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GET OUT LOUDOUN
Get Out Loudoun is distributed monthly to entertainment, tourism, & hospitality venues throughout Loudoun County. For the latest news on the music & arts scene and other community events, go to getoutloudoun.com.
CONTRIBUTORS
Douglas Rogers
Norman K. Styer
TO ADVERTISE
Susan Styer at 703-770-9723 or sales@loudounnow.com getoutloudoun.com
8
INNOVATORS
Loudoun is home to some of the most innovative women in the craft beverage industry. Meet these four.
BREWS
A decade ago, Roger Knoell opened one of the county’s first limited breweries. This year, he was named Loudoun’s Brewer of the Year.
HISTORY
Get Out Loudoun’s best bets for March. 14
250 years ago, the revolutionary spirit was spreading among local colonists and then Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” supercharged the movement.
TUNES
indie rock band Fields and Forests enters the local music scene with the release of its debut album.
TASTES
A 12-year-old’s dream has grown to become one of the region’s largest restaurant companies, with new eateries popping up in our backyard.
BEST BETS
Women in Craft Beverage
BY DOUGLAS ROGERS
Visit Loudoun
In 2017, Cana Vineyards’ Melanie Natoli became the first Virginia winemaker to win Woman Winemaker of the Year at the prestigious Women’s International Wine Competition in Sonoma, CA. A few years later, she became the first woman to win the Governor’s Cup for the best wine in Virginia – a 2019 Unité Reserve red blend made entirely with Cana grapes. Accolades and awards continue to pour in, and this year, Natoli was invited to join the board of an exciting new nonprofit, Virginia Women in Wine, whose goal is to advance Virginia wine by supporting and celebrating the women who work in it.
“We plan to raise the bar for all,” Natoli said of
the VWW. “I hope to assist with a new mentorship program that’s being established and do anything else I can to ease the journey of the women winemakers following behind me.”
Natoli’s accomplishments are a useful reminder this Women’s History Month of the many pioneering women on Loudoun’s dynamic craft beverage scene.
Take Aimee Henkle, owner with her husband Todd, of the acclaimed Lost Creek Winery and fine-dining restaurant Echelon Wine Bar in Leesburg and Richmond. A graduate of MIT where she studied electrical engineering – her first job was making computer chips – Henkle is Treasurer of the Loudoun Wineries and Winegrowers Association, heads the annual Loudoun County Barrel Tasting event, oversees the glittering annual Loudoun Wine Awards and – as if that was not enough – is spearheading a new grassroots campaign, Uncork Loudoun to get more local wine into restaurants and retail outlets.
What does it mean to be a woman in the
WOMEN IN CRAFT BEVERAGES CONTINUED ON 5
Becky Harris
Aimee Henkle
Jenni McCloud
Melanie Natoli
Loudoun wine world?
“We aren’t just making the product, we are building businesses around it with strong brand identity,” said Henkle. “Women have a strong voice in the style of wines being produced, and that influence drives quality of the product with an expressive sense of place that is distinctly Loudoun.”
From wine to whiskey…
Becky Harris, owner with husband Scott of Catoctin Creek Distilling Co. in Purcellville, is arguably one of the greatest female whiskey makers in America. Visit for tours, tastings of signature spirits, whiskey, brandy or cocktails and for unique events like the Bottling Workshops where you learn how to bottle, cap, seal and label her famous Roundstone Rye.
Loudoun women are making waves in cider and beer too. At Corcoran Vineyards & Cider in Waterford, Lori Corcoran creates crisp, dry champagne-style ciders with quirky names such as Sinful and Knot Head. While over in Hillsboro, Loudoun native Ronda Powell
opened Old 690 Brewing Co. with her husband Mark and two partners in 2014, making it one of the first farm breweries in Loudoun. Tucked down a dirt road, her motto is “hard to find, harder to leave.”
Finally, how about some fine cheeses with your craft beverage?
Jenni McCloud, of Chrysalis Vineyards at the Ag District, is renowned for her Norton wines and vines; she even co-founded the Norton Network – a collaborative of Norton winegrowers and advocates who celebrate and promote Virginia’s native grape. She also added a dairy to her property a few years ago, which makes a range of superb cheeses. Sample it, along with fresh bread from her Little River Bakehouse, in the Chrysalis tasting room.
Cheers to all the female entrepreneurs this Women’s History Month.
www.visitloudoun.org
McKinley Exhibits Features Familiar Landscapes
BY WILLIAM TIMME wtimme@loudounnow.org
The Loudoun County Art Advisory Committee and the Department of Parks, Recreation and Community Services this month are presenting Virginia’s Hikes, Vineyards, and Local Scenery, a watercolor exhibition by artist Eva Kay McKinley.
Rooted in the rolling countryside meadows, sunlit vineyards, and hikes with a view, McKinley creates artwork of scenes from Loudoun County. Many of the scenes may cause the viewer to feel a sense of familiarity and calm, almost as though they have been there before— and they may have been.
The high school student has traveled through nearly half of the U.S. national parks and visited over 25 countries. While she enjoys capturing scenes from her travels, she finds inspiration in Loudoun’s landscapes. She seeks
to use her art to encourage people to spend more time outdoors in nature.
Learn more at heoldfashionedgirl.com.
The exhibit is on display through March 27 at Gallery One, located in the lobby of the Loudoun County Government Center, 1 Harrison Street SE in Leesburg. The public is invited to view the work Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The Loudoun County Art Advisory Committee, appointed by the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors, is dedicated to promoting local artists and preserving the county’s art collection. Learn more at loudoun.gov/advisory-art.
THE FIRE HORSE EXHIBIT
The Byrne Gallery in Middleburg this month
Sunsetting at Bears Den #2 by Eva Kay McKinley
ART FROM PAGE 6
features The Fire Horse.
The exhibit by painters Sharon Pierce McCullough and Joe LaMattina features their interpretation of the spirit of positive energy and going forward with creativity and momentum in the Year of the Horse. Their abstract paintings celebrate and explore the vibrancy of spring, the season of renewal when joyful color bursts forth once again.
The exhibit will be on display through March 29. A reception will be held on Saturday, March 7, from 4 to 7 p.m. and a gallery talk and reception will be held on Sunday, March 22, from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
The Byrne Gallery is located at 7 W. Washington St. in Middleburg. Learn more at thebyrnegallery.com.
Barnhouse’s Roger Knoell Named Brewer of the Year
BY NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.org
Ten years ago, Roger Knoell moved his home-based brewing operation to a new taproom on a gravel road near Lucketts. Barnhouse Brewery was among Loudoun’s earliest limited breweries.
This year, Knoell was named the Loudoun County Brewers Association’s Brewer of the Year in recognition of his dedicated support to the craft beverage industry.
“I really do enjoy it. It has been very rewarding. I really do enjoy the people aspect of it,” he said. “I’m behind the bar a lot. I think that actually is one of the factors that keep people coming back. It’s been mentioned to me many times that we really like the fact that we could sit there and talk with the owner who also does the brewing. It’s not a normal thing that you get to see.”
While Barnhouse is located on a road between two wineries, it is it a bit off the beaten path. Knoell’s customers come there as destination. Many are locals.
“The people in this area really enjoy this as a small, pub-like atmosphere,” he said. “On the on the flip side, I get a lot of people every weekend. When I talk to them—I try to talk to everybody when they come in the door—they live in Pennsylvania. They’re passing through. They see the sign. They stop. So, it’s a mix of everybody.”
Patrons won’t find a big operation—it’s not a restaurant, there’s not a playground, no outdoor bar lined with TVs.
“That is obviously not me. I’m more interested in producing good beer,” Knoell said.
He opened a decade ago with the same small brewing system that he used in his garage.
“We were drawing a lot more folks than we were at my house. That was the initial challenge. I was brewing a lot and it was really taxing. The plan is always to get another, bigger system,” he said.
It took him two years to design the larger brewhouse outfitting, working with engineers at manufacturer Deutsche.
Norman K. Styer/Loudoun Now
Roger Knoell
Route 7 Brewing Takes Top Prize at Loudoun Beer Awards
The Loudoun County Brewers Association put the spotlight on the best local craft beverage creations with its second annual Loudoun Beer Awards.
The theme of this year’s competition was “Brewing A Revolution” in honor of Virginia’s VA250 commemoration. Brewers, industry professionals, local officials, and craft beer enthusiasts gathered Feb. 4 at Lark Brewing Co. for the celebration.
Route 7 Brewing earned the best-in-show Loudoun Beer Cup for its Cross Czech, a Czech-Style Dark Lager (5.2% ABV), selected in a final tasting of all Gold Medal-winning beers. The event also celebrated the industry’s leadership and community impact.
Roger Knoell, of Barnhouse Brewery, was
Route 7 Brewing earned the best-in-show Loudoun Beer Cup for its Cross Czech during the 2026 Loudoun Beer Awards.
named Brewer of the Year. He began as a homebrewer in 1995, and operated out of his garage before the state and county established rules for farm breweries. Knoell has been cited as a valued resource and mentor in Loudoun’s brewing community.
THE FULL RESULTS WERE:
IPA
• Gold: COLD FRONT IPA – Lost Rhino Brewing
• Silver: Gilded Angel – Chilly Hollow Brewing
• HM: Star Party – Loudoun Brewing Co.
Hazy IPA
• Gold: Lucky 7 – Route 7 Brewing
• Silver: Juicious Malfoy – Chilly Hollow Brewing
• HM: Notch 8 – Bluemont Station
Wheat Beer
• Gold: Final Glide – Lost Rhino Brewing
• Silver: Wheatland Crossroads Hefe–Harvest Gap Brewing
• HM: Wit Witty – Hillsborough Brewing
Dark Ales
• Gold: CocoNilla – Lost Rhino
• Silver: One Sip Wonder – Lark Brewing Co.
• HM: Funky Chicken – Loudoun Brewing
Light Ales
• Gold: Kittocton Kolsch – Barnhouse Brewery
• Silver: Kodiak Kolsch – Bear Chase Brewing
• HM: Cross-Eyed Kolsch Lite – Loco Lion Brewing
Light Lager
• Gold: Chilly Light – Chilly Hollow Barn Beer
• Silver: Barn Beer – Bluemont Station Brewing
• HM: Poacher’s Pilsner – Black Hoof Brewing
Dark Lager
• Gold: Cross Czech – Route 7 Brewing
• Silver: Muzzle Loader Munich Dunkel–Black Hoof Brewing
• HM: Black Widow – Chilly Hollow Brewing
Fruited Beers
• Gold: Sour Bear Wild Berry – Bear Chase Brewing
• Silver: Merrang! – Crooked Run Fermentation
• HM: Tropical Sunset. – Bear Chase Brewing
Old World / International
• Gold: Boho Breeze – Route 7 Brewing
• Silver: Rhino Chasers – Lost Rhino Brewing
• HM: Trippin’ Daisies – Chilly Hollow Brewing
Hard Alternatives
Gold: Bear Chase Chili – Bear Chase Brewing
Bakerture Photo
BREWS FROM PAGE 8
“I love working on the big system. The one thing I could truly tell you, it’s handcrafted. There are no computers back there. There are no digital panels. There’s nothing; it’s all me with valves and switches,” he said.
Knoell favors lagers and likes having the time available to accommodate their longer cold temperature fermenting process.
“Customers have appreciated the fact that I have a wide variety of things. I am not a brewery that has 17 IPAs. As a matter of fact, I have three IPAs up there right now, and that’s super heavy for me—super heavy. I do a lot of dark beers,” he said.
With changing demographics in recent years, he had developed hard seltzers and frozen seltzers, although the Barnhouse clientele generally comes for the beer.
Knoell was a founding member of the Loudoun Brewers Association and said he values the support of the county’s brewing community. He’s worked with many people seeking to jump into the business—from the crew at Old 690 more than a decade ago to
AWARDS
FROM PAGE 9
One of the saddest days in the brewing community was celebrated as one of the county’s best events. The Last Call party at Old Ox Brewery was named Event of the Year. The program celebrated the Burns Family’s 11-year commitment to the local brewing industry and the community at large.
Bear Chase Brewing Company won the award for Best Loudoun Beer—one that best represents Loudoun County, showcasing local ingredients, local pride, and the spirit of the brewing community. The “Meet Virginia” is brewed with yeast from Loudoun, hops from Virginia growers, and malt from Virginia grain. The beer’s recipe changes throughout the year based on what’s available, with different malt varieties, seasonal hop harvests, and natural
the most recent newcomers at LoCo Lion.
“I like to say our group of brewers is a communal brewery. “It’s a very helpful, collaborative group and I really enjoy that.”
He was surprised, during last month’s Beer Awards program, to hear his name called for the Brewer of the Year presentation.
“It’s a really great honor, and I’m and it definitely humbled me, because I’m a humble guy. I don’t crave the spotlight at all,” he said. “When they were reading the description out at the event, I was like, sounds like me. And then three sentences in, I’m like, ‘Oh my God, that’s me.’ And I started panicking a little bit.”
Even with his Brewer of the Year honors, Knoell will still be found behind the bar and eager for a conversation on most weekends. Barnhouse Brewery is located at 43271 Spinks Ferry Road north of Leesburg.
Learn more at barnhousebrewery.com.
For information on the Loudoun County Brewers Association, go to loudounbeer.org.
variations of Virginia’s agricultural cycle.
In the competition, 16 Loudoun breweries entered almost 100 beers in 10 competition categories. Blind judging was conducted last month at Harvest Gap Brewing in Hillsboro, in conjunction with the Blue Ridge Cattlemen’s Association Chili Cook-Off. Gold, silver, and honorable mention awards were determined by a panel of 22 BJCP certified judges.
Lost Rhino Brewing topped the medal stand with three golds and one silver. Route 7 Brewing earned three golds along with the bestin-show honors. Bear Chase Brewing earned two golds, a silver and an honorable mention. Chilly Hollow Brewing took home four prized, a gold, two silvers and an honorable mention. Barnhouse Brewery also earned a gold medal.
Learn more at loudounbeer.org
1 50 West Vineyards 39060 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg 50westvineyards.com
2 8 Chains North Winery 38593 Daymont Ln., Waterford, VA 8chainsnorth.com
3 868 Estate Vineyards 14001 Harpers Ferry Rd., Purcellville 868estatevineyards.com
4 The Barns at Hamilton Station 16804 Hamilton Station Rd., Hamilton thebarnsathamiltonstation.com
5 Bleu Frog Vineyards 16413 James Monroe Hwy, Leesburg bleufrogvineyards.com
6 Bluemont Vineyard 18755 Foggy Bottom Rd., Bluemont bluemontvineyard.com
7 Boxwood Estate Winery 2042 Burrland Rd., Middleburg boxwoodwinery.com
8 Breaux Vineyards 36888 Breaux Vineyards Ln., Hillsboro breauxvineyards.com
9 Bozzo Family Vineyards 35226 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro bozwines.com
10 Cana Vineyards of Middleburg 38600 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg canavineyards.com
11 Carriage House Wineworks 40817 Brown Lane, Waterford chwwinery.com
12 Casanel Vineyards 17952 Canby Rd., Leesburg casanelvineyards.com
13 Chrysalis Vineyards 39025 Little River Turnpike, Aldie chrysaliswine.com
14 Corcoran Vineyards & Cider 14635 Corkys Farm Ln., Waterford corcoranvineyards.com
15 Creek’s Edge Winery 41255 Annas Ln., Lovettsville creeksedgewinery.com
16 Domaine Fortier Vineyards 13235 Miltown Road, Lovettsville domainefortier.com
17 Doukenie Winery 14727 Mountain Rd., Hillsboro doukeniewinery.com
18 Droumavalla Farm Winery 14980 Limestone School Rd., Lucketts droumavalla.com
19 Eagletree Farm & Vineyards 15100 Harrison Hill Lane, Leesburg eagletreevineyards.com
20 Endhardt Vineyards 19600 Lincoln Road, Purcellville endhardtvineyards.com
21 Fabbioli Cellars 15669 Limestone School Rd., Leesburg fabbioliwines.com
22 Farm de Vine 15960 Short Hill Road, Hillsboro farmdevine.com
23 Firefly Cellars 40325 Charles Town Pike, Hamilton fireflycellars.com
24 Fleetwood Farm Winery 23075 Evergreen Mills Rd., Leesburg fleetwoodfarmwinery.com
25 Good Spirit Farm Winery 35113 Snickersville Turnpike, Round Hill goodspiritfarmva.com
26 Greenhill Winery & Vineyards 23595 Winery Ln., Middleburg greenhillvineyards.com
27 Hidden Brook Winery 43301 Spinks Ferry Rd., Leesburg hiddenbrookwinery.com
28 Hiddencroft Vineyards 12202 Axline Rd., Lovettsville hiddencroftvineyards.com
29 Hope Flower Farm & Winery 40905 Stumptown Road, Waterford hopeflowerfarm.com
30 Kalero Vineyard 36140 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro kalerovineyard.com
31 October One Vineyard 7 Loudoun St., SW, Leesburg Octoberonevineyard.com
32 Old Farm Winery 23583 Fleetwood Road, Aldie oldfarmwineryhartland.com
33 Otium Cellars 18050 Tranquility Rd., Purcellville otiumcellars.com
34 Petit Domaines
37938 Charles Town Pike, Purcellville thepetitdomaine.com
35 Stone Tower Winery
19925 Hogback Mountain Rd., Leesburg stonetowerwinery.com
36 Sunset Hills Vineyard
38295 Fremont Overlook Ln, Purcellville sunsethillsvineyard.com
37 Terra Nebulo
39892 Old Wheatland Rd., Waterford terranebulo.com
1 Adroit Theory Brewing 404 Browning Ct., Purcellville adroit-theory.com
2 Barnhouse Brewery 43271 Spinks Ferry Rd., Leesburg barnhousebrewery.com
3 Bear Chase Brewing 33665 Bear Chase Ln., Bluemont bearchasebrew.com
4 Black Hoof Brewing Company 11 South King St., Leesburg blackhoofbrewing.com
5 Crooked Run Fermentations Central 22455 Davis Dr., Sterling crookedrunbrewing.com
6 Crooked Run Fermentations Market Station, Leesburg crookedrunbrewing.com
7 Dirt Farm Brewing 18701 Foggy Bottom Rd., Bluemont dirtfarmbrewing.com
8 Dynasty Brewing Company 101 Loudoun St, SE, Leesburg dynastybrewing.com
9 Eleven Eleven Brewing Company 725 E. Main St., Purcellville bellylovebrewing.com
10 Flying Ace Farm 40950 Flying Ace Ln, Lovettsville flyingacefarm.com
1 Bluemont Station Brewery and Winery 18301 Whitehall Estate Lane, Bluemont bluemontstation.com
2 Hillsborough Brewery & Vineyards 36716 Charles Town Pike, Hillsboro hillsboroughwine.com
3 Notaviva Brewery and Winery 13274 Sagle Rd., Hillsboro notavivavineyards.com
4 Quattro Goomba’s Brewery & Winery 22860 James Monroe Hwy., Aldie goombawine.com
38 Three Creeks Winery 18548 Harmony Church Road, Hamilton 3creekswinery.com
39 Two Twisted Posts Winery 12944 Harpers Ferry Rd., Hillsboro twotwistedposts.com
40 Village Winery 40405 Browns Lane, Waterford villagewineryandvineyards.com
41 Willowcroft Farm Vineyards 38906 Mount Gilead Rd., Leesburg willowcroftwine.com
BREWERIES
11 Harper’s Ferry Brewing 37412 Adventure Ctr. Lane, Hillsboro harpersferrybrewing.com
12 Harvest Gap Brewery 15485 Purcellville Road, Hillsboro facebook.com/HarvestGap
13 Honor Brewing Company 42604 Trade West Dr., Sterling honorbrewing.com
14 Lark Brewing Co. 24205 James Monroe Hwy., Aldie larkbrewingco.com
15 Loco Lion 36577 Hesketts Lane, Hillsboro locolion.com
16 Lost Barrel Brewing 36138 Little River Turnpike, Middleburg lostbarrel.com
17 Lost Rhino Brewing Company 21730 Red Rum Rd. #142, Ashburn lostrhino.com
18 Loudoun Brewing Company 310 E. Market St., Leesburg loudounbrewing.com
19 Ocelot Brewing Company 23600 Overland Dr., #180, Dulles ocelotbrewing.com
20 Old 690 Brewing Company 15670 Ashbury Church Rd., Hillsboro old690.com
1 Henway Hard Cider Company 18780 Foggy Bottom Road, Bluemont henwayhardcider.com
2 Loudoun Cider House 43376 Spinks Ferry Rd., Leesburg loudounciderhouse.com
3 Mt. Defiance Cider Barn 495 E. Washington St., Middleburg mtdefiance.com
4 Wild Hare Hard Cider Cabin 106 South St., Leesburg wildharecider.com
42 The Wine Reserve at Waterford 38516 Charles Town Pike, Waterford waterfordwinereserve.com
43 Walsh Family Wine 16031 Hillsboro Rd., Purcellville northgatevineyard.com
44 Williams Gap Vineyards 35785 Sexton Farm Lane, Round Hill williamsgavineyard.com
45 Zephaniah Farm Vineyard 19381 Dunlop Mill Rd., Leesburg zephwine.com
21 Route 7 Brewing 20051 Riverside Commons PL, Ashburn route7brewing
22 Solace Brewing Company 42615 Trade West Dr., Sterling solacebrewing.com
23 Stockyard Brewery 12428 Mountain Road, Lovettsville stockyardbrewery.com
24 Sweetwater Tavern 45980 Waterview Plaza, Sterling greatamericanrestaurants.com
25 Vanish Farmwoods Brewery 42245 Black Hops Ln., Lucketts vanishbeer.com
26 Water’s End Brewing 1602 Village Market Blvd SE #120, Leesburg watersendbrewery.com
27 Wheatland Spring Farm + Brewery 38506 John Wolford Rd., Waterford wheatlandspring.com
28 Whites Ferry Brewery 42484 Whites Ferry Rd. Leesburg, Va. whitesferrymanor.com
Catoctin Creek Distillery 120 W. Main St. Purcellville catoctincreekdistilling.com
2 Cool Spring Distilling 37871 Nicewarner Lane, Lovettsville coolspringdistillery.com
3 Flying Ace Farm 40950 Flying Ace Lane, Lovettsville flyingacefarm.com
4 Mt. Defiance Cidery & Distillery 495 E. Washington St., Middleburg mtdefiance.com
Stonehouse Meadery 36580 Shoemaker School Rd., Purcellville stonehousemeadery.com
HISTORY
Sharing Aloud:
The Revolutionary Words of Thomas Paine
NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.org
As the early battles of the American Revolution were being fought 250 years ago, a 47-page pamphlet began circulating throughout the colonies urging residents to sever ties with the British monarchy.
The first copies of Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense” are believed to have arrived in Loudoun County by Jan. 19, 1776—just nine days after the first press run in Philadelphia. From there, it went viral, as we would say today.
Travis Shaw, director of education at the Piedmont Heritage Area Association, said Paine’s brutal critique of hereditary government as unnatural, unjust, and absurd, hit the colonies at the right time.
“This release is not happening in a vacuum. We’re talking about January and February 1776. Virginia is at war. We’ve already sent soldiers from Loudoun County and Fauquier
County down to Tidewater Virginia to face off with the former governor, Lord Dunmore,” he said. “As this is being circulated, our troops are fighting in places like Norfolk and Great Bridge against the former governor. And we’re hearing of the fighting in the north. It’s all happening at the same time this happens to get published at this time—and it just spreads like wildfire, because it’s confirming what people are already thinking.”
For residents living in Loudoun, they were likely introduced to Paine’s essays in public settings, in taverns, as part of church gatherings, or during militia musters on the courthouse lawn.
This year, members of the Loudoun VA250 Committee, comprised of local historians and educators, are working to recreate those conversations with public readings in today’s spaces. The first of those events was held Feb. 26 at the Caleb Rector house in Atoka.
With 30 people gathered in a room with a
roaring fireplace, speakers took turns reading passages selected by historian Rich Gillespie to capture the spirit of Paine’s ideas.
The half-hour literary dismantling of foundations of monarchy was frequently cheered with huzzahs and foot-stomping.
“One of the strongest natural proofs of the folly of hereditary right in kings is that nature disapproves it. Otherwise, she would not so frequently turn it into ridicule by giving mankind an ass for a lord,” reads one particularly rousing passage.
Piedmont Heritage Area Association Executive Director Ian MacDougall said the scene was similar to those played out across the county.
“You’ve got a rider bringing it into town, you’ve got newspapers that are going to be distributing it, and then the public is going to learn about it just as we are tonight,” he said. “I know they are meeting at our public places, our ordinaries, our taverns, and they’re having these discussions just as we are tonight right now. Two hundred and fifty years ago, these discussions were happening in a room just like this one.”
One participant in the reading remarked that hearing the cadence of Paine’s words aloud took on a Shakespearean quality.
Shaw agreed. “As someone who’s personally read this multiple times, but never out loud, I think having a crowd of people reacting was very powerful.”
And the words were impactful. Five months after the publication of Common Sense, delegates to the Fifth Virginia Convention voted unanimously to instruct their representative in the Continental Congress to support efforts to declare the confederation of colonies as independent states free from foreign control.
Shaw said that was the culmination of a shift in public thinking that began in 1774 with the adoption of the Loudoun Resolves.
“This is a document that comes out in the summer of 1774 that says that we, the people of Loudoun County, Virginia, will put our lives and treasure on the line for the people of Boston. That is insane,” Shaw said of the action at that time. “That is when we are starting to see ourselves, not as Virginians, not as Marylanders, not as North Carolinians, not as New Yorkers, but as Americans, and that is such an important shift in public opinion.
“’Common Sense’ is, in my mind, the climax of that. That is where we start to see ourselves as Americans engaged in a common cause,” Shaw said. “One of the most important legacies of ‘Common Sense’ is that Thomas Paine puts it in such succinct language—language that anyone can understand.”
For information on the next public reading of “Common Sense” and other events planned around the America 250 celebration, go to visitloudoun.org/loudoun250.
Teachers at the Old Schoolhouse
NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.org
KARMA CREAK’S BLUEGRASS JOURNEY CONTINUES ON STORIED STAGE
Two years after forming a bluegrass band, a quartet of Loudoun County Public School teachers will perform on one of the circuit’s most storied stages this month.
Frequently heard playing around Loudoun’s music scene, Karma Creak landed a spot opening for Grammy-winning Special Consensus at the Lucketts Community Center on March 28.
Thomas Scott and Christopher Looney work together at Woodgrove High School and started playing together, Scott on guitar and Looney on mandolin.
“Then he convinced me to get a banjo, and I did that. I would bring it to school and we would jam some, and one thing led to another,” Scott said.
Then they asked Scott’s wife, Jackie, an Emerick Elementary School music teacher, to join them.
“I don’t know if I was ever formally invited to be in the band. It just happened,” she said.
The quartet was rounded out during a new school year kick-off meeting for the school
From left, Karma Creak members Christopher Looney, Will Spaulding, and Thomas and Jackie Scott.
”
“I FIGURED THERE WAS A HIGH CONCENTRATION OF INSTRUMENTALISTS IN THAT ROOM, AND THIS WOULD BE THE BEST PLACE TO TRY TO FIND SOMEBODY, AND SINCE WE ALREADY HAD THREE TEACHERS, I WAS HOPING FOR A FOURTH.”
—Jackie Scott
division’s music teachers.
“So my fun fact was that we were starting a bluegrass band, and we needed a bassist,” Jackie Scott said. “I figured there was a high concentration of instrumentalists in that room, and this would be the best place to try to find somebody, and since we already had three teachers, I was hoping for a fourth.”
Will Spaulding, a social studies and civics teacher at Belmont Ridge Middle School, jumped in.
They come from different musical backgrounds but have coalesced around the communal spirit of bluegrass. Thomas was into jazz. Jackie performed as a singer/ songwriter in college. Will was into gospel, R&B, blues and the Grateful Dead. Christopher was playing Townes Van Zandt/ Texas troubadour stuff.
But they eventually were called to bluegrass.
“My life would be completely different if I had just picked up a banjo much earlier in my life,” Thomas Scott said.
“When I heard Bela Fleck, that’s when I was like, ‘Oh crap. This instrument—the banjo—is not just a kitschy, funny little instrument. People are doing really interesting stuff with this.’ The floodgates opened from there,” Spaulding said.
“If you play mandolin, you kind of have to do bluegrass. And I resisted it for a long time, and I don’t know why. It was just out
of ignorance,” Looney said. “I finally just kind of accepted it, and I’ve loved it ever since. I’ve come to peace with that.”
The band released their first recording, a six-song EP in February 2025, available on streaming platforms. It includes six covers and one original. They have another batch of originals ready to be refined and recorded, either as a new album or a series of streaming releases.
They just need to find the time to do that.
“It’s no small miracle that we make this
work,” Jackie Scott said of the band members’ busy teacher schedules and managing young children of their own.
Of course there are benefits. Snow day school closures provide time for band practice, and they have summers off together.
The band performs regularly on several local stages, including Monks BBQ in Purcellville and breweries including Wheatland Springs and Vanish, and has played community festivals in Hillsboro and Round Hill.
As other performers on Loudoun’s winery and brewery circuit know, the band is often playing background music for noisy crowds in those venues.
it’s very fun going to the old schoolhouse. I mean, they’ve been playing bluegrass there for 50 years,” Thomas Scott said. “There’s some amazing live recordings of bands that have come from the old schoolhouse.”
Not the least among those is the classic recording by the Johnson Mountain Boys.
That will not be the case during the Lucketts Community Center show.
“We’re very excited about that, because
Honoring those traditions are important to the band
“When we perform, we all wear the same shirt and a blazer and a hat. Our classic string ties and that sort of thing came from that Johnson Mountain Boys look,” Looney said.
“We definitely try to pay homage to the old timey bluegrass groups, and then the Johnson Mountain Boys as well,” Thomas Scott said.
“There is the Bill Monroe kind of mentality—you dress up and show respect to your audience and show how seriously you take it by making conscious decisions to dress well. Sound-wise. I think we sound like TUNES FROM PAGE 17
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traditional bluegrass. Our instrumentation is very traditional, banjo, mandolin, acoustic bass and guitar.”
He said Jackie’s contributions help differentiate their sound. “Her female vocals are not something you always hear in a traditional bluegrass band, and then it’s the style of singing is just more like she’s played acoustic folk most of her life, and it has just kind of a softer and more melodic edge than sometimes you hear in a traditional bluegrass group,” he said. “I’d say we’re a very vocal-forward group, because we all enjoy singing together.”
Those in the audience at the Lucketts show can expect tributes to both Monroe and the Johnson Mountian Boys along with a showcase of originals, during their tight 30-minute set.
Unlike some other venues—to include their classrooms—they know people will be paying attention.
“That can be very intimidating. When you’re used to playing for more leisurely audiences where you’re doing a three-hour gig and people are just kind of hanging out, and sometimes they might zone in on what you’re doing,” Thomas Scott said. “But when the audience is sitting there looking at you, that can be very nice, and very fun, but we’re going to have to prepare for that attention.
“I’m a high school English teacher. I’m not used to anybody looking at me and paying attention to me,” he said. “So that could be very new territory for me.”
Living the Restaurant Dream
You’ve Probably Dined at Warren Thompson’s Table—or Will Soon
NORMAN K. STYER nstyer@loudounnow.org
When Warren Thompson was 12 years old, he decided he was going into the restaurant business.
He was sitting in a Shoney’s with his parents in Portsmouth.
“I saw people coming in, families coming in, having fun, paying their money and leaving. And I said, that’s a great way to make a living,” he recalled.
From that point on, everything was focused on how he could prepare himself to operate and run a restaurant company.
Fast forward to 1992 and Warren was in Leesburg opening a Shoney’s of his own, converting a former Big Boy’s on East Market Street—one of 31 he bought from Marriott. It wasn’t a great time to be a Shoney’s franchisee, the brand faltered and over the next
decade he had to sell them off.
That wasn’t the end of his dream. Today, his family-owned Thompson Restaurants is a billion-dollar business with 65 restaurants across 15 brands around the DC region. Last month, he opened a new Austin Grill Tex-Mex eatery in Cascades, next to his Ms. Peach’s Southern Kitchen. And Loudoun diners will be familiar with his other offerings, including Matchbox and Big Buns at One Loudoun, Markers Union at Goose Creek Village, and Velocity Wings. A Makers Union and Milk & Honey are planned in South Riding.
Thompson hopes to have 100 restaurants in the DC market within the next three years.
Thompson’s entrepreneurship started with mowing grass and selling hogs as a kid. He studied managerial economics at Hampton Sydney College, and earned his MBA from UVA’s Darden School of Business.
Austin Grill, Cascades
Warren Thompson
It was a summer MBA internship program at Marriott that helped lift him to restaurant ownership. Ending that program as the top candidate, he was selected to return to learn the business from the bottom up.
“I started as an assistant manager in the fast food division, the Roy Rogers division of Marriott,” Thompson said. “And even though I was paid an MBA salary, I cleaned the toilets, I ran the drive through, cooked the burgers, cooked the chicken.”
He told Marriott that by age 30 he planned to leave and start his own company.
“When I left there, I was the highest ranking African American in Marriott,” he said.
He worked in the airport division on the East Coast and was part of a team that brought national brands—Taco Bell, Pizza Hut, and Burger King—into airport terminals.
“It was great experience. We had a group that we called ourselves the Renegades. We decided we were going to change the way people ate in airports,” he said. “People thought we were crazy back then—that no one would want brands like that in airports. But the rest is history.”
With a $100,000 personal investment, he made the deal to acquire the 31 Big Boys in
1992.
Then came the March blizzard in 1993. “We couldn’t get the restaurants open for about a week and a half. I couldn’t get out of my house,” he said.
And then the dot-com recession hit in 2000. “The restaurants were failing. The Shoney’s brand wasn’t working. We were running low on cash as a startup.”
A few years earlier, he moved into contract food service, serving hospitals and other business. The company also does facilities management.
That diversification saved the company, especially when the pandemic hit. “COVID— who would have ever imagined that something like that would impact our world?”
“Our organization has matured to the point that after being in business for 33 years, we’ve seen just about everything that can be thrown at the industry, and our strategy has always been to have a diverse portfolio of income,” Thompson said. “I learned this when I was a kid cutting grass for people, raising hogs and selling produce—I didn’t have all of my eggs in one basket.”
Today, restaurants make up about 25% of the company’s revenue and that’s growing. “The name of the game is price value. You have to offer value. You don’t have to be the cheapest, but the value proposition has to be there, which is a balance of quality and price. We strive to do that,” Thompson said.
Just as Loudoun was home to his first restaurant, it remains of focal point and a valued testing ground.
“Loudoun and Fairfax, they’re great counties to launch our brands and to start new brands. In Sterling, we launched Ms. Peaches,
Ms. Peaches Southern Kitchen, Cascades
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which is named for my grandmother, and so it has a very sentimental approach. It’s probably 10 minutes from my house, same with Austin Grill. Those were great places to launch those brands again,” he said.
He said the decision to add Halal items on his menus came from a conversation with a Loudoun customer.
“My chief operating officer and I were walking into a restaurant one day and a family said, ‘Do you have Halal chicken?’ And we said, ‘no, why don’t we have Halal chicken?’ Within 30 days, we got it into all of our stores,” he said. “It’s really driving sales in a niche that we wouldn’t have without being close to it and really having a chance to interact with our customers on a regular basis. We wouldn’t have sat in an office and thought of things like that."
Could that 12-year-old boy envision operating a billion-dollar business? Probably not,
Thompson said.
“I was told the story by my father, about my great-great-grandfather, who was born a slave. When he became free at the age of 30, he started his own blacksmith business using what he had learned while working on the plantation. That became my blueprint for business,” Thompson said.
“If my great-great-grandfather in a slave shack in Virginia could dream of one day having his own business, then my father would often say to me that I had no excuse for not being able to dream and bring that dream to a reality.”
The newly opened Austin Grill is located at 20728 Great Falls Plaza, Suite 162 in Cascades and, like other Thompson Hospitality restaurants, features the signature offering of Warren’s Chicken and Waffles.
Learn more about Thompson Hospitality at thompsonhospitality.com.
WILLIAMS BRANCH
Saturday, March 14, 7 p.m. Lucketts Community Center luckettsbluegrass.org
Williamson Branch is a high-energy, Nashville-based family bluegrass band celebrated for their tight harmonies and mix of traditional bluegrass, country, and gospel music. $22.
ROBBIE LIMON & MICHELLE DUPWE
Thursday, March 19, 7 p.m.
The Barns at Hamilton Station thebarnsathamiltonstation.com
THE REAGAN YEARS
Saturday, March 21, 8 p.m. Tally Ho Theater tallyhotheater.com
Two popular voices of the Loudoun music scene team up for a ticketed listening room performance. $25.
The ‘80s tribute band celebrates its 30th anniversary. $27.
SEVERAL SPECIES
Saturday, March 28, 8 p.m. Tally Ho Theater tallyhotheater.com
An 11-member band dedicated to recreating the Pink Floyd concert experience since 1996. $25.
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American History Unlocked
From estates and museums to the home of General George C. Marshall, discover Loudoun’s rich history with the new heritage pass, offering discounted admission to five local attractions. Celebrate America’s 250th by learning about Loudoun’s past.
