Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival

A few weeks ago, I announced an awesome new event on the Outer Banks for 2012 – the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival. Since then, I’ve had the pleasure of connecting with one of the organizers of the event, and Mr. Cory Hemilright has graciously agreed to offer us a behind the scenes look at the Festival. I’m hoping to have a series of posts from Cory leading up to the event, but to start, let’s get Cory’s first-hand perspective of what led them to this brilliant idea.

As a reminder, the OBX Bluegrass Festival is set for October 5-6, 2012 at Roanoke Island, NC, and you can find more information about the event on their website: www.obxbluegrassfestival.com.

Let’s turn it over to Cory…

Larry Brown and I, Cory Hemilright, grew up here on the Outer Banks. Our family roots date back to the creation of Dare County. Bluegrass music has been around for quite some time as well, and is a staple memory from my childhood.

I have great memories of many gatherings that involved plenty of sweet tea, fried chicken and North Carolina-style barbeque. These gatherings attracted musicians from throughout the area who would come together to perform for the other locals and tell stories about the ‘early days’ of the Outer Banks. Days when the only means of transportation between the Barrier Islands was by boat; there were no expansive bridges connecting one island to the next. Days when the main population in Dare County was centralized in what is now forests and trails; Buffalo City, the Moonshine Capital.

Considering the fond memories and great music with such a deep history in North Carolina, Larry and I decided that we needed to unearth the dying traditions and styles by forming the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival. We understood that because bluegrass is not a mainstream style of music that we had to find ways to cater to and attract fans of different varieties of music. With so many traditional bluegrass bands out there, we wanted our festival to include performers who offer a unique style of bluegrass, and within the bluegrass community, performers who are rated highly among their musical counterparts.

We searched through an array of resources to find our performers; from the suggestions of seasoned bluegrass fans to the up-and-coming-artists’ blogs on the Internet. Our headliner, for example, was a suggestion of my father. One of his favorite songs is “When Angels Sing” by Rhonda Vincent. He said to me, “You can’t have a bluegrass festival without Rhonda Vincent!” It was as simple as contacting her booking agent (Who happens to be her own husband!), and the deal was done! We had our headliner! Our other big draw band was discovered on a trip to Dollywood in September of 2011, at the Bluegrass and Barbeque Festival in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. We got a chance to listen to the legendary Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. After hearing the group sing a-cappella, there was no question; we had to have them. They are, after all, one of the most renowned bluegrass bands of today.

From a little idea to a grand event, this has the makings of what we believe will be an event that will easily become an Outer Banks tradition for many people.

Thanks for the inside look at the event Cory! We’re hoping to have you back to discuss the progress of the event. Feel free to drop in whenever you have something to share.

And I agree, this has the makings of a great Outer Banks tradition – one that’s been long overdue. Hats off to your for making an awesome idea a reality.