The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance is a biannual music and dance festival held the first Thursday thru Sunday in May and October in
Pittsboro, NC
Pittsboro is a town in Chatham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 3,743 at the 2010 census and 4,537 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Chatham County.
The town was established in the late 18th century, shortly a ...
. The festival takes place on a venue which is managed by Shakori Hills Community Arts Center Inc. (SHCAC), a nonprofit organization. The festival supports the music and art programs of the SHCAC. It is associated with and modeled after the larger
Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival that takes place near
Trumansburg, New York
Trumansburg is a village in Tompkins County, New York, United States. The population was 1,797 at the 2010 census. The name incorporates a misspelling of the surname of the founder, Abner Treman. The Tremans spelled their surname several differen ...
each summer. The spring festival started in April 2003 and the fall festival was launched in 2004.
The Festival
The festival typically lasts four days, beginning on Thursday afternoon and going through Sunday night. The venue has two large outdoor stages, one large covered dance tent, the Front Porch Stage for music workshops, a Cabaret Tent, and The Outpost which is specifically programmed with teenagers in mind. 4-Day and single day passes are available. Primitive, vehicle, and RV camping is available for an additional fee.
In addition to the music, the festival has music and dance workshops, a sustainability fair, kids activities, and food and craft vending with local food trucks and artisans. The family-friendly festival is free for children 12 and under and offers a special youth rate for 13–15-year-olds.
Attendance is stronger on Saturday, Friday, and Sunday with Thursday being known as a "locals" night. For those wishing to set up and/or begin camping prior to the festival, Early Camping begins on the Saturday before the music starts. Campers Must purchase Camping for the festival before or upon arrival.
Music
Each festival draws fifty or more bands who play on four stages over four days. Many genres of music are represented, including
bluegrass,
zydeco
Zydeco ( or , french: Zarico) is a music genre that evolved in southwest Louisiana by French Creole speakers which blends blues, rhythm and blues, and music indigenous to the Louisiana Creoles and the Native American people of Louisiana. Al ...
,
country-western
Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, old ...
,
psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...
,
folk rock
Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...
,
reggae
Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, " Do the Reggay" was the first popular song to use ...
, and
world music. Past headliners include
Del McCoury Band
The Del McCoury Band is a Grammy award-winning American bluegrass band.
History
Originally the band was called Del McCoury and the Dixie Pals with Del on guitar and his brother Jerry on bass. The band went through a number of changes in personn ...
,
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real, sometimes referred to as POTR, is an American country rock group based in California. The band consists of Lukas Nelson (lead vocals, guitar), Anthony LoGerfo (drums, percussion), Corey McCormick (bass guitar ...
,
The Wood Brothers
The Wood Brothers are an American roots band consisting of brothers Chris (upright bass) and Oliver Wood (acoustic and electric guitars), as well as multi-instrumentalist Jano Rix. Their music is a combination of folk, gospel, blues and jazz.
B ...
,
Bela Fleck and the Flecktones
Bela may refer to:
Places Asia
*Bela Pratapgarh, a town in Pratapgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, India
*Bela, a small village near Bhandara, Maharashtra, India
*Bela, another name for the biblical city Zoara
* Bela, Dang, in Nepal
* Bela, Janakpur, ...
,
Galactic
Galactic is an American jam band from New Orleans, Louisiana.
Origins and background
Formed in 1994 as an octet (under the name Galactic Prophylactic) and including singer Chris Lane and guitarist Rob Gowen, the group was soon pared down to a ...
,
Billy Strings
Billy Strings (born William Lee Apostol, October 3, 1992) is an American guitarist and bluegrass musician. He won a Grammy Award in 2021.
Early life
Billy Strings was born William Lee Apostol on October 3, 1992, in Lansing, Michigan. His fath ...
,
Nahko Bear,
Robert Randolph,
Yonder Mountain String Band
The Yonder Mountain String Band is an American progressive bluegrass group from Nederland, Colorado. Composed of Dave Johnston, Ben Kaufmann, Adam Aijala, and Nick Piccininni, the band has released five studio albums and several live recordings t ...
,
Donna the Buffalo
Donna the Buffalo is a band from Trumansburg, New York, Trumansburg, New York (state), New York. It plays both original songs and cover versions.
A musician friend suggested "Dawn of the Buffalo" as a name for the band, which was misheard as "D ...
,
Nickel Creek
Nickel Creek (formerly known as the Nickel Creek Band) is an American bluegrass band consisting of Chris Thile (mandolin), and siblings Sara Watkins (fiddle) and Sean Watkins (guitar). Formed in 1989 in Southern California, they released six alb ...
,
Keith Frank
Keith Frank is an American zydeco musician from Louisiana, United States. Frank started his band, The Soileau Zydeco Band, in 1990 and is active as of 2016. He is the son of accordion player Preston Frank.
Frank records on Soulwood Records.
...
,
Patty Loveless
Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...
,
Toubab Krewe "Toubab" , "Toubabou" or "Toubob" is a Central and West African name for a person of European descent ("whites"). Used most frequently in The Gambia, Senegal, Guinea, and Mali, and also in Ivory Coast. The word can also be applied to any perceived t ...
,
Steve Earle and the Dukes, and
Rising Appalachia
Rising Appalachia is an American Appalachian folk music group led by multi-instrumentalist sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith. Leah also performs as a solo artist. Based between Atlanta, New Orleans, and the Asheville area of North Carolina, the ...
.
Band and instrument (mandolin, guitar, fiddle) contests are held with the best band winning a slot on a Sunday stage.
Music starts around 11:00 a.m. and goes late into the evening. Saturday evening is capped by a popular drum circle. Bring your own instruments and join in campfire music.
See also
*
List of jam band music festivals
This is a list of jam band music festivals. This list may have some overlap with list of historic rock festivals and list of reggae festivals. Jam bands are musical groups who relate to a unique fan culture that began in the 1960s with Grateful ...
References
External links
Official Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music and Dance homepage
{{Music venues of North Carolina
Dance festivals in the United States
Dance in North Carolina
Music festivals in North Carolina
Jam band festivals