Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site hosts the 32nd annual Carl Sandburg Folk Music Festival on Memorial Day, Monday, May 28th.
This free festival offers live music performances from 11:00 am to 4:00 pm. 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.
At 11:00am – The Resonant Rogues perform a mixture of Appalachian old-time, swing and jazz. They have toured all over North America and Europe. Their latest record, Hands in the Dirt, landed at #18 on the US Folk Radio DJ Music Charts
At 12:00pm – Pat Corn will perform folk music from the American Songbag along with Buddy Davis. Pat is a finger style guitarist with smooth vocals; he has appeared with many top name artists including the Buddy Rich Orchestra, Doc Watson and David Holt.
At 1:00pm – Jon Shain, one of the founding fathers of North Carolina’s now-booming Americana scene. He has been the opening act for Keb’Mo’, John Hiatt and Little Feat. Shain’s music seems to bubble up from deep within flowing smoothly and easily.
At 2:00pm – Grammy Award winner David Holt and Grammy nominee Josh Goforth bring to life the spirit of old time mountain music and stories. They combine the sounds of guitar, banjo, fiddle, slide guitar, and mandolin as well as foot tapping rhythm instruments from hambone to spoons. David is recognized as one of the nation’s foremost folk musicians and storytellers. He is well known for his television and radio series including Folkways and Great Scenic Railway Journeys. Currently, he is hosting the PBS series David Holt’s State of Music. In 2016 David was elected to the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame. Josh Goforth, a master fiddler has performed worldwide with numerous artists. They will perform songs and stories that appeal to all ages.
11:00am to 3:00 pm – Steve and Jean Smith will be performing Hammered dulcimer music at the amphitheater.
The music this year will be held in a large tent near the barn area. The park’s new Superintendent, Polly Angelakis will be in attendance at the festival. Please stop by and meet her near the festival tent.
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. He played the guitar, banjo and harmonica and collected a series of folk songs, which he published in his book The American Songbag. 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, 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.