musicreporterblog

Musings on folk, Americana, country, bluegrass and newgrass


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Annual Apex Music Festival promises live music, local craft beers on Saturday, Sept. 16

If you are in the Triangle area of North Carolina this weekend and you are interested in taking in some live music and local craft brews, head over to downtown Apex from 3 p.m. to midnight on Saturday, Sept. 16. In exchange for an Alexander Hamilton (that’s $10) you can catch nearly 20 acts and taste even more beers (the beers are extra). Just make sure you have a DD or a rideshare app on your phone and enjoy! Continue reading


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Gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel to perform at Pop’s Farm in Axton, Virginia, on Saturday, Sept. 23

From the good folks at Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival:

Rooster Walk and Deschutes Brewery are joining forces to present world-renowned gypsy jazz guitarist Stephane Wrembel & His Band at Pop’s Farm on Saturday, Sept. 23. Amazing local jazz group 5 Brothers (featuring David Oakes) will kick off the evening. Tickets cost $12 in advance and $15 day of show and are available here.

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Don’t miss Billy Strings, Whiskey Shivers perform free on the American Tobacco Campus on Thursday, Sept. 14

Want to catch two of the hottest Americana/roots musical acts of 2017? For free? Head over from 6 to 9 p.m on Thursday, Sept. 14, to the American Tobacco Amphitheater on Durham, North Carolina’s American Tobacco Campus for WUNC’s latest installment of Back Porch Music.

Featuring wunderkind Billy Strings and Austin’s alt country rockers Whiskey Shivers, the show is free and open to the public. Parking is $6 per car and children, dogs and picnic baskets are welcome. Continue reading


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17 reasons to attend the 2017 Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion on Sept. 15-17

If you are a fan of roots, rock, country, bluegrass, blues, old-time, folk and Americana music, then you are already a fan of the annual Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion held on State Street in Historic Downtown Bristol, Tennessee-Virginia, that celebrates the twin cities’ history as the birthplace of country music. This year’s  17th annual three-day music cornucopia that features 100 live acts across 20 stages is set for Friday, Sept. 15, through Sunday, Sept. 17. 

Headliners include Dwight Yoakam, Judah & the Lion, Jerry Douglas Presents: Earls of Leicester, Son Volt, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Rainbow Kitten Surprise, Deer Tick and The Infamous Stringdusters.
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Catch Nashville’s Forlorn Strangers at Appaloosa Roots Music Festival, IBMA’s Wide Open Bluegrass, Front Porch Fest

I had the pleasure of catching the Forlorn Strangers, a foot-stomping, Nashville-based string quintet, at the Lincoln Theatre in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, a few weeks ago when they opened for Celtic rockers Scythian at an International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA)  Wide Open Bluegrass preview show for its upcoming festival Sept. 29-30.

It also turned out to be a preview show for Scythian’s Appaloosa Roots Music Festival set for Sept. 1-3 in Front Royal, Virginia, at which both Scythian and Forlorn Strangers are set to perform. And Front Porch Fest fans will be happy to know they can catch Forlorn Strangers at the festival on Sept. 3 in Stuart, Virginia.

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George Hage of Jack the Radio to perform free, acoustic set at Muddy Creek Cafe on Friday, Aug. 18

George Hage, of Raleigh-based indie rockers Jack the Radio fame, will make a slight departure from the band’s bigger sound by performing a solo, acoustic set from 7-9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 18, at the Muddy Creek Cafe, 5455 Bethania Road, in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The event is free and open to the public.

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Barn-raising for Appaloosa Roots Music Festival celebrates community

“If I have one piece of advice, don’t burn your business down.”

Solid advice from Strong Oaks Woodshop founder Mike Schmiedicke. It comes from someone who doesn’t want to see what happened to him, his family, his employees and his community happen to someone else.

But this isn’t a story about what Schmiedicke lost in a blaze this past April. It’s about what he found. It’s about friends and community. It’s about how, when we pay it forward, it can come back around in ways we can’t even imagine.

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Annabelle’s Curse, Will Overman Band to play The Garage on Friday, Aug. 18

Two of my favorite on-the-rise bands — Annabelle’s Curse and Will Overman Band — that hail from opposite ends of Virginia are going to converge at The Garage in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, this weekend and I can hardly wait. I hope you will consider joining me for what promises to be a night of fantastic original Southern rock and Americana music. I promised you won’t be disappointed. The show begins at 9 p.m.

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Blue Ridge Music Center presents Old Crow Medicine Show, Mipso and Amythyst Kiah on Sunday, Aug. 27

Known for its ability to draw amazing Americana artists including the Steep Canyon Rangers, Ricky Skaggs, Alison Krauss, Jerry Douglas, The Steel Wheels, Marty Raybon and The Lee Boys, the Blue Ridge Music Center has outdone itself by offering one of its most impressive lineups to date on Sunday, Aug. 27, as part of its annual outdoor summer music series.
Old Crow Medicine Show, Mipso and Amythyst Kiah are set to play beginning at 4:30 p.m. at the Center, which is located just off the Blue Ridge Parkway at Milepost 213 nestled between the southwest Virginia towns of Galax and Fancy Gap. Tickets are $38 for adults and $22 for children.

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Cris Jacobs Band heading out to Pop’s Farm on Friday, Aug. 18

Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival and Deschutes Brewery will present the Southern rockers Cris Jacobs Band at 9 p.m. on Friday, Aug. 18, on the Pine Grove Stage at Pop’s Farm in Axton, Virginia.

Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the gate, which opens at 7:30. Tickets are available at the Daily Grind and Rising Sun Breads in Martinsville. Buy tickets online here. Rives Theatre season pass holders get in free.

Deschutes Brewery beers will be available on tap and a food truck will be onsite. Learn more at  http://bit.ly/2tYeoQT.