Twenty-nine years. That’s how long the annual Creedmoor Music Festival has been bringing folks together. Wayne Kinton, founding member of bluegrass band GrassStreet, remembers when the event started on a resident’s front porch. Kinton’s band was one of eight musical groups performing on two stages during Saturday’s festival held on Main Street. 

Those humble beginnings have grown into a full-blown festival attracting a variety of genres including blues, R&B, soul, country and original rock.

The weather cooperated to help visitors and more than 100 vendors and local businesses that lined packed streets. The festivities included a car show. And food. Hot dogs and hamburgers. BBQ. Giant turkey legs. Thai curry. Pizza. And the ubiquitous funnel cakes.  

Trey Snide, owner and on-air personality at Granville County’s Next Door Radio, served as guest emcee welcoming bands to their respective stages.

“We have a great mix of music and we’re thrilled to be back after missing the past two years due to Covid,” Snide said. 

One of the bands, Bellflower, played the festival for the first time. The five-piece rock band from Chapel Hill performs all original songs, some of which include a pocket trumpet played by Sam Davis-Castro.

“We’re thrilled to have this opportunity to share our music here,” said Franklin Bellflower, band founder and leader. “I love festivals because they allow us to expose our unique sound to a wide variety of people, who otherwise might never get to hear us play.”

But back to Kinton, who has been involved with the Creedmoor Music Festival since its inception. GrassStreet plays contemporary tunes based on traditional stylings, a mixture of bluegrass standards and original compositions. The current group is a derivative of the band Swift Run which has performed regionally since the early ’80s. 

A Henderson native, Kinton plays a 1951 Martin D-18 on stage. On Saturday, GrassStreet played a mix of gospel and classic rock songs — from Hank Williams to Bob Seger.

Kinton praised the Creedmoor Music Festival and its organizers for making sure the show has gone on all these years.

“This festival has hung with it and they built on what they had,” he explained. “They had competent and able help, they had a large volunteer pool, and they were very well organized. This festival is unusual because it is still here and it is thriving.”

Here’s a video clip of GrassStreet’s performance: https://www.facebook.com/wayne.kinton/videos/425032206283931

Read original story at https://restorationnewsmedia.com/articles/local-news-butnercreedmoor/creedmoor-music-festival-celebrates-29-years-of-music-and-much-more/