By Jesse Wood
The weather looks dandy for the second annual The Blowing Rock Music Festival, which takes place Saturday, Sept. 19, on the grounds of the oldest travel attraction in the state of North Carolina. RaysWeather.com has the day pegged for five golf balls.
The festival features music from noon to sunset from about a dozen acts, including The Harris Brothers and Their Very Greasy Friends; The Moore Brothers Band; Steve Davidowski & Zenobilly; Lacy Green; The Buck Haggard Band; The Neighbors and much more.
The setup consists of a main stage in the parking lot in front of the main building of The Blowing Rock Attraction and a second smaller stage inside the attraction and within view of The Blowing Rock outcrop.
The main stage is in the middle of the parking lot and the VIP tents and reserved seating for 100 under a large tent are setup on either side. The reserved seating and VIP tents were selling fast this summer.
“The [tents] all have prime view of the main stage and they are roped off in front of the tents for seating,” Charlie Sellers, owner of The Blowing Rock, said. “With the VIP tent comes 12 tickets, two parking passes in the field and tables and chairs.”
VIP tents cost $900 are 10-x-10. Advanced reserved seating costs $40. General admission tickets, which went on sale earlier this month, cost $40 on the day of the festival and $30 in advance. Children under 12 years old are $10.
Sellers noted that patrons are allowed to bring lawn chairs and coolers. In addition, two food vendors and an ice cream vendor will be on hand.
The outdoor event is rain or shine, and Sellers is hoping for plenty of sunshine like last year during the successful, inaugural festival.
“That can really make or break anything up here in the High Country,” Sellers said.
The attraction provides some of the most spectacular views in the High Country, looking over the John’s River Gorge, which descends 3,000 feet below Blowing Rock.
When Sellers, a grandson of The Blowing Rock founder Grover C. Robbins, took over the attraction in 2014, he said he began to immediately think outside the box in order to ensure that the attraction would remain a prominent fixture in the state’s tourism industry for years to come.
In addition to envisioning weddings, corporate meetings, family reunions and wine tastings, Sellers said he thought The Blowing Rock Music Festival would help attract new visitors to the attraction, including locals that have just never made that trek before.
The Blowing Rock is located at 432 Rock Road off of U.S. 321. Look for the attraction sign across from Green Park Inn. For more information, click here or call 828-295-7183.
Read this High Country Press “Business Spotlight” on The Blowing Rock attraction.
See photos of last year’s inaugural festival below:
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