Picking at the Fairgrounds
2nd Annual High Country Bluegrass Festival this Saturday

By Jeff Eason
The summer is finally winding down. The temperatures are starting to drop, the footballs are hitting the air,

and the kids are back in school.

There’s still time, however, for one more great outdoor bluegrass jam! One of the best festivals to hit western North Carolina this summer will take place next weekend, right here in Boone!

The 2nd Annual High Country Bluegrass Festival will be held at the High Country Fairgrounds in Boone on Saturday, September 6 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Tickets for this family-oriented event are on sale now.

The festival will feature live music performances by The Infamous Stringdusters, Dailey & Vincent, Blue Highway, Surefire, the Cockman Family, Southern Accent, and Steve Lewis and Friends.

The event will also feature a banjo workshop conducted by Terry Baucom and Jason Burleson at 4:30 p.m. and a fiddle workshop conducted by Alan “Big Al” Johnson and Adam Haynes at 3:30 p.m.

Blue Highway was recently nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Bluegrass Album and the Infamous Stringdusters are the reigning International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) champions of the annual Emerging Artists of the Year, Song of the Year, and Album of the Year awards.

One of the big attractions at this year’s event is the first High Country appearance of the talented duo Dailey and Vincent. The duo’s Rounder Records debut release, titled simply Dailey & Vincent, has been one of the most acclaimed and best-selling bluegrass albums of the year. It has propelled the act to numerous IBMA award nominations for later this summer.

“The woods used to be full of duo-led bluegrass bands,” wrote Robert K. Oermann. “But the Osborne Brothers, Reno & Smiley, Jim and Jesse, the Stanley Brothers and Flatt & Scruggs are now all history. Dailey & Vincent have stepped into those legendary shoes. And they wear them very, very well.”

Cindy Baucom will serve as the emcee for the High Country Bluegrass Festival.

The event is sponsored by The Mountain Times, WNCW-FM, Coca-Cola, Appalachian Music Shoppe, Best Western of Boone, High Country Communications, First Things First, the Norris Company, Inc., Sheppard Construction, Eggers Construction, Waters Brothers Construction, Blair & Associates, Old Hampton Store, Coldwell Banker, Blue Ridge Sound, Big Dawg 92.1 FM, Collings Guitars, Gary Trivette Electric and GHS Strings.

Tickets & Camping
Tickets for the 2nd Annual High Country Bluegrass Festival are $20 in advance and $25 at the gate. Children under 12 are admitted free with paying adult.

Advance tickets may be purchased at Fine Musical Instruments in Statesville, NC, Blue Moon Guitars and Music in West Jefferson, Appalachian Music Shoppe in Boone and the Old Hampton Store in Linville.

A limited number of campsites are available at the High Country Fairgrounds and campers need to call to reserve a campsite. Campsites are $20 with electric hookups and $10 for primitive sites. Please call (828) 733-8060 to reserve a site.

The High Country Bluegrass Festival is a family-oriented event with no alcohol permitted. No pets or coolers are permitted on the fairgrounds but bluegrass lovers are encouraged to bring lawn chairs and picnic blankets for this event. Concessions will be available.

For more information, visit www.highcountrybluegrassfestival.com.