‘Finding meaning out of the tragedy’: Music festival honors a life, promotes heart health

Ghailah Nyeanchi, Contributing Writer

“I just want to make sure nothing like this ever happens again,” said Shannon Walls, father of Avery Walls and member of Sidepiece, a local band. 

The Park RVA, a food and entertainment hall, hosted the “Avery Walls Music Festival,” which honored the life of Avery Walls on Saturday, March 23 with music, food and family-friendly entertainment. Avery Walls’ family organized the event to honor his life and raise money for heart conditions for the American Heart Association.

Avery Walls was born in Missouri and later moved to Virginia, according to the Sidepiece website. He was born with Wolff-Parkinson White syndrome, a very rare heart condition the family was lucky to catch at birth, according to Shannon Walls. 

Avery Walls had ablation surgery when he was 3 years old, and the family thought that the condition was fixed, Shannon Walls said. Avery Walls began having issues in July 2023 and underwent testing by cardiologists and specialists. 

One night, Avery Walls went to bed and did not wake up, Shannon Walls said. He had a heart attack in his sleep.  

“Avery was only 20 years old,” Shannon Walls said. “He passed away last September.” 

He was a super sweet kid, Shannon Walls said. He came to many of Sidepiece’s shows and helped out whenever he could, including capturing videos and film to upload onto their Facebook and Youtube channels. 

Avery Walls was a maintenance technician at one of the local Amazon facilities, Shannon Walls said. He was into what all 20 year old boys are into — comic books, superheroes and Dungeons & Dragons. 

“He was just starting to make his way in the world and didn’t get to do that,” Shannon Walls said. “He didn’t get to continue, so I’m hoping that the festival will be a celebration where people can come out, have a good time and remember him.” 

Shannon Walls pitched the idea for the event to the rest of Sidepiece, he said. The band was instrumental in putting it together. 

“When all of this happened, I was struggling to find meaning out of the tragedy,” Shannon Walls said. “I thought it would be nice to honor him and raise money so other people didn’t have to go through what I went through.” 

The festival turned out to be bigger than any of us could’ve imagined, said Blake Narron, the drummer for Sidepiece. 

“I didn’t know if anyone was going to be interested since the point wasn’t to make money, it was strictly for the American Heart Association,” Narron said. “I was blown away by how many people have their own individual stories or know someone who has been affected by heart issues.” 

So many bands volunteered to play in the festival that Narron had to turn people away, he said. 

Sidepiece hopes the festival helps push legislation to include echocardiograms in sports physicals, Narron said.  

“It’s a simple test, it takes longer to stick those stickers on than it is to run the test,” Narron said.  “Obviously, Avery was able to get diagnosed at birth, but imagine how many kids have a condition like that and they just don’t know.” 

The American Heart Association also pledged to allocate funds to support local initiatives, according to Narron.

“The Powhatan community that Avery actually played football for in high school is offering CPR training and EKG testing,” Narron said. 

The hall hummed with activity throughout the festival. Kids congregated around arcade games, bowling lanes and mini golf courts. Parents sipped drinks, laughed with friends and nodded along as local band Audiovault performed and rock music streamed through the speakers. 

There was something for everyone at the festival, as it featured a wide variety of genres, such as funk, R&B and ‘90s grunge, according to Narron.

“I’ve liked everything they’ve played so far,” said Vanessa Roehm, an attendee of the music festival. “And it’s nice to support a good cause.”