Life

Folk Music Festival set at Sandburg Home

By Bill Moss, Published: May 20, 2014

FLAT ROCK — Folk musicians from across the region will converge at Connemara on Memorial Day for a day of toe-tapping fun and music as Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site hosts the 28th annual Carl Sandburg Folk Music Festival.

The free festival offers live music performances from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Just as Carl Sandburg's family enjoyed sitting on the porch while he played a guitar and sang for them, visitors can experience the lively strums of folk music adjacent to their historic home. Here's the lineup:

• 11 am: The Gypsy Swingers perform up-tempo jazz in a style reminiscent of the European swing jazz scene.
• Noon: Nitrograss. This foursome brings energy and creativity to bluegrass while their sound pushes the bounds of twangy strings and Appalachian loneliness. Two time national banjo champion Charles Wood has appeared on the David Letterman show performing with Steve Martin and Earl Scruggs.
• 1 p.m.: Asheville favorite Ruby Mayfield and Friends perform jazz and blues on Saxophone, keyboard, bass and drums.
• 2 p.m.: Jon Shain performs country blues with a fingerpicking Piedmont style that is said to be as clean and crisp as a mountain stream.
• 3 p.m.: the King Bees; considered one of the hottest and most entertaining shows anywhere ignite the stage with exuberant joy. The King Bees led by Rob Baskerville and Penny "Queen Bee" Zamagni have played with many blues titans including Bo Diddley, Jerry McCain and Chicago Bob Nelson.

Steve and Jean Smith will be performing Hammered dulcimer music at the historic barn area from 11:00 am -3:00 pm.

Seating is available at the amphitheater or visitors may bring their own chair and rest under the hemlocks while enjoying a day of folk fun. This event is free and open to the public.