Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Festival Madness

Story by David Brewer

There is no better way to celebrate the coming of summer than to embrace the outdoors at one of Western North Carolina’s many music festivals. From great, day-long local events just down the road to three-day, multi-stage blowouts, lovers of world music, jambands bluegrass and more all have something to cheer about!

Mountain Valleyfest
Saturday, May 17
Green Valley Park
Boone
www.mountainpathways.org/mtnvalleyfest.htm

Family fun will be the order of the day at the second annual Mountain Valleyfest at Green Valley Park on Saturday, May 17. The schedule for the single-day event is packed from beginning to end with lots of things to keep families busy and to ensure that the kids won’t have any trouble falling asleep that night.

Parents and children can take advantage of the river with Wahoo’s Adventure’s canoe rides and tubing and kayaking trips down the New River, hang with Myrtle the Turtle or jump themselves silly on three large airwalks from Jump! of Boone.
A variety of acts will provide music from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. including The Sunday Singers, The Forget-Me-Nots, Elkville String Band, Surefire Bluegrass Band, the Wolfe Brothers String Band, Diana and Sarvis Ridge, the Worthless Son-in-Laws and Soul Benefactor.

A number of vendors will be on hand selling handmade crafts, along with food by Earth Fare, Makoto Japanese Steakhouse and Cici’s Pizza. Mountain Valleyfest will raise money for Green Valley Park and Mountain Pathways School.

Admission to Mountain Valleyfest is free and parking is $2 per vehicle and includes a ticket for a door prize. For more info, call 828-262-5787, or email nancynjerry@charter.net or jscarroll@bellsouth.net.

The Worthless Son-In-Laws
The Forget-Me-Nots
Surefire Bluegrass Band
Soul Benefactor
Diana & Sarvis Ridge
Elkville Stringband
Wolfe Brothers Stringband
The Sunday Singers

Asheville Music Jamboree
Friday to Sunday, May 23 to 25
Deerfields Campground
Mills River
www.amjam.net

The steep hills and beautiful valleys of Deerfields campground couldn’t provide a more picturesque mountain backdrop for the Asheville Music Jamboree. Located just south of Asheville in Mills River, AmJam organizers are doing their best to provide major festival talent in an intimate and beautiful environment.

Unlike cooking in the Tennessee heat alongside tens of thousands of sweaty festivalgoers at Bonnaroo, AmJam offers lots of shade and two stream-fed lakes for cool, mountain swimming. Also, the festival’s two stages are located just a few yards apart, allowing fans the ability to see every minute of music.

The diverse AmJam lineup is heavy on talent, featuring international stars and the best of Asheville’s rich local scene. Headliners include Gov’t Mule, Burning Spear, Keller & The Keels, James McMurtry and The Lee Boys. Homegrown acts include Telepath, Shannon Whitworth, The Afromotive and Kellin Watson.

Tickets for AmJam are $125 and are available on the festival website. Vehicle camping and RV parking passes are also available for purchase on the site. If your kids love music, you’re in luck as children under 12 are admitted free at AmJam.

Gov’t Mule
Burning Spear
Keller & The Keels
RAQ
James McMurtry
Ivan Neville’s Dumpstaphunk
Boombox
Jason Isbell & The 400 Unit
The Lee Boys
and many more…

Fiddler’s Grove Ole Time Fiddlers & Bluegrass Festival
Friday to Sunday, May 23 to 25
Fiddler’s Grove Campground
Union Grove
www.fiddlersgrove.com

The 84th Annual Fiddler’s Grove Ole Time Fiddlers & Bluegrass Festival has been around so long that it makes MerleFest look like a fly-by-night operation. However, unlike MerleFest’s great variety, Fiddler’s Grove is all about traditional music, as well as the highly coveted awards.

More than 50 traditional bands in old time and bluegrass divisions (junior and senior categories) vie for top honors in the coveted Fiddler’s Grove band championships. Winners in each of the fiddle categories play off for the Fiddler of the Festival award—known by diehards as the highlight of the festival.

Like most fiddlers’ convention-type festivals, pockets of pickers will be gathered in all directions. The jams, competitions and workshops in all instrumental categories provide an ongoing learning experience in traditional music that flourishes in the festival environment. There are individual junior and senior competitions in fiddle, banjo, autoharp, mandolin, harmonica, guitar, dulcimer, hammered dulcimer, Dobro and bass fiddle.

Fiddler’s Grove is a family event and no alcohol is allowed on the grounds. Children 10 and under are admitted free. Tickets can be purchased for the entire festival or for individual days at www.fiddlersgrove.com. Camping and RV passes can also be purchased on the site.

The Kruger Brothers
Robin Warren & Spirit Fiddle
Laura Boosinger
The Cockman Family
Mel Jones
The Trantham Family
Sally Spring

Ramp Festival
Saturday to Sunday, May 24 to 25
Jim & Jennie’s Music Barn
Crossnore

The annual Ramp Festival, a two-day event celebrating a wild leek found in the Appalachian Mountains, takes place on Saturday, May 24, from 12:30 to 11:00 p.m. and Sunday, May 25, from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. at Jim & Jennie’s Music Barn and Campground in Crossnore.

The ramp is a wild onion native to the Appalachian Mountains that grows from South Carolina to Canada and is harvested in spring. The bulb is similar to that of a scallion, but the plant’s flat, broad leaves distinguish it. Ramps have a strong odor and garlic flavor.

The event features live music, dancing and plenty of raw and fried ramps with potatoes and all the trimmings. Serving time is 12:30 to 11:00 p.m. on Saturday and 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. on Sunday.

For ramp recipes, click to www.wild-leeks.com.

Additional information about the festival could not be obtained as of press time. Jim & Jennie’s Music Barn is located at 677 Hawshaw Fire Tower Road in Crossnore. For more info, call 828-733-0682.

The Hullabaloo Festival
Saturday, June 7
High Country Fairgrounds
Boone
www.boonesaloon.com

It’s been a stressful time for the owners of the Boone Saloon in the wake of the fire that ripped through their popular restaurant and bar. While the absence of the venue has created a major gap in the High Country’s live music scene, it hasn’t stopped Boone Saloon owners from quickly hoisting together the inaugural Hullabaloo Festival to, in their words, get together for some well-deserved fun and a little ruckus.

Taking place at the High Country Fairgrounds from noon to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, June 7, Hullabaloo will feature a handful of great High Country acts, as well as headliners The Afromotive and Telepath from Asheville.

Foothills Brewery will be on hand providing plenty of liquid refreshment, and Boone Saloon will team with Reid’s Catering to dispense plenty of festival food favorites.

Tickets for Hullabaloo are $20 and will be available at the gate; however, organizers are unclear about whether tickets will be available in advance.
For more info, set times, directions to the fairgrounds and more, click to www.boonesaloon.com.

The Afromotive
Telepath
Hope Massive
Naked Gods
Lazybirds
Smallwonder
DJ Fyah Babylon