ORKNEY SPRINGS — The Shenandoah Valley Music Festival will be back this summer and has launched its online ticket sales.

Pleased with this year’s lineup, Dennis Lynch, president and executive director of the festival, said he’s received a lot of interest from the community.

“We’re bringing a lot of headline talent to our little tiny town of Orkney Springs,” he said.

The concert lineup this year will feature:

• Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives;

• ABBA the Concert: A Tribute to ABBA;

• the Richmond Symphony with the Shenandoah Valley Choral Society;

• Hot Strings & Cool Breezes minifest of Americana featuring Bela Fleck:

• America;

• the Village People;

• and The Spinners.

There’s also one more slot that Lynch said he’s trying to fill.

Though the festival takes place in the Pavilion at Shrine Mont retreat and conference center, the season begins in Strasburg with an interactive performance of “Choir! Choir! Choir!” by Canadian duo Nobu Adilman and Daveed Goldman at 7 p.m. on June 24 at Strasburg Square.

During the show, they teach the audience to sing in four-part harmony to one of their songs, Lynch said.

“It’s kind of a community-building thing,” he said. “We’ve done things outside of Orkney Springs but never a big audience participation thing like this before.”

Many of the acts had been planned for the 2020 season, Lynch said, but were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Village People had been signed for that season.

“We pushed them to 2021, but then COVID,” Lynch said.

Though virus rates that July were low, he remembered thinking, “This thing’s going to cycle back up.” And then, “Delta and omicron came to visit.”

Similarly, the Richmond Symphony and the Shenandoah Valley Choral Society had been signed for 2020 to perform Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in celebration of the 250th birthday of Beethoven and the 50th anniversary of the choral society.

“They’ve never been to the music festival before,” Lynch said, but “this is the return of symphonic music.”

This summer they will celebrate the 252nd birthday of Beethoven and the 52nd of the choral society, he said.

“You got to be flexible in this business,” Lynch said.

The ABBA tribute was also pushed from 2020, and The Spinners will be new to the festival this year.

Conversely, Bela Fleck, who has been here several times before, is bringing his uniqueness along with him.

“Such a chameleon,” Lynch said, “he’s got a different show every time he comes here. This is his bluegrass show.”

Lynch is perhaps most excited for Marty Stuart, “a hugely popular performer.” Stuart tops his list of favorite acts over his 27 years with the festival.

“There have been three performers that I’ve actually sat down and watched from beginning to end … and Marty Stuart’s one of them.”

The festival runs from June 24 to Sept. 4. The music venue is located at 217 Shrine Mont Circle in Orkney Springs. For tickets or other information, visit musicfest.org. The festival's office in Woodstock can be reached at 540-459-3396 or info@musicfest.org.

Contact Josette Keelor at jkeelor@nvdaily.com

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