Festival Season Has Finally Arrived
Bluegrass, Jazz, World Music & More at Outdoor Musicfests

By Jeff Eason

For many music lovers, MerleFest signals the official beginning of the outdoor music festival season in the Carolinas, Virginia & Tennessee. During the next six months, you’ll be able to pack up the lawn chairs and rain gear (just in case) and see some great outdoor music just about every single weekend.



Dubconscious, one of the hottest new acts on the road today, will perform at Lake Toxaway, North Carolina as part of the Smilefest lineup in June.
Here’s a look at some of the bigger festivals within a few hours driving distance from MerleFest:

Lake Eden Arts Festival

The Lake Eden Arts Festival in Black Mountain, North Carolina is scheduled for May 12-14. This three-day festival is held in one of the most beautiful settings in the country and features music, camping, dance, drum circles, a poetry slam, lake adventures, swimming, canoeing and much more.

Musical acts at the LEAF include Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk, Martha Redbone, Donna the Buffalo, Cyril Neville’s Tribe 13, the Rebirth Brass Band, Toubab Krewe, the Greencards, the Horseflies, Nightingale with Rick Mohr, New Orleans Klezmer All-Stars, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Sunpie & the Louisiana Sunspots, Little Rascals Brass Band, bohola, Red Stick Ramblers, Crooked Still, Far Horizons with Beth Molaro, the Muses, West End Mambo, Tyler Ramsey, the Funky Monkeys, David LaMotte, the Asheville Contemporary Dance Theater, Sun River Drums with Artimus Pyle and many more.

For tickets or more information, call (828) 68MUSIC, or visit the festival website at www.lakeedenartsfestival.org.

Aiken Bluegrass Festival

Now in its third year, the Aiken Bluegrass Festival in Aiken, South Carolina combines the best of both worlds when it comes to being small enough to get a great vantage point and big enough to attract world class talent. This year’s festival is set for Friday and Saturday, May 12 & 13, and features the Steep Canyon Rangers, the Biscuit Burners, the Sam Bush Band, Peter Rowan and Tony Rice, Larry Keel, Reeltime Travelers, Savannah River Grass, Darlene & the Reflections of Bluegrass, Carolina Bluegrass, Split Rail and others. For more information, visit the festival’s website at www.aikenbluegrassfestival.org.

Blue Ridge Celtic Festival

Now in its third year, the Blue Ridge Celtic Festival will be held at Chetola Resort in Blowing Rock on Saturday, May 20th from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The festival features Celtic food, vendors and artisans, live music and dancing, demonstrations and contests, and much more!

Live music at this year’s festival will include Celtic favorites Enter the Haggis, Henri’s Notions, Celtic Knot, Bean Sidhe, and Classic Celtic, among others. To order tickets, or to get further information on the Blue Ridge Celtic Festival, call 1-800-243-8652 or visit www.blueridgecelticfest.com.

Smilefest at Lake Toxaway

Smilefest, one of the Southeast’s most revered eclectic music and camping festivals, returns June 2-4 at the Gorges Music Park in Lake Toxaway, North Carolina (west of Asheville).

This year’s musical lineup for Smilefest includes Michael Franti & Spearhead, Younder Mountain String Band, Keller Williams, Sam Bush Band, New Monsoon, Everyone Orchestra, Herring-Rodgers-Sipe Project, Steep Canyon Rangers, the Avett Brothers, Darol Anger’s Republic of Strings, Jeff Coffin’s Mu’tet, Soulgrass, Lotus, the Biscuit Burners, Hot Buttered Rum, Barefoot Manner, Dubconscious, Afromotive, Seepeoples, David Via and Corn Tornado, Pnuma Trio, Town Mountain, Furnace Mountain, Hit and Run, Curtis Burch, Ralph Roddenberry and Donna Hopkins.

Acoustic Syndicate fans will be glad to learn that singer Steve “Big Daddy” McMurry will perform at Smilefest with his new band, Big Blue. Other acts to take the Smilefest stage include Packway Handle Band, Cyril Lance Band, Tanya Shylock, Infradig, Dromedary Quartet, Scarecrow Collection, Green Lemon, Strut, Sugar & Spice, and AfterDark.

3-Day tickets for Smilefest are $95 in advance. For more information, visit the Smilefest website at www.smilefest.com.

Johnson City’s Blue Plum Festival

Last year, more than 65,000 attended Johnson City, Tennessee’s annual Blue Plum Festival—they city’s art and music festival. In addition to great live music, the festival features fine food, art displays, puppet shows, and lots of dancing. This year’s event is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, June 2 & 3, and features live music from The Drew Emmitt Band featuring Jeff Sipe, Greg Garrison, Tyler Grant, Railroad Earth, The Waybacks, Martha Scanlan, and many more. For more information, or to order tickets, call (423) 928-3479, or visit the festival website at www.blueplum.org.

Bonnaroo

In five short years, the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee, has become one of the hottest tickets on the planet. This year’s event is scheduled for June 16-18 and features Radiohead, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Phil Lesh & Friends, Beck, Elvis Costello & the Imposters, Oysterhead, Bonnie Raitt, Death Cab for Cutie, moe, Bright Eyes, the Neville Brothers, Cypress Hill, Buddy Guy, Ben Folds, Robert Randolph & the Family Band, Dr. John, Sonic Youth, Les Claypool, G. Love & Special Sauce, Umphrey’s McGee, My Morning Jacket, Nickel Creek, Steel Pulse, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Gomez, Steve Earle, Cat Power, Blues Traveler, Disco Biscuits, Son Volt, Jerry Douglas, Rusted Root, Bill Frisell, Shooter Jennings, Motet, Andrew Bird and many, many others.

For more information, visit www.bonnaroo.com.

Music Fest in Sugar Grove

Watauga County’s Music Fest in Sugar Grove is a great way to hear fantastic old time, bluegrass and Americana music in an intimate outdoor setting. Held on the grounds of the old Cove Creek School, this year’s event is scheduled for July 14 & 15. Featured performers include the Kruger Brothers, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, the Cockman Family, Southern Accent, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Lost Ridge Band, the Biscuit Burners, the Wolfe Brothers, Big Country Bluegrass, Mel Jones & his Bag O’ Bones, the VW Boys, ETSU’s State of Franklin, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Run of the Mill, Patrick Fitzsimmons, Neighbor’s Acres, Cove Creek Ramblers and many more.

Tickets are on sale now. For more information, call (828) 297-2200 or visit the festival’s website at www.covecreek.net.

FloydFest Five

Emphasizing mountain music and world music, FloydFest in Floyd, Virginia has quickly become one of the favorite “alternative” festivals in the country. This year’s FloydFest is scheduled for July 28-30 and will feature Los Lobos, Cyro Baptista & Beat the Donkey, Donna the Buffalo, Iris Dement, Eddie From Ohio, Tim O’Brien, Adrienne Young & Little Sadie, the Drew Emmitt Band, Gabby La La, Jake Shimobukuro, Rhythm Taxi, the Avett Brothers, Akoya Afrobeat Ensemble, Garaj Mahal, Lamine Toure & Group Saloum, Toubab Krewe, Balfa Toujours, the Campbell Brothers, Charivari, David Bromberg with Angel Band, Rory Block, The Lee Boys, Appalachian Roots, Dirk Powell, Devon Sproule, Jan Smith and many others.

FloydFest also features a wealth of arts and crafts, all held in a Blue Ridge Mountain setting. For more information, call (540) 745-3378, or visit the festival website at www.floydfest.com.

Boone Bluegrass Festival

The Boone Bluegrass Festival returns this September 9th and 10th with free music workshops and jamming on Friday and a full day of live music on Saturday. Saturday’s stage lineup includes IIIrd Tyme Out, Newfound Road, the Larry Stephenson Band, David Peterson, and Ronni Stoneman from the television show Hee Haw. The festival will be held at the Boone Fairgrounds on Roby Greene Road, east of Boone. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate. For more information, or to order tickets, call (828) 262-1188, or visit the festival website at www.boonebluegrassfest.com.

Bristol’s Rhythm & Roots Reunion

Bristol’s 6th Annual Rhythm & Roots Reunion is scheduled for September 15-17 and looks to be one of the biggest musical bashes in the mountains this year. Celebrating Bristol’s 150th birthday, the three-day festival will feature performances by Marty Stuart, The Del McCoury Band, Junior Brown, Hot Buttered Rum, The Seldom Scene, Blue Highway, Mountain Heart, Jim Lauderdale, Darrell Scott, Railroad Earth, Vince Herman, The Drew Emmitt Band, Red Stick Ramblers, the everybodyfields, Chatham County Line, Dale Jett, the Celtibillies, Sigean, the Divine Maggees, Matt Lindau, the ETSU Bluegrass Band, Reagan Boggs, Moccasin Gap, Janie Gray, Steven Foster Band, Kim Lyons, Danielle Walters, Foghorn String Band, Old Line Skiffle Combo, Sparky Rucker, Roger Rasnake, Ed Snodderly, Wayne Henderson, Peyton Tochterman & High Society, April Taylor, Jim Waive & the Young Divorcees, Corklickers, Wrinkle Neck Mules, Lucy Angel, Lightnin’ Charlie, Virginia Cross Ties, Holston Mountain Boys, Highway 11, Jan Smith, Southern 76, Blue Country, Ramblin’ Rose, Montage, Crushed Velvette, Valley Street, Gary Hensley, Alecia Nugent, and the Lost Mountain String Band.

The festival will also feature a Piedmont Blues Showcase starring George Higgs, Cool John Ferguson and Adolphus Bell.

Now in its 6th year, the Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion has more stages and more musicians than ever before. The festival also features food, fun and activities for the entire family.

For more information, visit the festival’s website at www.bristolrhythm.com or call Leah Ross at the festival during business hours at (276) 591-4898.