Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival Archives - Joe Lamb Jr. & Associates

Outer Banks Spring Music Festival Season Is Here

With two major music festivals this week, the Outer Banks music scene is heating up.

Now that the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival has moved to May, it looks as though this coming week can officially be termed Outer Banks Spring Music Festival Week.

With two major music festivals this week, that seems like a good name for it.

Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival

After Michael wiped out three days of his four day Bluegrass Festival two years ago, Cory Hemilright figured he needed to move the music to spring. It took a year because he plans a full year into the future, but here we are in 2019 and the weather at least is cooperating.

Here are the particulars—Wednesday through Saturday at Roanoke Island Festival park in Manteo. The setting, overlooking Roanoke Sound is beautiful.

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage will be back. They have been at every festival since the first in 2012. She headlines Thursday night.

Friday headliner is Seldom Scene and Saturday is Town Mountain wrapping up the show on Saturday.

Wedenesday evening could be fun with a free jam at Bluegrass Island Trading Company in Manteo.

Mustang Spring Jam

The music is looking really good this year, so good that the Mustang Spring Jam has been grown to two days.

Saturday features performances from Emma’s Lounge and the Travers Brothership. Two amazingly talented groups.

Sunday it’s all day with the young musicians from the Mustang Music Program starting ting it all.

Headliner Ghost Light is typical of the type band Mike Dianna books. Innovative and on the cusp of greater recognition.

Proceeds for Mustang Music festivals benefit the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and the Mustang Music Program.

Music, art and a beautiful environment, the Outer Banks has it all. Take the time to learn what and amazing place this is with a visit to a Joe Lamb, Jr. & Associates home.

Bike Week and More on the Outer Banks

Outer Banks Bike Week takes shape at Longboards in Kitty Hawk.

When it’s the Annual Outer Banks Bike Week there is no doubt that it’s happening. Some bikes purr, some rumble, but there is a throaty, pulsating power to a Harley that is unmistakable. And there is no doubt that is the favorite bike of the visitors.

If you live on the Outer Banks long enough, events just seem to mount up on each other one after the other. Looking back on it, it seems hare to imagine that the 2019 version of Bike Week is the 17th time our roads have been filled with Harley’s and a smattering of other bikes.

It looks the Outer Banks weather gods are cooperating this week. They usually do, but it’s always good to acknowledge their participation. There’s a bit of a chance of rain on Wednesday and Friday, but if there is anything at all, it will be widely scattered.

There are some pretty cool group rides scheduled and great music on tap.

Jonny Waters and Company are going to be plaint a number of venues. Best place to see him is probably Longboards in Kitty Hawk, which is one of the vendor sites for the event.

The Bike Week is a long week—eight day, really. It already started on Saturday and runs all the way thought the following Saturday. That’s eight days.

We’re almost out of April and into May and the May music calendar is looking spectacular with a mid month blast from the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival midweek and the 8th Annual Mustang Music Spring Jam on the weekend.

There is so much happening on the Outer Banks and a Joe Lamb, Jr. & Associates home is the perfect place to be.

Mustang Rock & Roast Festival Next OBX Music Festival

Big Something will bring their unique fusion sound to the Mustang Rock & Roast stage on Saturday evening.

And the music and festivals just keep on coming

We just wrapped up two great Outer Banks music festivals this week—the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival that ran Wednesday through Saturday and the Duck Jazz Festival that was on Saturday and Sunday.

These were fantastic shows with some great headliners. Steel Drivers were amazing, wrapping up the Bluegrass Festival and the Russell Malone Quartet headlining at Duck was the perfect way to wrap up the week.

Next up is Mustang Rock & Roast in Corolla—combining the best of two worlds next Saturday and Sunday.

It’s a Mike Dianna/Bearded Face Production. For anyone who has had a chance to go to one of the Mustang Music Festivals there is the sure knowledge that there will always be music happening.

Mike’s Festivals use two stages so when one band finishes up the next one is ready to go.

It’s a full day of music both days with two great headliners capping a mere of great local and regional bands.

On Saturday Big Something wraps the day up with their great fusion sound. They’re a little bit funk, a bit of hiphop, some jazz thrown in with a touch of the blues. In other words their not easily classified, but they sound great.

Sunday the show goes out with sounds of Pink Talking Fish—a tribute band like no other. And here’s the kicker…the music they’re playing comes from Talking Heads, Pink Floyd and Phish. An eclectic and somewhat varied sound, but they pull it off.

What makes the Mustang Rock & Roast different though, is the Saturday oyster roast and the Sunday barbecue showdown. What could be better?

There is something to do on the Outer Banks every weekend it seems. Check out Joe Lamb, Jr. & Associates for the best accommodation selection and locations on the Outer Banks.

Duck Jazz Fest Highlights Great Weekend of Music

Davina and the Vagabonds headlined an outstanding day of music at the Duck Jazz Festival.

One thing is for sure—between the Duck Jazz Festival and the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival, the Outer Banks sure knows how to throw a music party.

Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival Highlights

We’ve had a chance to talk about the Blue Grass Festival, and it did not disappoint. Three acts in particular really stood out for us, although music is a lot like beauty—it’s all in the eye of the beholder.

Love Canon, with their bluegrass arrangements of classic 1980s hits are worth a special trip to see. An informal survey pointed to their version of Sledge Hammer as being as good as the original if not better…really.

Flatt Lonesome is a young group—no one is even pushing 30. They’re talented, great vocals, and they take some chances, coming out with a different sound that is rooted in bluegrass with a distinct country flair.

Our favorite, though, had to be Billy Strings. The songs start as bluegrass but they wander off into other genres in short order. There’s rock, jazz chords and jazz riffs that are as good as anything out there. Amazing.

And for the traditional bluegrass fans—Rhonda Vincent truly is the Queen of Bluegrass. The consummate professional with an outstanding band, the Rage.

Duck Jazz Festival and Davina and the Vagabonds

The Duck Jazz Festival though is every bit as good as the Bluegrass Festival.

The Jazz Festival has become a two day affair, beginning on Saturday, but luckily Sunday is the main day so no one has to make painful choices.

The Robert Jospe Express—a trio of very talented musicians traced the development of jazz from the basic blues music to the African and Latin American beats that have helped to define it. He ended his show with at least 30 members of the audience on stage, clapping out rhythms.

Davina and the Vagabonds gets our Blue Ribbon Prize for the weekend as the best performance we saw. Great music, great vocals, wonderfully talented band, and Davina keeps up a conversation with the audience that is at once informative and funny.

Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival Looks Better Than Ever

Things are looking great for the 2017 Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival this year from October 4-7. After Hurricane Matthew wreaked havoc with fall entertainment plans last year, there’s a certain karmic balance to having great weather on tap for this year.

The show runs Wednesday through Saturday with a special Tuesday performance at Bluegrass Island in Manteo.

Held at Roanoke Island Festival Park, the Festival has become one of the premier bluegrass festivals around. There is so much talent in the groups that it’s hard to tell just who is the headliner.

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage has been at every show since promoter Cory Hemilright began back in 2012. She and her band are some of the finest musicians around, and anytime she takes the stage, there’s energy, professionalism and a good time. Look for her Friday night at 9:30.

The act just before her, Flatt Lonesome, is a great band of younger musicians. Talented and energetic, they put on a great show.

This is an all day affair. Music starts at noon and except for a daily dinner break goes straight through until the last act takes the stage at 9:30.

A true festival, lots of food at the site from local Outer Banks restaurants and Cory tells us there are more art and craft vendors than ever this year.

Hard to list everyone who will be on hand, but the last act of the show, may be worth hanging around to see. The Isaacs are a Grammy nominated gospel group whose vocals are amazing.

The Bluegrass Festival is one part of an amazing week of music with the Duck Jazz Festival finishing out the week on Sunday.

Wednesday, October 4

The Sowell Family Pickers

CommonWealth Bluegrass

Alan Bibey & Grasstowne

DARRELL WEBB BAND

Joe Mullins & the Radio Ramblers

Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver

Thursday, October 5

Charlie Oakley & Blazin’ Grass

Carolina Blue

Irene Kelley

Steve Dilling & Sideline

Darin & BROOKE ALDRIDGE

The Gibson Brothers

Friday, October 6

Heidi & Ryan

Code Blue

Nothin’ Fancy

Love Canon

Flatt Lonesome

Rhonda Vincent & the Rage

Saturday, October 7

The Grascals

Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice

Billy Strings & Co.

The Sowell Family Pickers

Jimmy Fortune

The Isaacs

A Memorable Autumn OBX Weekend

Outer Banks Weekend Features Something for Everyone

This past weekend on the Outer Banks was a perfect example of why autumn is the time to come to the Outer Banks.

Saturday was filled with lots of events, all of them family friendly. Our Joe Lamb Jr., & Associates. minions tried to get to everything, but we’re sure we missed something along the way.

Artrageous

If there is a better event for kids anywhere than the Dare County Arts Council’s Artrageous it would be hard to imagine.

The event is all about kids and creativity. Held every year at Rec Park in Kill Devil Hills, kids can try their hand at blacksmithing, get their face painted or create a mural on the side of a building.

Families, definitely put this on in your autumn calendars for next year.

Crabdaddy

Perfect setting, perfect weather, lots of crab and good wine. Throw in some great music and it just doesn’t get much better.

Held at the Cotton Gin the last Saturday of September every year, Crabdaddy is part celebration of the autumn grape harvest and a wonderful celebration of the bounty of local waters—in this case blue crab.

Sanctuary Vineyards is owned by the Wright Family, the same family that owns the Cotton Gin so the setting makes sense.

The wines have shown steady improvement over the years and they are very good now.

Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival

The outdoor stage at Roanoke Island Festival Park is spectacular the bands were among the best in Bluegrass. By the time things wrapped up on Saturday evening there was no doubt that the 2016 Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival was something special.

It helped that the Soggy Mountain Boys were the final act. Putting a very traditional spin on what bluegrass is all about, some of their sounds would have fit right in 75 or 80 years ago.

Next big weekend is Columbus Day–Mustang Music Festival on Friday and Saturday and the Duck Jazz Festival on Sunday.

Bluegrass Festival the OBX Place to Be

Balsam Range performing Thursday evening at the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival.

Great Music on the Outer Banks Stage

We had a chance to check out the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival yesterday and for any of our Joe Lamb Jr., & Associates guests visiting the Outer Banks this weekend, Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo is the place to be.

The weather is looking absolutely spectacular through the weekend, although the festival wraps up on Saturday.

Yesterday we caught Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, Balsam Range, and Steep Canyon Rangers at the festival. That’s three very big names in the world of bluegrass and they lived up to their billing.

The Rage is probably the most traditional of the groups, but Vincent has surrounded herself with amazing musicians and the result is bluegrass done right.

The vocals that Balsam Range brings to the stage is almost otherworldly they’re so good. How good? Good enough that they have been named Vocal Group of the Year and lead singer Buddy Melton has been named Male Vocalist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

And then there’s Steep Canyon Rangers who have taken the traditions of bluegrass and stood them on their heads combining elements of rock, blues and classical in to their arrangements—and yet retaining a very pure traditional sound.

There’s more great music on tap.

Tonight—Friday—Rhonda Vincent comes back for an encore performance beginning at 7:45. Gene Watson closes out night with a 9:15 show.

Look for the Soggy Mountain Boys closing the show tomorrow night, but don’t come just for the last act; the Bluegrass Festival is an all day event and Roanoke Island Festival Park is a beautiful setting for the event.

Fall Is Music Fest Time on the OBX

Steep Canyon Rangers, headlining Thursday night at the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival.

Fall is music festival time on the Outer Banks and there is some great entertainment lined up beginning this week with the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival at Roanoke Island Festival Park in Manteo.

Here’s a quick snapshot of what to expect.

Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival

September 21-24

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage. Thursday and Friday.

Some of the biggest names in Bluegrass will be coming to the Outer Banks this week. Rhonda Vincent and the Rage will take the stage twice; look for them on Thursday afternoon and Friday evening.

Steep Canyon Rangers will also be performing on Thursday, taking the stage at 7:45. In a music style dominated by great musicians, Steep Canyon really stands out with tight arrangements and innovative sounds.

Also look for Gene Watson on Friday and the Soggy Bottom Boys on Saturday to closeout the Festival.

Hatterasity-A Bluegrass Block Party

October 8-11

Hatterasity is a Hatteras Village bluegrass happening, there’s some great local talent—but local talent in this case is Ocracoke’s Molasses Creek with a national reputation. There’s also a great jam session to kick things off on Tuesday evening—bring your instrument and sit in.

Mustang Music Festival

October 9-10

Promoter Mike Dianna has created one of the best music festivals around. His move two years ago to the Whalehead Club brought the festival to the perfect setting for Mike’s vision of music at all times.

The two day festival features two stages, so that when one band is playing the other is getting ready to go. No breaks between performance…one stops the next one starts.

The music is always worth the price of admission—Mike consistently manages to bring groups to the Outer Banks that are right on the cusp of going to the next level and it shows.

This is a very family friendly event with proceeds going to two great causes—the Corolla Wild Horse Fund and the Mustang Music Program that works with kids to learn how to perform music.

Duck Jazz Festival

October 11

The 2016 version of the festival is the 10th Annual and the lineup this year is amazing.
Headliners Frank Vignola and Vinny Raniolo may be the finest jazz guitarists around—certainly the people they have loved with over the years would seem to indicate that.

Their styles are smooth and expressive—a classic jazz sound.

The setting is perfect. There may not be any place better to sit outside, sip some wine and take in a free outdoor jazz concert than the Duck Town Green.

Rhonda Vincent Comes to Roanoke Island Festival Park

Rhonda Vincent and the Rage in performance at Roanoke Island Festival Park Indoor Theatre.

The Queen came to town on Friday evening and she left little doubt about why she is royalty. The queen in this case was Rhonda Vincent sometimes called the Queen of Bluegrass because she has won so many awards in that style of music, honestly—after hearing what she and her band, The Rage, did with music, limiting her to “bluegrass” is wrong.

Entitled “An Intimate Evening with Rhonda Vincent,” she brought her show to the Indoor Theatre at Roanoke Island Festival Park. Usually playing to festival crowds and audiences numbering in the thousands, Vincent seemed to relish performing before an audience of at the most 200.

The song selection she and the Rage performed Friday night was far broader in scope than she usually plays. There was, of course, a lot of bluegrass and some gospel—that is the genre she grew up, performing but there were some also a couple of surprises.

Her arrangement of Poco’s hit Crazy Love was original, taking full advantage of the skills of the Rage’s musicians, yet still true to the original.

Everyone in the band got to take a lot of solos, and in an evening where everyone stood out, Brent Burke on dobro was creating a new way to think of the instrument—venturing at one point into what sounded like jazz.

Along with some great music the evening was also filled with a lot of humor—probably because it was so relaxing.

A great show brought to the Outer Banks by Corey Hemilright’s Bluegrass Island. Rhonda Vincent and the Rage will be back in September for the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival.

#joelambjr

Tag: Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival

Outer Banks Spring Music Festival Season Is Here

Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival

Mustang Spring Jam

Bike Week and More on the Outer Banks

Mustang Rock & Roast Festival Next OBX Music Festival

And the music and festivals just keep on coming

Duck Jazz Fest Highlights Great Weekend of Music

Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival Highlights

Duck Jazz Festival and Davina and the Vagabonds

Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival Looks Better Than Ever

Wednesday, October 4

Thursday, October 5

Friday, October 6

Saturday, October 7

A Memorable Autumn OBX Weekend

Outer Banks Weekend Features Something for Everyone

Artrageous

Crabdaddy

Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival

Bluegrass Festival the OBX Place to Be

Great Music on the Outer Banks Stage

Fall Is Music Fest Time on the OBX

Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival

Hatterasity-A Bluegrass Block Party

Mustang Music Festival

Duck Jazz Festival

Rhonda Vincent Comes to Roanoke Island Festival Park

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