Carolina Music Festivals is a comprehensive calendar and guide to multi-act, daylong or multiple-day music shows in North Carolina.
August 5 - 7 Mountain Dance and Folk Festival - Asheville
Since 1928, the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival has presented a wide repertoire from old-timers as well as the newest generation of mountain musicians, dancers and cloggers whose performances echo centuries of Scottish, English, Irish, Cherokee and African heritage. The festival also designates “Legacy Performers” who have made significant contributions to the region’s musical heritage over several decades.
Artists
Thursday: Grey Eagle (Stoney Creek Boys), Ed Herron, Legacy Performer Ralph Lewis, The Whitewater Bluegrass Company, Don Pedi, Paul’s Creek Band, George and Brooke Buckner, Adam Masters and Friends, Phil and Gaye Johnson, Peg Twisters, Red June and Annie Shores, plus shaped note singers and dance teams.
Friday: Laura Boosinger, Stoney Creek Boys, Legacy Performer Paul Crouch, Clearwater Connection, Appalachia Song, Bobby Hicks, Twelve Gates with Sam Adams, Dehlia Low, Flora MacDonald Gammon, Bobby & Blue Ridge Tradition, Denise O’Sullivan, and dance teams.
Saturday: Stoney Creek Boys, Legacy Performer Betty Smith, Hominy Valley Boys, Roger Howell, Katherine Parham and Friends, Leonard Hollifield and Friends, Snyder Family Band, The Griggs, Richard Hurley, Donna Norton, Bryan McDowell & Friends, and dance teams.
Festival site: Diana Wortham Theatre
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7 to 10 p.m.
Three-day pass: $54, younger than 13 $24. |
August 13 - 15 Ola Belle Reed Music Festival - Lansing
The three-day celebration named for the acclaimed singer-songwriter presents bands from the Americana, bluegrass, old-time, country and folk traditions. There are also instrumental, songwriting and voice workshops, an outdoor jam tent, a craft market, food court and more.
Artists
The Mosier Brothers, Big Daddy Love, Aaron Lee Tasjan, Curley Maple, Elkville String Band, The Harris Brothers, Steve and Ruth, None of the Above Bluegrass, Ceol Leinn and more.
Festival site: Lansing Creeper Trail Park
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The festival is free; a $5 donation is suggested.
Primitive tent camping "near on-site" $10; RVs $25. |
August 19 - 21 N.C. State Bluegrass Festival - Marion
Adams and Anderson, LLC of Dahlonega, Georgia, presents several family-oriented bluegrass festivals around the Southeast. The 2010 festival has moved from Cherokee and from its original June date. It will be the 36th annual edition of the event.
Artists
Thursday: Dailey & Vincent, Bobby Osborne & The Rocky Top X-Press, David Peterson & 1946, Joe Mullins & Radio Ramblers, The Crowe Brothers, Gloria Belle & Tennessee Sunshine.
Friday: Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, J.D. Crowe & the New South, Goldwing Express, Cedar Hill, The Bluegrass Brothers, Next Best Thing.
Saturday: Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, Larry Sparks & The Lonesome Ramblers, The Grascals, The Inspirations, The Little Roy & Lizzie Show, Raymond Fairchild and the Maggie Valley Boys.
Festival site: Tom Johnson Camping Center Rally Park
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Three-day pass: adults $75, ages 6 to 13 $40 until August 9; adults $85, ages 6 to 13 $42 after. Ages 5 and younger free.
Daily pass: $30 until August 9, $35 after. Campground stay during the festival requires a three-day ticket. |
August 21 Bluez & Brewz Festival - Kitty Hawk
Close out summer at the Outer Banks with roughly 100 different beers to sample and some regional blues bands. A portion of ticket proceeds goes to the March of Dimes.
Artists
Grant Austin Taylor, Josh Preslar Band, The Crowd and Mojo Collins & Triple Threat.
Festival site: The Promenade
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6 to 10 p.m., gates open 5:30 p.m.
$30 with "unlimited 3-ounce pours," $20 without beer; beers $4 each separately. |
August 27 - 28 Music on the Mountaintop - Boone
The festival grew out Appalachian State University student Jimmy Hunt's business class project and resulted in 15 bands providing 12 hours of an eclectic variety of music while raising money for the cause and research of renewable and alternative energy. The festival, which expanded to two days for 2010, also presents local food, art and craft vendors.
Artists
Sam Bush, Keller Williams, Railroad Earth, Toubab Krewe, Acoustic Syndicate, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Snake Oil Medicine Show, Josh Phillips Folk Festival, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Do it to Julia, The Movement, The Native Sway, Uncle Mountain, Doc Aquatic, Farm Vegas, BPL, Mama’s Love, The Moderate, more TBA.
Festival site: High Country Fairgrounds
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11 a.m. to midnight; gates open 3 p.m. Friday.
Three stages.
Two-day pass: $60 and $65. Add $10 to ticket price for camping. Shuttle runs from ASU campus to festival noon to 8 p.m. and midnight to 2 a.m. No alcohol sales; a $5 wristband allows you to consume alcohol you bring. |
August 27 - 28 Fines Creek Bluegrass Jam - Clyde
The Bluegrass Jam is the Fines Creek Community Association's primary fundraiser, helping it to support college scholarships. The family-oriented festival showcases local musical groups and clogging teams on an outdoor stage.
Artists
Friday: Out of the Blue, Hominy Valley Boys, Balsam Range, Runners of the Green Laurel, Dixie Darlings Clogging Team.
Saturday: Hominy Valley Boys, Hazel Creek, Buncombe Turnpike, Raymond Fairchild, Appalachian Cloggers.
Festival site: Old Fines Creek School
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5 p.m. to midnight Friday, 4 p.m. to midnight Saturday.
Two-day pass: $25 Food concessions will be available. In case of rain, large canopy tents will provide cover for the audience. |
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