BAND BIOS

Africa Unplugged

Africa Unplugged is a soulful Greensboro ensemble fusing West African percussion with R&B, jazz, funk and blues. Built around interlocking rhythms and singing guitar lines, they play songs of the African Diaspora shaped for storytelling and dancing. Their live showcases pull old-world memory and new-world fire into a groove made to move.

Anders Osborne

Swedish-born singer, songwriter and guitarist Anders Osborne filters blues, roots rock, soul and R&B through the spirit of New Orleans. His weathered vocals and masterful guitar work carry stories of redemption, resilience and restless searching with equal parts grit and grace. From hushed ballads to full-throttle jams, he brings raw feeling and emotional honesty to the stage.

Ashley Virginia

Ashley Virginia is a North Carolina singer/songwriter whose cosmic Americana draws on classic country, indie folk and ’60s rock ’n’ roll, pairing memorable melodies with unfiltered lyricism. A queer and neurodivergent artist, she channels healing, resilience, social justice and shared humanity into performances that feel intimate, communal and quietly defiant.

AZUL

AZUL is a boldly emotive vocalist, songwriter and trumpet player whose multicultural style reflects her Argentinian heritage and diverse influences, including jazz, soul, gospel, blues, disco and Latin folk. She sings in Spanish, English and French, bringing emotional depth and magnetism to every appearance. Dedicated to fostering inclusivity, she invites listeners to connect and celebrate through song and dance.

Baby Grand

Baby Grand is the sibling duo of Haley and Colby Ellis, who craft alternative folk music with a crooked country grin. Banjo, guitar and homespun harmonies carry originals that drift through blues, indie rock, Americana and dusty saloon melancholy. Based in North Carolina, their sound is laid-back but clever, with unexpected twists, existential dread and enough twang to keep the floorboards creaking.

Bittersweet Brass Band

Bittersweet Brass Band delivers a modern Durham take on the joy and cultural richness of New Orleans. Led by Grammy-nominated trumpeter Al Strong, they slip through second-line rhythms, Black American brass traditions, Caribbean pulse and contemporary funk-fueled fire. Their gigs are built for motion, with horns up front, a crisp backbeat and the crowd in the pocket.

Cane Creek Cloggers

A beloved Appalachian dance troupe since 1980, Cane Creek Cloggers specialize in clog dancing with deep roots in Orange County. The group choreographs its own routines, weaving tradition and innovation in old-time steps and figures. With cheerful energy and contagious footwork, they invite all to share in the festive spirit of clogging.

Chatham County Line

Deft picking and spot-on harmonies give Chatham County Line an organic sound rooted in bluegrass and stretching into country, rock and atmospheric Americana. Their acoustic foundation expands with electric guitar, pedal steel, drums and layered textures. They croon and stomp through evocative songs that feel whimsical, heartrending and exploratory.

Cinémathèque

Cinémathèque is an exotica dance band from Roanoke weaving surf rock, Afrobeat, Ethiopian jazz and spaghetti-western themes into vivid instrumental tapestries. Horns and percussion bring panoramic color to arrangements full of sharp solo turns and irresistible pull. Like a soundtrack sprung to life, they move through familiar motifs, offbeat detours and shifting momentum.

David Via & Corn Tornado

David Via & Corn Tornado spin soulful songs, pyrotechnic pickin’ and heavenly harmonies into a whirlwind of sound, equal parts bluegrass tradition, mountain magic and wide-open improvisation. Mandolin, fiddle, flatpicked guitar and doghouse bass propel full-throttle blues-grass and y’all-ternative originals. Appalachian heritage crackles through their rollicking live shows.

Derek Lane’s Kitchen Sink

Derek Lane’s Kitchen Sink is a Raleigh jamgrass trio powered by bluegrass precision, rock drive and deep funk. Their tightly picked creations launch guitar, mandolin and bass into long-form explorations, while curveball covers pull classics apart and rebuild them in the moment. Their sets unfold from crisp instrumental interplay to loose passages and blistering peaks.

Donna the Buffalo

From Cajun to country, reggae to roots-rock, and zydeco boogie to freewheeling improv, Donna the Buffalo channels the best of American music into something joyful, soulful and unmistakably their own. Upbeat grooves, stirring lyrics and memorable hooks fuel a spirit of celebration that moves both hearts and feet. Socially conscious and endlessly danceable, they helped found the GrassRoots Festival in 1991 outside Ithaca, NY, to support local causes and share the sounds of their musical family from around the world. The group features multi-instrumentalist Tara Nevins and guitarist Jeb Puryear.

Drew Foust & The Wheelhouse

Drew Foust & The Wheelhouse make Southern soul ’n’ roll for the bleary hours between a barkeep’s last call and a preacher’s early-morning prayer. A natural soul singer and bluesman, Foust leads a Piedmont crew steeped in Memphis R&B through handmade, rhythm-driven songs with dramatic arrangements and a restless drive.

Driftwood

In a postmodern world of skyscrapers and handheld screens, Driftwood looks beneath the concrete and circuitry to find their inspiration. Hailing from upstate New York, these folk-rock shapeshifters forge a bold reimagining of roots music with blazing fiddle, boundaryless banjo, booming upright bass, and gleeful guitar. At its core is a chosen family turning life’s twists into song and every performance into an opportunity for connection.

dub Addis

Founded in Durham by Ethiopian musicians, dub Addis dreams up expressive melodies embedded in the intricate polyrhythms of Africa. Heavenly horns and traditional Ethiopian rhythms bring forth their sublimely hypnotic sound and positive roots reggae philosophy. They unite listeners of all backgrounds in an uplifting, joyful celebration of life that moves the body, heart and mind.

Duck

Duck is a high-energy funk band from Raleigh melting hard-hitting rock, soul and disco-era grooves into a dance-floor revival. Donnie Deneil’s passionate vocals surge over soaring guitar, vintage keys, melodic bass and pocket-deep drums, creating potent live sets built to boogie. Their songs of growth, resilience and romance deliver shared release and the restless pulse of being alive.

Emerson Bruno

Emerson Bruno leads a Raleigh alt-rock band drawing on ’60s Laurel Canyon folk-rock, pairing candid vocals with reverb-rich guitar. He recasts warm nostalgia through a modern lens, balancing bright melodies with darker, introspective writing. Live performances bring driving beats and a ragged, rowdy kick.

Emily Musolino

Emily Musolino is a powerhouse singer/songwriter and guitar shredder from Durham whose unfiltered mix of boisterous rock, barroom blues, smoky jazz and outlaw country is best described as a soul diva mind explosion. The raw passion in her sound resonates across genres to forge authentic and inspiring music infused with strong feminist and queer positive messaging.

Evan Blackerby & the Bandwagon

Evan Blackerby & the Bandwagon offer alt-bluesy Americana and folk-rock grit with an earnest singer/songwriter ethos. Speaking with unpolished honesty, they turn tunes of time, truth, pain and hope into something personal and easy to gather around. Based in High Point, they stretch from quiet reflection into wide-ranging roots rock with a searing bite.

Evan Horne

Evan Horne (a.k.a. Tenzin Chopak) is an Ithaca-based singer/songwriter crafting stunningly beautiful progressive chamber folk with cinematic sweep and atmospheric textures. A gifted multi-instrumentalist, he draws on a lifelong study of Tibetan culture and spirituality to shape immersive compositions that feel at once rustic, reflective and touched with a mystical sheen.

Gullah Collective

Gullah Collective is a nine-piece ensemble from South Carolina celebrating the timeless musical traditions of the Gullah Geechee people, descendants of enslaved Africans who preserved their culture throughout the coastal Southeast. Blending jazz, roots, R&B and gospel with vibrant West African rhythms and rich vocal harmonies, they bring enduring heritage to life onstage.

Jesse Fox

Jesse Fox is an indie-folk singer/songwriter from Burlington writing acoustic pieces with soulful melodies and plainspoken Southern storytelling. His creations lean toward heartbreak, forever love, small-town growing pains and quiet resilience. With emotionally unguarded lyrics and a rich, steady voice, he traces the choices, losses and revelations that define who we become.

Joe Troop & The Truth Machine

Multi-instrumentalist and activist Joe Troop brings a spirit of social justice to bluegrass with The Truth Machine. Rooted in the string-band traditions of the North Carolina Piedmont, the quintet delivers protest anthems, political commentary and sharp humor with fiery picking and moral conviction. Their music confronts injustice while building solidarity, recasting old-time sounds as an urgent call for change.

John Ferrara

John Ferrara, bassist and composer for Consider the Source and Mono Means One, turns solo bass into a whole world of rhythm, harmony and melody. Using two-handed tapping to push the instrument toward piano-like range, he mixes classical, jazz, rock, folk and minimalism, moving from meditative figures and jazz-minded exploration to rock intensity and gentle resolve. For the full-band ride, Mono Means One also appears at Shakori Hills.

Keith Secola

Anishinaabe musician Keith Secola blends electric guitar, Native flute, Indigenous drums and traditional chants into the style he calls Native Americana. With humor, hope and a gift for storytelling, he draws audiences into stories of Native life, cultural pride and unity. For decades, the award-winning artist has been one of the defining voices in contemporary Indigenous music.

Lennon KC

Lennon KC is a Durham alternative rock artist shifting between grunge-inspired intensity, bedroom-pop intimacy and folk-leaning songwriting. Currently performing as a duo with a drummer, he pairs layered textures with perceptive insights about selfhood, chaos and nostalgia. His live set hits hard, pulls back into hushed corners and reveals pure pop hooks and playfulness.

Living Arts Collective

Living Arts Collective’s Dancewave invites people of all ages and experience levels into a safe and sacred free-form dance journey shaped by music, movement and community. Facilitated by Aubrey and Bru Roze, the practice builds toward energetic peaks and releases into quieter moments, offering room to express, rest and heal. Come as you are. All are welcome.

Maia Kamil

Maia Kamil is an inventive songstress from Winston-Salem who weaves neo-soul, folk and hip-hop influences into complex lyrics and tiny worlds for listeners to explore. Her appearances are an invitation to create deep human connection, with pure melodies acting as springboards for warm and graceful vocal runs.

Margo Price

Grammy-nominated singer/songwriter Margo Price pairs classic country with roots rock grit, writing vivid tracks that find beauty, heartbreak and hard truths in everyday life. She balances timeless twang with a rebellious streak, venturing beyond country’s expected borders to lean into slow-burning ballads or high-octane rockers, delivering every piece with soul, swagger and conviction.

Marvelous Funkshun

Marvelous Funkshun fires off funky southern psychedelic blues from their Winston-Salem launchpad, with twin engines of soaring guitar and pedal steel riding over a massive foundation. Drawing from electric blues and sacred steel, the band stretches out into greasy solos and foot-stomping explosions, building sets that give dancers plenty of pocket and guitar heads plenty of string-bending heat.

The Midnight Still

The Midnight Still is a Raleigh six-piece forging dark folk and bluegrass with a rock bite. Katie Remington’s warm delivery and their textured vocal blends weave through banjo, fiddle, pedal steel and upright bass, carrying songs of solitude, heartache and rough-edged solace. Their sets sit between back-porch ballads and string-band thunder, rolling easily from hush to holler.

Mono Means One

Mono Means One is an instrumental progressive/psychedelic trio founded by bassist-composer John Ferrara of Consider the Source, whose two-handed tapping turns bass into a lead voice and rhythmic engine. They charge through prog-jazz twists, dark grooves, moody textures and melodic calm, balancing composition and improvisation across heavy peaks and serene valleys. For the bass deep dive, Ferrara also appears solo at Shakori Hills.

Moonholler

Moonholler is a neo-traditional old-time trio steeped in Appalachian fiddle lore, time-honored ballads and stirring originals. Their nimble banjo, fiddle and guitar spin tunes that feel old in the bones but alive in the room. Ringing harmonies and fluid musicianship give their sets heat, edge and a little mountain mystery.

Murphy Campbell

Murphy Campbell is a Western North Carolina singer and clawhammer banjoist carrying the musical memory of the Toe River Valley. With an arresting voice and low-tuned gut-string banjo, she revives centuries-old songs connected to her family and the communities of Yancey and Mitchell counties. Her spare, deeply rooted performances make the past feel immediate, personal and enduring.

New Planets

New Planets is a high-energy psychedelic dance band powered by infectious grooves and genre-bending patterns. Tapping into reggae, Latin, Afrobeat and funk, this vibrant collective from Ithaca, NY crafts colorful music designed to move your body and lift your spirit. The result is a kinetic sound that lands both polished and free.

OhNo! Casino

OhNo! Casino is a Greensboro duo stretching electronic jams into psychedelic excursions. Hunter McBride handles guitar and processed textures while Brennan Fowler works keyboards and synthesizers, layering space-rock shimmer with a steady pulse and open-ended interplay. Their live shows favor extended pieces, giving riffs and rhythms time to twist into new shapes.

Omar Ruiz-Lopez

Omar Ruiz-Lopez is a North Carolina-based artist bringing old-time, Celtic and Latin American fiddle traditions into indie folk and Americana. A bilingual singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, he pens originals anchored by cultural roots, emotional clarity and unbounded curiosity. His performances weave intricate fiddle work through melodic pieces with warmth and spark.

Omar Ruiz-Lopez & Eric Hirsh

Omar Ruiz-Lopez and Eric Hirsh present a cross-cultural progressive folk set pairing bilingual songwriting and expressive fiddle with cinematic piano inspired by jazz and classical music. Drawing from old-time, Celtic and Brazilian forms, their nimble arrangements open into free-ranging improvisation that re-imagine each piece in the moment.

Onyx Club Boys

Onyx Club Boys are an acoustic string band carrying Django Reinhardt’s 1930s Paris jazz and Stuff Smith’s New York City swing into the modern day. Led by Gabriel Pelli, they hop through hot jazz and French waltzes with violin and guitar flashing over upright bass and drums. Expect quick-footed tunes and sidewalk-café romance, all spun into a stylish sound to make you sway and swoon.

Paperhand Puppet Intervention

Come explore the wild, wonder-full and whacky world of Paperhand Puppet Intervention. North Carolina’s imaginative puppeteering troupe uses cardboard, papier mâché, trash and a variety of puppetry styles to promote social change, peace and hope for a brighter future. Join the puppets in a parade around the grounds on Saturday and be prepared to let your spirits soar!

Patreka Wortham

Patreka Wortham is a gospel singer/songwriter and worship leader from Garner whose offerings rise from gratitude and devotion. Her powerful vocals ignite upbeat anthems shaped by contemporary gospel, R&B, rock and the church choir tradition. Backed by a spirited ensemble, she turns faith into testaments of endurance, offering strength to those trying to stand through the storm.

Raistlin Brabson & Up Jumped Trouble

Raistlin Brabson & Up Jumped Trouble is an old-time string band from Southwest Virginia immersed in Appalachian fiddle styles and classic hard-driving country. With momentum as motivation, they honor their local lineage while leaning into a powerful pulse, making music built to spin dancers across the floor.

Random Animals

Random Animals is an Asheville indie-soul quartet where catchy indie rock meets R&B, funk and jazz. Smooth vocals and dreamy harmonies carry thoughtful lyrics, while melodic guitar lines and a dynamic rhythm section provide polish and room to stretch. Their lively outings keep the mood laid-back but moving, with hooks up front and an easy vibe underneath.

The Resonant Rogues

The Resonant Rogues are a Western North Carolina act featuring partners Sparrow and Keith Josiah Smith, writing dark Appalachian folk with a country sway. Aching fiddle, pedal steel and accordion frame poetic verses anchoring tracks inspired by classic country and old-time music. Their gigs feel road-worn and cozy, with stories of real lives, friendships and hard-won lessons.

Richie & Rosie

Richie Stearns and Rosie Newton perform gorgeous acoustic music pairing vintage fiddle tunes with originals, drawing from old-time, Appalachian folk, blues, Cajun and country traditions. Rosie’s elegant voice and glittering fiddle perfectly complement Richie’s spooky mantra-groove banjo, while lush singing and inventive arrangements give familiar sounds a fresh sense of wonder.

Rose & The Bros

Rose & The Bros are a festive dynamo specializing in irresistible Zydeco and Cajun energy resonating with sweet harmonies and crooning country roots. Led by festival favorite Rosie Newton, this seasoned ensemble channels infectious joy with one goal: keep the people dancing. Steeped in Southern heritage, they remind us that celebration is best shared.

Sam Fribush Organ Trio

Greensboro-based organist Sam Fribush blends old-school soul-jazz with wah-wah funk, hip hop beats and sultry B3 ballads, channeling the Hammond organ lineage with deep-pocket swing and gospel-tinged resonance. The fiery trio conjures the golden era of groove and leaves the dancefloor scorched.

Silver Rein

Operatic enchantress Sarah Green performs as Silver Rein, casting spells of cinematic dark folk with electric cello and live looping. Her sets build an ancient, mystical realm from found-object beats and a voice that expands from quiet reverie to colossal release. Based in Ithaca, NY, she explores isolation, belonging, life and death in songs that drift through shadow and emerge resilient and profoundly human.

Six More Miles

Six More Miles is a hot-picking bluegrass unit stacking three lead singers around a single microphone. Drawing from ’70s progressive bluegrass, this Triangle-area group pivots between hard-driving string-band tradition, classic country, acoustic blues and contemporary roots music. Their concerts bring crisp virtuosity, easy camaraderie and a rowdy intensity.

Slap Dragon

Slap Dragon is a Nashville acoustic funk outfit led by bassist Scott Mulvahill and singer Laura Berens, serving up propulsive grooves with bluegrass chops, R&B soul, disco sparkle and plenty of sass. They pair nimble playing with rich vocals to create a set that’s both tightly crafted and joyfully loose. Their shows strike a sweet balance of virtuosity, humor and dance-floor momentum.

The Steel Wheels

Hailing from Virginia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, The Steel Wheels meld bluegrass, Americana and folk rock with tight harmonies, masterful musicianship and irresistible momentum. Balancing vintage forms with restless curiosity, their songs are deeply rooted yet refreshingly open-hearted. They bring equal measures of mountain spirit, thoughtful craftsmanship and sincerity to every performance.

Stephen Klingman and Open Circle

Stephen Klingman and Open Circle fuse pocket-locked neo-soul, R&B, hip hop, funk and reggae. The Raleigh-based project brings guitarist Stephen Klingman and keyboardist David Klingman together with a rotating cast of co-conspirators. Expect rhythmic snap, close musical interplay and improvisation that reshuffles the sound each time the circle widens.

Sugar Snap Peas

Sugar Snap Peas are a Raleigh six-piece fusing indie rock and dream pop with jazz and funk. Lush songs filled with intricate grooves and colorful harmonies fuel performances that bounce between intimate ballads and high-energy peaks. With precision chops and a scrappy attitude, they make fusion feel playful and inviting.

Também

Também is a Durham trio shaping Brazilian jazz into dynamic, slow-building soundscapes, with Ingrid Nora Knight’s voice soaring over layered synth atmospheres and hypnotic rhythms. They shift between heavy, infectious beats and quieter moments, folding vibrant samba, odd-meter phrasing and improvisation into showcases that invite movement alongside close listening.

Turnabout Players

Turnabout Players reimagine beloved video game themes through the colors and improvisational language of jazz, soul, fusion and R&B. The Triangle-based ensemble has a clear love for gaming culture, letting neo-soul progressions, jazz-waltz turns and J Dilla-style backbeats reshape the source material. Their shows give nerds something to groove to.

Wild Roots

Wild Roots is a women-led folk band from the Appalachian Mountains of North Carolina, built around acoustic textures, intricate harmonies and graceful melodies. Featuring Julia Peach and Olivia Moore, their songs celebrate friendship, community, environmental justice and social change, pairing poignant storytelling with singalong warmth.

The Wilted Plums

The Wilted Plums serve up saxgrass: a new-acoustic spin on bluegrass with saxophone threaded through mandolin, guitar, bass and string-band drive. With members from across North Carolina, the group mixes sharp picking, playful jams and a little jazz swagger into exuberant sets, sending time-tested traditions in unexpected directions.