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

2nd Annual Playhouse Family Music Fest Set for August 16 in Sugar Grove

On Saturday, August 16, the family-friendly Playhouse Family Music Festival will return to Sugar Grove’s Historic Cove Creek School with nationally acclaimed children’s music performer Billy Jonas and rising “kid-hop” performer Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, as well as local favorites the Lost Ridge Band, The Forget-Me-Nots and The BDBs featuring Dave Hutchinson and Paul and Vanessa Van Valin.

The festival will take place from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Proceeds from the festival will benefit the Children’s Playhouse, the only nonprofit, independent children’s museum in the High Country.

Nationally popular with kids and adults alike, Asheville-based artist Billy Jonas has won multiple awards including a Parent’s Choice Gold, and the New York Times recommended his DVD, Everybody’s in the Band. Reviewers describe Jonas’s music as “original and fun for the whole family. It features an interactive style that invites everyone to sing and ‘bang’ along.”

Also headquartered in Asheville, Secret Agent 23 Skidoo, a.k.a. Cactus Sullivan, mixes traditional funk, bluegrass, reggae and blues with hip-hop beats in his story-filled album Easy. The disc includes the song “Luck,” currently #1 on XMKids satellite radio. A father himself, 23 Skidoo combines positive messages with infectious beats.

In addition to the lengthy list of performers filling the event’s two stages, the Playhouse Family Music Festival will have plenty of activities to keep kids busy throughout the day. Activities include puppet shows, crafts, bubbles, multiple inflatables and more. Local crafts, family items and food vendors will also be on hand.

Advance tickets are $10 for adults and $5 per child and can be purchased at www.goplayhouse.org, as well as at Earth Fare, Mast Store and Green Mother Goods. Tickets at the gate will be $13 for adults and $6 for children 12 and younger. Kids under 24 months will be admitted free of charge.

In the event of rain, all music performances will take place in the Old Cove Creek School gymnasium.

Want To Go?

Date: Saturday, August 16
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Location: Historic Cove Creek School
Cost: $10 for adults in advance/$5 for children 12 and under/FREE for kids under 24 months

Daniel Boone Days Brings Music Back to Horn in the West September 6

Daniel Boone Days is an inaugural festival planned for Thursday, Friday and Saturday, September 4, 5 and 6, at various locations around Boone. Organized by High Country Press and Mountain Fountain Productions, Daniel Boone Days addresses the need for a unifying celebration for the Town of Boone—a celebration that highlights the town’s namesake.

While festival events include the Daniel Boone Days Symposium featuring author Robert Morgan, Fess Parker Wine Dinners at The Gamekeeper Restaurant and Casa Rustica and the Daniel Boone Chase Foot Race, Daniel Boone Days will climax on Saturday with the inaugural Pioneer Festival at the Horn—a music and cultural festival at Horn in the West from noon to 11:00 p.m.

An event for all ages, the Pioneer Festival at the Horn features arts and crafts vendors, a square dance, Boone’s plott hounds, the Watauga Arts Council’s fiddlers’ competition, the Daniel Boone Look-Alike Contest and live music from Boone’s Lost Ridge Band, Virginia’s Larry Keel & Natural Bridge and MerleFest standouts The Waybacks.

For more information, call 828-264-2262 or click to www.danielboonedays.com.

Blue Highway Headlines 2nd Annual High Country Bluegrass Festival September 6

On Saturday, September 6, the High Country Bluegrass Festival will return to the High Country Fairgrounds in Boone and will again feature a slew of national and local talent. Headliners for the festival include Grammy-nominated Blue Highway, Dailey & Vincent and multiple IBMA award winners The Infamous Stringdusters.
Local hot pickers slated to appear at the festival include HayesGrass winners the Surefire Bluegrass Band, banjo and guitar champ Steve Lewis and friends, and bluegrass gospel outfit The Cockman Family.

In addition to the performances, Terry Baucom and Blue Highway’s Jason Burleson will host a banjo workshop and Alan Johnson and Adam Haynes will host a fiddle workshop.

A legend in her own right, writer, musician and radio personality Cindy Baucom will again serve as the festival’s emcee. A native of Ashe County, Baucom’s syndicated radio show Knee Deep in Bluegrass is broadcast on more than 65 stations across the country. In 2005, Baucom was named the IBMA’s Broadcaster of the Year.

A limited number of campsites will be available to festivalgoers. Primitive sites are $10 and sites with electrical and sewer hookups are $20. Campers must make reservations in advance by calling 828-733-8060.

Advance tickets cost $20 and are available at Fine Musical Instruments in Statesville, Bluemoon Guitars & Music in Jefferson, Appalachian Music Shoppe in Boone and Old Hampton Store in Linville. Tickets at the gate will be $25.

For more info, call Johnson at 828-733-8060 or click to www.highcountrybluegrassfestival.com.

Want To Go?

Date: Saturday, September 6
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Location: High Country Fairgrounds in Boone
Cost: $20 in advance/$25 at the gate