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Musings on folk, Americana, country, bluegrass and newgrass

Yarn performs at Rooster Walk 6


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On Huffington Post: Ancient Tones – New Sounds Festival makes it debut Sept. 25-27 on storied grounds in Union Grove, N.C.

Ancient Tones – New Sounds Festival is making its debut Sept. 25-27 in Union Grove, North Carolina, with a stellar lineup of Americana, Celtic, bluegrass and old-time mountain music artists including The Horse Flies, Scythian, Yarn, Mountain Heart, Blu Bop, The Fighting Jamesons, Big Fat Gap, Hard Cider, Whiskey of the Damned, Brynmor, The GoodFellers, The Brown Liquor Pickers and Mason Via and Friends.

“I want to put a focus on the the common musical thread that runs through the roots of each of those genres,” says Robert Gabb, festival founder, organizer and musician. “All of these bands were purposely chosen. The premise is tracing the lineage between all this music; tracing the footsteps of the first Celtic settlers which translated into old-time mountain music and then bluegrass and then Americana.”

The culmination of what Gabb, who originally hails from Wales, describes as a cultural heritage festival will come Saturday night when his Irish band heads up a mashup of musicians. “We want to get people out of their seats and dancing.”

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American Aquarium headlining Texas Pete Culinary Arts Festival

If you are a fan of tasty food and eclectic tunes, you won’t want to miss the Texas Pete 2015 Culinary Arts Festival, which kicks off tonight (Friday, Sept. 18) through Sunday, Sept. 20, in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

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Tickets on sale for first Brewster Walk featuring in Martinsville, Va., set for Oct. 10

Brewster Walk, a craft beer festival featuring live music is set for Saturday, Oct. 10, on East Church Street in front of the historic Rives Theatre in Uptown Martinsville,Virginia.

Brewster Walk will feature Parkway Brewery, among more than a dozen craft breweries, each of which will have multiple beers on tap at the festival, and musical performances from The Chris Duarte Group, Wild Ponies and JuntoContinue reading


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Jarekus Singleton, Devon Allman, Mandolin Orange, Donna the Buffalo and Peter Rowan among acts coming to Rives Theatre

Before heading to the Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion on the Virginia/Tennessee border this weekend, Delta blues sensation  Jarekus Singleton is making a stop with his full band in uptown Martinsville, Virginia, to perform in the historic Rives Theatre.

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Baroque folk masters River Whyless to perform free show in downtown Winston-Salem on Thursday, Sept. 17

If you had the chance to hear River Whyless perform its unique version of baroque folk rock at this year’s Phuzz Phest or FloydFest, you won’t want to miss this Asheville, North Carolina-based quartet at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 17, in downtown Winston-Salem. The concert is Flow Honda’s third volume of “Sunset Thursdays,” the FREE community concert series at Bailey Park in Wake Forest Innovation Quarter. Continue reading


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On Huffington Post: Labor Day Weekend provides variety of opportunities to discover new music, help struggling communities

Tired of listening to the same old music? Make plans to attend Front Porch Fest at the Spirit Haven Farm in Stuart, Virginia, over Labor Day weekend and you’ll not only be exposed to some new tunes, you’ll be helping out a struggling community. Continue reading


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Don’t confuse 75th Annual National Folk Festival headliner Dale Watson’s music with today’s country

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Fourth annual WhoDat Festival to feature FloydFest ‘On The Rise’ bands on Saturday, Aug. 15

If you attended (or missed) FloydFest 14, you won’t want to miss the fourth annual WhoDat Festival, featuring North Carolina musicians. That’s because a number of FloydFest’s On the Rise (OTR) bands are performing on Saturday, Aug. 15, just east of downtown Greensboro. Continue reading


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Five songs that prove Caleb Caudle should be the next Jason Isbell

If you haven’t heard of Caleb Caudle, just wait. You will. The recent success of alt-country darling Jason Isbell’s rock-folk-country-chart topping album, “Something More Than Free,” gives similar artists like Caudle hope that they too can break out and that their genre-defying music can be heard by the masses. Continue reading