Cherokee Farms will come out of winter hibernation, with a musical menagerie known as the second annual Keel Family Function on the weekend of April 2-4.
Early campers will be able to set up on April Fool’s Day, with Soul Grass Rebellion providing music at 9 p.m.
Friday’s acts will begin at 5 p.m. and serenade campers to sleep during the wee hours of Saturday morning.
The lineup of artists has increased from 17 acts last year to 22 this year.
Last year’s inaugural concert featured Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, the namesake of the event.
Jeff Mosier, Caroline Pond, Ralph Roddenberry, and Lefty Williams are just a few of the artists returning from last year — excited about the springtime return to LaFayette.
“We anticipate some great musical energy and fusion among the artists all weekend long,” Thomas Helland, the event’s coordinator, said.
The highlight of last year’s concert for Donna Hopkins was playing in the “Eye of the Dawg” showcase, which had nearly a dozen players jamming together in the round acoustically.
Digital Butter of Chattanooga will add an electorinca sound to the upcoming concert, during the late-night hours, along with Zoogma of Oxford, Miss.
The soulful funky sounds of 3rd Stone, from northern Florida, is a “blend of rock, afro-beat, reggae and funk rhythms into a highly addictive sonic stew that is sure to make your body move,” according to Helland.
Ashville, N.C., will be well represented with Josh Phillips Folk Festival, Virginia Dare Devils, Soulgrass Rebel-lion, and Caroline Pond making the trek over I-40.
The Ragbirds of Ann Arbor, Mich., will be traveling the furthest for this gig, bringing an international flavor that combines Celtic fiddling, African drum beats with Middle Eastern, Gypsy, and Americana stylings.
Future plans for the Keel Family Function are to develop into an annual spring pilgrimage for roots music lov-ers, and “maintain a similar explosive musical energy to Harvest Fest while creating a path all its own,” Helland said.
Eye-Dawg Productions is also the producer of the Keel Family Holiday… so stay tuned for more info on that! Here’s a sneak peak:
Dreamspider's Blog 