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

July 10, 2008 issue

MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove Strikes a
Chord with Young Players

Festival Begins Friday at 2:00 p.m.

Story by David Brewer

For any tradition to survive, new people must heed the call and learn from their elders the skills of yesteryear to carry them forward. Recipes must be logged in family cookbooks; the making of crafts must be observed and the processes that bore them shared; songs must be played, loved, learned and played again.

Inevitably, each individual’s human experience informs how he or she reacts to and interprets the traditions of mothers and fathers, and of grandmothers and grandfathers. In reality, few if any traditions remain truly unchanged by the hands that pass them down, but the core idea remains.

This weekend in Cove Creek, the hands of children, young adults, middle aged and senior citizens will all lovingly slide across the small variety of stringed instruments that have translated a common musical languages for decades, many of which have long since transcended their roots only to be reinterpreted and spread across the world.

In a sense, the 11th Annual MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove is a celebration of the youth who continue to learn those musical traditions and shape them for their children and grandchildren, as well as the elders who continue to inspire them. The proceedings begin this Friday at 2:00 p.m. at the Historic Cove Creek School.

Perhaps the band that best represents the convergence of old and new will deliver the weekend’s most anticipated performances. While the Carolina Chocolate Drops built considerable buzz since coming together at banjo conference in Boone in 2005, it was the combination of their opening slot for Taj Mahal at Farthing Auditorium in February and their recent triumphs at this year’s MerleFest that have the group riding a wave of popularity among High Country music fans.

While last year’s press conference for MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove featured a round of amazing performances from festival patriarch Doc Watson and European bluegrass prodigies The Kruger Brothers who will both perform this weekend, local Celtic fiddling favorites the Forget-Me-Nots and rising Caldwell County bluegrass band Sweetbriar Jam proved that age is nothing but a number when it comes to instrumental prowess at Monday’s gathering.

While none of the players (excluding Forget-Me-Nots guitarist David Finck) in the pair of the festival’s youngest acts were even in kindergarten at the time of the first MusicFest (formerly the Doc Watson Music Festival), the groups play with the poise and vigor of pickers considerably their senior. Their talents may seem novel at first, but their dedication and determination to play roots music soon overcome their physical stature.

In addition to nearly three days of non-stop picking, singing and sharing, MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove organizers are dedicated to community responsibility and education. The Doc & Rosa Lee Watson Scholarship will again be presented to a local student majoring in sustainable development at ASU. Local band Southern Exposure, who will again be hosts of the Solar Stage, will be joined by fellow appropriate technology majors from ASU, who will be on hand with a trailer full of exhibits, that will be on display all weekend for those interested in green initiatives in the High Country.

On Sunday, The Cockman Family will host MusicFest’s first-ever gospel program and service beginning at 12:30 p.m. The program will also feature festival veterans Southern Accent and the Kruger Brothers and is free and open to the public.

Tickets for MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove are $55 for two-day passes, $25 for single-day reserved seats and $20 for general admission. Kids 12 and under will be admitted free with a paying adult.
For more info on the 11th Annual MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove, click to www.covecreek.net.


Want To Go?
Date: Friday to Sunday, July 11 to 13
Time: Begins Friday at 2:00 p.m.
Location: Historic Cove Creek School
Cost: $55 for two-day passes/$20 for general admission/kids 12 and under free with a paying adult


MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove Schedule

The 11th Annual MusicFest ‘N Sugar Grove begins this Friday, July 11, at 2:00 p.m. Whether you want to pick with strangers or just relax and soak up the sounds at the Main Stage or Solar Stage, there will be plenty of room to roam at the Historic Cove Creek School.

Friday, July 11
Main Stage
2:00 to 2:40 p.m. He Said...She Said
2:50 to 3:40 p.m. Surefire
3:50 to 4:30 p.m. Lost Faculties
4:40 to 5:20 p.m. BackPorch Bluegrass
5:30 to 6:10 p.m. Lost Ridge Band
6:20 to 7:20 p.m. Kruger Brothers
7:30 to 8:45 p.m. Carolina Chocolate Drops
9:00 to 10:15 p.m. Cadillac Sky
10:15 to 11:00 p.m. MusicFest Jam
 
Solar Stage: 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. Open Jam
 
Saturday, July 12
Main Stage
9:00 to 9:40 a.m. Naomi & the Home Folks
9:50 to 10:00 a.m. Maura Shawn Scanlin
10:10 to 10:50 a.m. SweetBriar Jam
11:00 to 11:40 a.m. Andy Owens Band
11:50 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Forget-Me-Nots
12:40 to 1:20 p.m. Southern Accent
1:30 to 2:10 p.m. BackPorch Bluegrass
2:20 to 3:00 p.m. Amantha Mill
3:10 to 3:50 p.m. Lost Ridge Band
4:00 to 4:40 p.m. Cockman Family
4:50 to 5:30 p.m. Kentucky School of Bluegrass Band
5:40 to 6:20 p.m. Lisa Baldwin & Dave Haney
6:30 to 7:40 p.m. Carolina Chocolate Drops
7:50 to 9:00 p.m. Kruger Brothers
9:10 to 10:20 p.m. Doc Watson
10:20 to ‘til MusicFest Jam
 
Solar Stage
Children’s Program
10:00 to 10:50 a.m. Maura Shawn Scanlin
11:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Lisa Baldwin & Dave Haney

Other Performances
12:10 to 12:50 Rachel Pinson & Maple Creek
1:00 to 1:50 p.m. He Said... She Said  
2:00 to 2:40 p.m. Lost Faculties
2:50 to 3:30 p.m. Jeff & Benares
3:40 to 4:20 p.m. Steve and Ruth Smith
4:30 to 5:10 p.m. Upright & Breathin’
5:20 to 6:20 p.m. Southern Exposure
 
Red Raider Room
12:00 to 12:45 p.m. Mandolin Workshop hosted by Andy Owens
12:45 to 1:30 p.m. Fiddle Workshop hosted by Bob Kogut
1:30 to 3:00 p.m. Banjo, Bass, Guitar Workshop with Kruger Brothers
3:00 to 6:00 p.m. Songwriters Showcase: Doris Bazzini Crother, Joe Hallock, Ron Kisiah, Mark Cool, Pete McWhirter, Scott Mertz, Kim McWhirter, Leon Nelson, Lilly Sutton, Dan Nelson, Angela Easterling, Deanna Dove, Neil Cribbs
 
Museum
1:00 to 2:00 p.m. A History of Mountain Music by Steve & Ruth Smith
2:00 p.m. ‘til Open Jam
 
Sunday, July 13 (free admission)
12:30 to 4:30 p.m. Gospel Program hosted by Cockman Family with Kruger Brothers and Southern Accent