beach Boys, playing with the late Brian Wilson's band.

SATURDAY, AUGUST 8 — THE BACON BROTHERS Kevin and Michael Bacon on their People In The World Tour. Nominate a local hero

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5 — HOTEL CALIFORNIA (A TRIBUTE TO THE EAGLES) — Labor Day weekend, 7 PM start The OG Eagles tribute band. Every favorite, played the way you remember it.

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 6 — HOT STRINGS AND COOL BREEZES Americana concert at 6 PM, preceded by a free workshop at 4 PM (open to all — you don't need a concert ticket to attend the workshop).

VISIT INFO — SHRINE MONT AT ORKNEY SPRINGS

Concert venue: Shrine Mont / Orkney Springs, Virginia Ticket price includes parking. Pavilion seating: ~600 covered seats. Lawn: ~1,100 spots. Lawn zones (front to back): blankets, low beach chairs, standard-height chairs. BRING: your own food, drinks within reason, blankets, chairs. LEAVE AT HOME: tents, canopies, grills, pets (service animals under the ADA excepted). Weather note: Trimont is 5-10 degrees cooler than the valley below with a consistent breeze. Tickets purchased in advance come with an email weather update a couple of days out.

TICKETING & PACKAGE DEALS

• All tickets: musicfest.org (the ONLY official ticket source)

• PICK SIX discount: buy 6+ tickets in a single transaction and get $2 off per ticket (call the office to arrange — not available online)

• Overnight package: bundled concert ticket + Shrine Mont lodging discount, available through Shrine Mont

• WARNING: Third-party ticket resellers regularly list SVMF tickets at 3x the face value. Search results may show them ahead of the official site. Always go to musicfest.org directly.

ABOUT THE MOSAIC PROJECT

A partnership between the Shenandoah Valley Music Festival and the Community Art Collaborative — a Woodstock-based nonprofit that has installed permanent glass mosaics at Woodstock Cafe, Seven Bends State Park, and (soon) Edinburg. The 2026 SVMF mosaic is designed by John Burns to be portable — moving between the SVMF corporate headquarters in Woodstock and Trimont at Orkney Springs as needed. Concertgoers on select nights can help assemble the piece.

Confirmed assembly nights (as of recording): • Little River Band — July 17 • Diamond Rio — July 24 • Bacon Brothers — August 8 • Hotel California — September 5

Anticipated unveiling: Fall 2026 at 238 North Main Street, Woodstock.

THE VALLEY TODAY with Janet Michael — A decade of conversations.

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