Jim Ethridge, the founder of Lost Art Music Festival (June 17-18, 2022), was born in Memphis and came to Georgia for grad school at The University of Georgia. He’s a music lover at heart and early on his career worked for a music PR company, Capricorn Records and Vanguard Records out West before returning to Atlanta and founding this luxury music festival.
“When I was in my twenties, I was seeing live music four times a week,” says the former Decatur resident. Ethridge also worked at The Fox Theater and City Winery before launching the luxury music festival. “I still love the sense of community that music festivals have for bringing people together.”
But now, like many 40-somethings, Ethridge is looking for a different vibe when he goes to a music festival. “I’m looking at the behemoth lineups today,” says Ethridge. “And I’m still lost at who are some of these acts. I want to put something on that the 35-year-old-pluses like.” Ethridge gets real and knows people in their 30s, 40s, 50s and beyond want to go out to music festivals. However, they have different wants, needs, tastes and time commitments now. These older fans want a little more luxury.
What he has planned sounds perfect for my Two-Sided Southern ears. I get to rock out like a kid again at a music festival, but the bands won’t kill my ear drums. Also, I won’t have to shove through crowds of people, wait in Uber lines and there will be high-end food, craft cocktails, craft beers, access to restaurants and villas to sleep in instead of muddy tents? Hallelujah!
Ethridge felt similarly. He created the Lost Art Music Festival at Foxhall Resort, June 17-18, 2022. General admission tickets are $25-$85 for single day to weekend passes. Overnight villas for two nights come with weekend VIP passes and run from $720+ a person. For those looking to add to the luxury music festival vibe, they will appreciate the more grown up offering. The idea behind the music festival came over a few drinks with Rodney Stamell. Stamell got his start with Sister Hazel. They were talking about the concert cruise concept. They discussed taking the concert cruise concept and making it landlocked near a major city.
“On concert cruise ships, people stay on site and are surrounded by a beautiful ocean setting. There are excursions where artists get together and have shuffleboard or go off to an island,” says Ethridge. “The outings go together with the band. It breaks down the wall between fans and artists. We took that idea and tweaked it.” The Lost Art Music Festival was born.
You can get to Foxhall Resort from Atlanta in 30 minutes. The luxury lodge sits on 1,100 acres. It’s on a bend in the Chattahoochee River that creates a beautiful, pastoral setting. Foxhall Resort also has one, two and three bedroom villas on site with kitchens. “It feels like you are on top of the lake because the rooms are so close to the water,” swears Ethridge.
The festival is focused on diverse Americana music. Its Inner Circle experiences between the artists and fans are unbelievably cool and help it feel like a luxury music festival. “It helps make incredible memories for people,” says Ethridge.
For example, last year, The War and Treaty (a gospel, soul folk band) wanted to do an ATV tour and hayride for Inner Circle. Five ATVs with fans were led by an expert at Foxhall Resort around the property. The band then did a hayride that stopped along the Chattahoochee River and The War and Treaty performed an impromptu a cappella set with tamborines that blew the crowd away.
Also in 2021, for the band St. Paul and The Broken Bones, the VIP experience for Inner Circle was tickets to attend Broken Bones BBQ Beer Pairing and Lawn Sports. The guests dined on delicious BBQ paired with beer offerings with the band and then there was a round robin horseshoe tournament where the band played with fans. Additionally, there was a river hike with the band Shovels & Rope. Guests participated in a 20-minute hike along the Chattahoochee which took you to this old stone bridge there and the beautiful Georgia countryside was behind them and they sang, “Oh be Joyful!”
Inner Circle experiences like that will be announced soon. Additionally, VIP Platinum tickets are only for people that stay on site. The Inner Circle experiences will have limited spots that may be for anywhere from 20 to 50 people, so grab tickets fast. Aaron Lee Tasjan, Gabe Lee, Durand Jones & The Indications, Paul Cauthen, Rayland Baxter, The Lone Bellow, Southern Avenue and Margo Cilker are all on the musical lineup for this year’s summer extravaganza.
For foodies and sophisticated drinkers, Ross Merriman with Southern sipper Cathead Distillery presented six cocktails last year (vodka, gin and bourbon libations), so expect a mix of their smooth offerings again. Wild Heaven Brewery brings out a variety of their popular beers as well.
“For eats, we have a variety of food trucks there,” adds Ethridge. “Vegans and vegetarians will have options. King of Pops is coming back this year. We try to keep it as local as possible. We want to have options for everyone.”
Moreover, the new clubhouse at Foxhall Resort houses their higher end restaurant Pheasant Blue. They have a grab ‘n’ go restaurant there as well. So guests will have other options besides food trucks if they so please. Furthermore, the view of the bar at Foxhall overlooks an infinity pool that looks out over a lake. Not a bad place to grab a cocktail. It’s about a five-minute walk from the festival grounds.
“What my hope is with this music festival is that all the pieces fit together. I’ve been to [concerts] before where everything in the festival was great and then the beer didn’t fit,” he admits. “Sometimes the food can be overlooked or they have the wrong sponsors or there’s nowhere nice to stay nearby.” There’s just something off. Ethridge wants a cohesive experience where the level of music and fan appreciation matches the food, drink and lodging offerings as well. I’m down. Sounds like my kind of Two-Sided Southern vibe. Both five-star and dive bar, baby.
