Press release from City of Morganton Main Street:
Join Morganton in celebrating 37 years of the Morganton Festival sponsored by Carolinas HealthCare System Blue Ridge! The free festival features free music all day plus national country acts, a NEW Indie Stage, Kid Zone fun with rides and games, and food for all ages, plus over a mile and a half of arts & craft vendors from all over the country!
The Morganton Festival is launching a brand new stage for the 2018 Festival. The Indie Stage will feature a wide variety of genres, showcasing some of the best bands located in the region. The Indie Stage will be an inti- mate stage set under a large tent where festival goers can escape from the heat and enjoy food and beverages. The stage/tent will be located on the Courthouse Square next to the Burke Arts Council. Beer and wine and a couple of Food Trucks will be on Meeting Street beside the tent. The Indie Stage will feature FREE music ALL DAY on both Friday, September 7th and Saturday, September 8th. Come enjoy the fun at the 37th annual Morganton Festival.
One Leg Up will kick-start the full day of music beginning at 12:00pm on Friday. Based in Asheville, One Leg Up performs a vibrant mixture of upbeat Gypsy Jazz, Latin, Swing and original jazz compositions. Singer/Song- writer Earleine continues the entertainment at 3:00pm. Her style is Americana music with a swirl of folk, rock and roots under a blanket of soul. This is a performance you won’t want to miss! Then at 5:30pm JB & the 70s rock out. This is an exciting band who came together to specialize in bringing back a lot of those vintage hits and deep cuts rarely played from the greatest decade of classic rock (the 70s). Stick around to see more music on the City Stage because the music will continue at 8:00pm with Asheville artist Lyric followed by Throwdown Jones making their City Stage debut.
Music starts early on Saturday with a 10:00am performance from Greenville, South Carolina’s own Swamp Rabbit Railroad. The group represents the tradition of American folk revival music established by artists like Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, while also creating innovative and socially-pertinent tunes in the modern folk style. Listening to Swamp Rabbit Railroad will be a great way to start your morning at the Morgan- ton Festival. At 12:30pm, just in time for lunch, Rastacoustic brings a little Appalachian Reggae to your day. Sycamore Bones kicks off the afternoon with music that integrates north and south, rock and bluegrass, bliss and heartache into music that invites you to hang your coat and stay a while. The Clydes close out the Indie Stage on Saturday at 5:30pm. This Asheville-based bluegrass and Americana band have been showcased three consecutive years at the International Bluegrass Music Awards, and have played nationally at festival including MerleFest, Aiken Bluegrass Festival and Cartersville Bluegrass Festival. After the Indie Stage, head over to the City Stage for music by Smithfield and National Country Artist Chris Lane beginning at 8:00pm.
ALL CONCERTS ARE FREE!
Be a part of this memory making event and mark your calendars for a great weekend of fun, September 7 & 8 in downtown Morganton. The festival is an animal-free event and will go on rain or shine. For a complete listing of all the events including the Sunrise Run, MADE, Miss Morganton Pageant, music acts, and more, contact us by phone at 828-438-5252; by email at info@morgantonfest.org; or check out the website www.morgantonfest.org.
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