MusicTree Fest will be taking place in Manchester, Tennessee – June 6-7, 9-10. We will be publishing interviews with the performing bands as we close in on the 3rd year of this festival. View the full line-up.

Let’s start with the basics, who are you? Where are you from? What style of music do you create?

My name is Van Gallik (from Knoxville, TN) and I sing and play guitar for the band Skytown Riot. People have been describing our music as Anthemic Arena-Rock, which sounds about right to me!

This is MusicTree Fest’s 3rd year. Is this your first time? If yes, how did you learn about MusicTree?

This is my first MusicTree, and I’m so excited to be a part of it! I don’t recall exactly how I discovered the festival (surely via some music website or social media platform) but I do remember being notified on New Years Day that the band had been invited to perform. Now THAT is how you start the year off right!

Was there an “ah-ha moment” in your life when you knew you would pursue music?

Absolutely. I was eighteen years old at a small club called Blue Cats. I had spent my entire freshman year of college stuck in a lab or a classroom, hadn’t been out to a single concert all year. A (then) emerging band called O.A.R. was playing, and packed the place. They opened with a thunderous bass groove that shook the whole room and I was instantly hooked. That’s when I knew… I needed to be on stages like that playing music.

Who (or what) motivates and inspires your writing and playing style(s)?

Thanks to my parents I grew up listening to a lot of classic rock… Stones, Zeppelin, AC/DC, Pink Floyd. I think that’s where a lot of the rock flavor in my writing style originated. But I was totally a band geek too. I studied a lot of orchestral music through middle and high school, and the art of musical composition in that realm has always fascinated and inspired me.

What can we expect from your performance at MusicTree Fest 2014?

Our goal is to ensure that every single member of the audience has an unforgettable night. A Skytown Riot show is more than just four dudes on a stage playing their instruments. We strive to make it a SHOW. Diverse, engaging, stimulating, epic rock’n roll!

Where can we connect with you online? Where can we listen or download your music?

We connect with most of our fans via Facebook and Twitter, although we love to reach out to people on our email list with fun exclusive type stuff! You can find our music on iTunes, Facebook, Soundcloud, YouTube, and of course our website.

• www.skytownriot.com
• www.facebook.com/skytownriot
• www.youtube.com/skytownriot
• www.soundcloud.com/skytownriot
• Twitter: @skytownriot

Do you have plans for Bonnaroo this year?

Sadly we won’t be attending this year.

Any closing thoughts? Shout outs?

The entire MusicTree team has been amazing to work with, made Skytown Riot a priority, and truthfully there aren’t enough festivals out there like this one. Many thanks to everyone that’s making this festival happen every year! And to all you music fans and festival-goers, thank you for supporting emerging artists like those you’ll hear at this year’s festival. None of this happens without you!