The 20th annual Spring Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance returns May 2-5, 2024, in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Featuring performances from hosts Donna The Buffalo, Scythian, Watchhouse, Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, Time Sawyer, The Shoaldiggers and more than 50 other musical acts along with camping, yoga, food trucks, artisans, sustainability workshops, healing arts, kids areas and so much more.
Donna The Buffalo & The Steel Wheels 2024 Tour comes to the Carolina Theatre of Durham on Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024.
Tickets to see Donna The Buffalo & The Steel Wheels in Durham are on sale at the Carolina Theatre box office and the venue’s website.
According to the Carolina Theatre’s website, Donna the Buffalo offers everything you want in a roots band — songs that matter, a groove that makes you dance, an audience that spans generations, and a musical voice that evokes a sense of community. The band has become a lifestyle for its members and audiences who gather at the countless festivals they perform at across the country, including the band’s own festival, the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, New York.
The Steel Wheels, known for their rootsy brand of Americana, also gathers their fans at their own festival, the Red Wing Roots Music Festival. The festival, a weekend-long celebration of music, community, and the beautiful Shenandoah Valley allows The Steel Wheels to showcase their music informed by traditional sounds from the Virginia mountains where the band was formed.
About The Carolina Theatre of Durham
Carolina Theatre of Durham is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization which manages the city-owned Carolina Theatre at 309 W. Morgan Street, Durham, NC 27701. The Carolina Theatre of Durham is dedicated to presenting vibrant, thought-provoking film and live performances that contribute to the cultural and economic vitality of downtown Durham and the Triangle Region. Visit carolinatheatre.org for more information.
The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance is a collaboration between the Shakori Hills Community Arts Center and the GrassRoots Festival Organization, providing a family-friendly celebration of music, dance, art and education. Activities for all ages! Yoga classes, sustainability discussions, food vendors, local beverages, demonstrations, workshops and much more! There are a variety of camp site options on a bucolic 72 acre site in Pittsboro, North Carolina. Find tickets for the May 2-4, 2024, event on sale at this link: https://www.shakorihillsgrassroots.org/
It’s less than a month when we all can spread our wings together again at the 19th Annual Fall Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance! This fall’s event hosted by Donna the Buffalo features the incomporable Mavis Staples, Tan and Sober Gentlemen and Big Daddy Love just to name a few!
The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance is a collaboration between the Shakori Hills Community Arts Center and the GrassRoots Festival Organization, providing a family-friendly celebration of music, dance, art and education. Activities for all ages include yoga classes, sustainability discussions, food vendors, local beverages, demonstrations, workshops and much more! There are a variety of camp site options on a bucolic 72-acre site in Pittsboro, North Carolina.
“I’m still in shock,” Easter said after finding out he and his band had won the contest.
Since MerleFest’s inception, the festival has fostered and provided opportunities to up-an-coming musicians, songwriters, local and regional artists and other undiscovered talent from around the country and this year was no exception.
MerleFest continues that tradition each year by inviting eight groups to not only perform during Saturday’s events but also compete for the chance to perform on the Hillside Stage in front of thousands of festival-goers.
This year’s other band competitors included:
The Blue Ridge Girls
The Burnett Sisters Band & Colin Ray
His & Hers
Jack Marion & The Pearl Snap Prophets
Love & Valor
South Hill Banks
Judged by members of The Local Boys, the band competition winner was announced by host Mark Bumgarner and the lucky group received a coveted spot on the Hillside Stage’s Sunday lineup at 11 a.m. The band played a rousing set to an appreciative crowd. And The Boot named Easter’s set among the best at the festival.
“For some, performing at one of the nation’s largest Americana music festivals is a springboard for their musical careers, while for all the participants it is a once in a lifetime experience,” Bumgarner said. “The level of talent has been incredible and continues to wow the crowds each year.”
“Offering insight into some of the most premier up and coming talent across the nation, this competition is sure to impress,” adds judge and The Local Boys band member John Aaron Soots.
Not only a fan-favorite event, this annual gathering of next-generation bands is near and dear to MerleFest organizers’ hearts as well.
“The band contest is a great opportunity to discover your next favorite up-and-coming band. Every year the talent and quality continue to impress, and audiences get a chance to feel like they’re discovering the next big thing before they hit the Watson Stage,” says MerleFest Artist Relations Manager Lindsay Craven. “We love getting the local and regional talent on our stages and playing for our audience.”
More sad news as music festivals continue to cancel in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, this time from the good folks over at Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival:
“As you all know, Shakori Hills is a very special place that brings together music and dance fans twice a year to celebrate life and art. Therefore, you know how painful it is to announce the cancellation of theSpring 2020 festival due to the coronavirus.
“Carol Woodell, board president of theShakori Hills Community Arts Center (SHCAC), would like you to know, “In the interest of slowing the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and with particular concern for the health of our festival family, the performers, staff, and our Chatham County community, it is with deep sadness that we are canceling our Spring festival,” said Carol Woodell, board president of the Shakori Hills Community Arts Center.
“The SHCAC is also cancelling all other programs until further notice, including all Road to Shakori shows, the Junior Appalachian Musicians classes, and multiple voice and art classes.”
More than 50 performers, including Galactic, Donna the Buffalo, Roosevelt Collier, Tan and Sober Gentlemen and Shiloh Hill, will appear on four stages over four days. Other activities include yoga, dance and sustainability workshops.
The festival site has been described as a “music lovers’ paradise” and offers affordable tent, vehicle and RV camping options. Four-day and single-day tickets are on sale now and children 12 and under are free with a paying adult. Learn more at https://shakorihillsgrassroots.org/tickets-info/
The nonprofit festival benefits the Shakori Hills Community Arts Center. The Arts Center provides free, or greatly reduced, music and arts programming to Chatham, Orange and Durham counties.
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