From a press release:
Carl Sandburg Folk Music Festival
Flat Rock, N.C. — On Memorial Day, May 25, folk musicians from across the region will converge at Connemara for a day of toe-tapping fun and music as Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site hosts the 29th annual Carl Sandburg Folk Music Festival. This free festival offers live music performances from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. 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.
· At 11:00 am, Jhon Akers shares anecdotes of Carl Sandburg’s life and his guitar-inspired passion for music.
· At 12:00 pm, The 42nd Street Jazz Band performs good-time swing era tunes and nostalgic ballads.
· At 1:00 pm, John Emil, master of the slide guitar plays a unique show-stopping mix of delta and folk blues. Emil has supplied music for several prominent television shows such as “Dateline” and “The Voice”.
· At 2:00 The Chuck Beattie band will perform Chicago Style Blues with his traditional old school charm. Chucks’ knowledge of gospel, jazz and the sounds of the Delta make for a memorable experience.
· At 3:00 pm, internationally recognized female trio- Under Hill Rose will perform their impressive harmonic fusion of Americana, blue-grass, R&B and roots music. Their premier album “Something Real” was named one of the American Music Associations Top 100 albums of the year in 2013.
· 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. Snacks will be available for sale in the bookstore and tours of the Sandburg home will be available throughout the day for a small fee.
The folk festival honors Carl Sandburg and his preservation of traditional folk music as found in his collection The American Songbag. The festival’s performers each skillfully demonstrate the tradition of performing live music to tell stories while capturing the heritage of America through song.
Carl Sandburg began playing the guitar in the early 1900’s to enhance his lectures and performed during the era of Pete Seeger and Woody Guthrie and he was the mentor for Burl Ives.
The festival began in 1987, and is supported by the National Park Service, Friends of Carl Sandburg at Connemara, Eastern National and a grant from the North Carolina Arts Council; administered by the Arts Council of Henderson County.
Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site, a unit of the National Park Service, was authorized October 17, 1968. The park is located three miles south of Hendersonville off U.S. 225 on Little River Road, and is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., daily. For further information, please telephone 828-693-4178, or visit our website at: www.nps.gov/carl
About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 401 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov.
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