Carolina Music Festivals is a comprehensive calendar and guide to multi-act, daylong or multiple-day music shows in North Carolina.
June 1 - 2 Edenton Music and Water Festival - Edenton
Regional musical acts play on Edenton's pictuesque waterfront all day Saturday, but the festival is mostly about the water, with demonstrations and organized kayak and canoe paddles, USCA-sanctioned canoe and kayak races, and sunfish sailboat racing. There's also a talent show Friday evening, exhibitors and vendors with an eco-tourism theme, food vendors, a rock climbing wall and a children's area.
Artists
TBA. 2011 lineup included Kosmos, Caston Young, Wilson Greene & Clay Willis, and six more.
Festival site: Historic Edenton waterfront
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6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday, 8:30 to 6:30 p.m. Saturday; musical acts 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Sunset paddle 6:45 to 7:45 p.m. Friday meets at Colonial Park Dock. |
June 1 - 2 Bluegrass & Old-Time Fiddlers Convention - Mount Airy
The two-day festival dedicated to old-time and bluegrass music and dance includes competitions, jam sessions and education in a family-friendly environment. Winners in 15 solo and band competitions are awarded cash prizes.
Artists
Contestants TBA.
Festival site: Veterans Memorial Park
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Festival 3 to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; music 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday.
Two-day pass: $10; $5 daily; younger than 7 free with adult. Camping: $10, $30 with water and electricity.
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June 1 - 3 Smilefest - Pinnacle
Smilefest presents a variety of alternative and jam-band acts in a friendly atmosphere. The festival sells only 1,499 tickets and is by "invitation only," which you can request through the website. There are no ticket sales at the gate.
Artists
TBA. 2011 lineup included Melvin Seals and JGB, Railroad Earth, JJ Grey and Mofro, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe and 21 more.
Festival Site: Jomeokee Campground
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You need an invitation and password to buy tickets at the gate. Ask to be invited at smileagain4@gmail.com.
Music starts at noon Friday and goes to midnight on the main stages on Friday and Saturday. The festival ends 5 p.m. Sunday.
Three-day pass: $85 for first 250 tickets or until January 31; $100 for next 749 tickets or until April 30; $115 for next 250 tickets or til June 1. |
Vehicle Camping (20'x20' space): $40 for first 100 or until January 31, then $50 for next 300 or til June 1st. Limit is 400.
RVs without electricity: $60 for first 20 or until January 31, then $80 for next 30 or until June 1.
RVs with power: $150 for first 10 or until January 31, then $180 for next 10 or until June 1.
June 8 - 9 Charlie Poole Music Festival - Eden
The festival honoring the legacy of North Carolina string bands and roots music includes a dozen musicians' competitions in addition to stage shows. It is a project of Piedmont Folk Legacies, Inc., a non-profit organization that promotes and preserves the musical and cultural legacy of the Piedmont, and celebrates its influence on American vernacular music as exemplified by banjoist Charlie Poole who, with his North Carolina Ramblers in the 1920s, had a great influence on the development of bluegrass.
Artists
TBA. 2011 lineup included Riley Baugus, The Dry Hill Draggers, Kinney Rorrer's New North Carolina Ramblers, The Orpheus Supertones, The UNCG Old Time Ensemble featuring The Zinc Kings.
Festival site: Governor Morehead Park
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Stage shows 6 to 10:30 p.m. Friday; competitions 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday followed by concert and awards ceremony.
Three-day pass: $25; online special: six three-day passes for $100. Daily: $15. Younger than 13 free with paying adult. Saturday morning: the Charlie Poole River Ramble, a scenic float on the Smith River from the Spray Cotton Mills, where Charlie Poole once worked. Campers and RVs can stay June 6 through June 13; $10 per night, $20 maximum. |
June 8 - 9 Blue Ridge BBQ & Music Festival - Tryon
In addition to a barbecue cook-off sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbeque Society that awards $20,000 in prize money, the festival presets two stages with a variety of music, a crafts fair, a benefit rubber duckie race, carnival rides and more.
Artists
TBA. 2011 lineup included Chuck Wicks, Acoustic Syndicate, Charles Walker and the Dynamites, Devon Allman’s Honeytribe and more than five more.
Festival site: Harmon Field
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Festival 3 to 11 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday; music 4 to 11 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Saturday.
$7, younger than 13 free. No onsite accommodations.
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June 15 - 17 Rapids Jam - Roanoke Rapids
The struggling entertainment complex at Roanoke Rapids took a big leap in 2011 with a three-day country music festival on two stages. (The webpage is blank; we're not so sure this is on for '12, but are keeping it on the calendar for now.)
Artists
TBA. 2011 lineup included Willie Nelson's Country Throwdown, Sugarland, Lady Antebellum, Darius Rucker, and 13 more.
Festival site: Festival Park at Carolina Crossroads
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Main stage shows start 4:15 p.m. Thursday, 12:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday.
Three-day pass: general admission $99, gold reserve seating $200 (rows 41-65), platinum reserved seating $300 (rows 1-40). Camping: One tent or camper and one vehicle, Wednesday through Saturday: $100 no hookups, $250 electricity, $450 electricity, water and assigned site. |
June 21 - 24 Wild Goose Festival - Silk Hope
Wild Goose is modeled after the UK's Greenbelt, an arts, music, justice and spirituality festival that's been staged for nearly 40 years. Organizers say they are "followers of Jesus" and the festival "is rooted in the Christian tradition and therefore open to all regardless of belief, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, denomination or religious affiliation."
In addition to more than 70 speakers, including Jim Wallis, Fr. Richard Rohr, Phyllis Tickle, Scott Teems and Jay Bakker, the festival promises storytelling, activism workshops and more, plus 30 bands/musical artists.
Artists
TBA. 2011 lineup included T-Bone Burnett, Michelle Shocked & The Lee Boys, Over the Rhine, Beth Nielsen Chapman and 26 more.
Festival site: Shakori Hills
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Opens 4 p.m. Thursday, ends about 1 p.m. Sunday.
There are a variety of ticket prices; check the website. Vehicle camping $50, tents $10. |
June 22 - 24 State Annual Singing Convention - Benson
| The 90-year-old gospel singing competition presents nationally recognized recording acts in addition to competition Saturday and Sunday, and performances by the winners Sunday evening. The music is good and the competition is serious, as the grand prize winner is awarded a recording contract. Click on the photo for more information. |  |
Artists
TBA. 2011 lineup included The Dennis Family, The Kingsmen, Four Heart Harmony, and five more, plus competition groups.
Festival site: Benson Singing Grove
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Friday: 7 p.m. Saturday: singing begins 10 a.m., competition starts 2 p.m., concert 7 p.m. Sunday: worship service 9 a.m., round-robin sing 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., competition 2 to 5 p.m.; concert and award presentations 5 to 7 p.m. Free admission. Competition categories: Choir, Duet, Trio, Male Quartet, Female Quartet, Mixed Quartet, Family, Junior Division and Live Accompaniment. |
June 22 - August 5 Brevard Summer Institute & Festival - Brevard
The Brevard Music Center, a summer institute for classical music students aged 14 and older, presents some 80 concerts throughout its seven-week festival, showcasing nationally recognized artists and the center's three orchestras. Keith Lockhart is musical director.
Artists
18 different orchestra programs will include Mahler's Symphony No. 6, Bartok's Concerto for Orchestra, Brahms's Symphony No. 4, Sibelius's Symphony No. 2, Stravinsky's Petrouchka, Tchaikovsky's Symphony No. 4, and Mozart's Haffner Symphony. Opera titles will inlcude Puccini: La boheme; Gilbert and Sullivan: H.M.S. Pinafore; Rossini: Il barbiere di Siviglia; Poulenc: Dialogues des carmelites.
Conductors will include Keith Lockhart, artistic director; JoAnn Falletta, principal guest conductor; Ken Lam, resident conductor; Matthias Bamert, Julian Kuerti.
Guest musicians TBA.
Festival site: Brevard Music Center and nearby venues
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Performance times and admission fees vary.
The Independence Day concert, featuring live cannons during the 1812 Overture, is 2 p.m. July 4. Seats in the open-air Whittington-Pfohl Auditorium are $35, $30 and $25, and $15 for children; lawn tickets are $20, $10 for children. |
June 23 - July 28 Eastern Music Festival - Greensboro and points west
The Eastern Music Festival and School trains aspiring musicians between the ages of 14 and 22, and presents five weeks worth of shows for music enthusiasts of all ages and tastes. In addition to nationally recognized artists in classical and chamber music performances, there's EMF Jazz and Blues, and the EMF Fringe series, which present contemporary acts, and EMF Kids. Gerard Schwarz is the music director.
Artists
TBA. 2011 lineup included Wynton Marsalis featuring the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, Susan Graham, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Andre Watts, and many more.
Festival site: Guilford College and 12 other venues.
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The Eastern Music Festival site eventually posts full and clear information about the many performances, dates, times, prices and venues.
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June 24 Singing on the Mountain - Linville
The daylong sing at the base of Grandfather Mountain is the oldest ongoing old-time gospel convention left in the Southern Appalachians.
Artists
TBA. 2011 lineup included Tim Greene Trio, The Hoppers, The Primitive, The Cockman Family and four more.
Festival site: MacRae Meadows, Grandfather Mountain
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Southern gospel music starts at 8:30 a.m. and goes to 3 p.m., with a midday break for the sermon.
The festival is free. Primitive camping on MacRae Meadows is free on a first-come, first-served basis. |
June 30 - July 1 Cashiers Mountain Music Festival - Cashiers
In addition to music, the two-day event offers a kids' zone, fireworks, food vendors, a second stage for open jams and more in the mountain resort town.
Artists
Tony Rice Unit (Saturday), Tony Rice with Balsam Range and Bobby Hicks (Sunday), Blue Highway, Acoustic Syndicate, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, Songs of Jackson County Band, Darren Nicholson Band, Whitewater Bluegrass Company, Wild Hog Band, Him's, Glenville Train, Jacob Jones, Will Howell and the Smoky Mountain Highlanders, Rafe Hollister, Boys of Tuckasegee featuring members of Sweet Tater.
Festival site: Village Commons
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11 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, noon to 9 p.m. Sunday.
Two-day pass $40; $25 daily. Younger than 13 free. |
June 30 - July 4 Red, White & Bluegrass Festival - Morganton
See July Music Festivals
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Go to July Music Festivals or to May Music Festivals