RTP-area local music and culture

[Heather LaGarde <heather AT barnstarvintage.com>]

PRESS RELEASE:
Summerfest Finale  in Saxapahaw with The Kickin Grass Band.  The End  
of Wonderful Summer!
Saxapahaw, NC
Saturday, August 25th,
Saxapahaw Outside - Next to the Post Office
Farmer's Market 5-8
Music 6-8
Contact: Heather LaGarde, 336 376 5694  heather AT barnstarvintage.com
High Res (GREAT!) Pictures Available

After a summer of great music, healthy local fare, facepainting,  
parades, bubbles, zipboats and homemade waterslides, the Saxapahaw  
Rivermill Farmer's Market and Music Series comes to a close for the  
season at the grand Summerfest Finale this Saturday, August 25th.   
The Kickin' Grass Band will be playing on the haywagon stage at the  
meadow amphitheater over the Haw River celebrating local arts,  &  
local food in what has become a thriving and diverse community gala.   
Centrally located between the Triangle and the Triad, the Saturdays  
in Saxapahaw series draws crowds from Chapel Hill, Carrboro, Durham,  
and Raleigh as well as Graham, Burlington and Greensboro with a  
different band every week, free activities for kids and a Farmer's  
Market offering locally produced cheese, wine, baked goods, honey,  
flowers, fish, pork, eggs, chicken, jams, chutney, and organic  
produce.  The market added a section for local artisans this year  
called Front Porch Crafts featuring jewelry, toys, woodworking,  
baskets and pottery and The Barbecue Joint brings their mobile  
kitchen out each week to provide dinner to picnicers.

Each Saturday beautiful Saxapahaw, an historic and bucolic milltown,  
finds itself packed as parked cars line sides of the streets.   
Families hike in carrying picnic blankets and baskets, Cyclers ride  
in on backroads, organized kayaking trips paddle down the Haw River  
from Swepsonville as farmers and artisans set up their tents.  The  
haywagon stage is exactly that, two haywagons puled together covered  
with a tent to keep the summer's heat off the musicians. The Market  
opens at 5 to the weekly soundtrack of vintage Calypso and Bahamian  
numbers about tomotoes and okra, dotted with market themed specials  
from The Andrews Sisters (Beer Barrel Polka), Louis Armstrong (Potato  
Head Blues), and Dinah Shore (Shoo Fly Pie).   The rolling hillsides  
around the stage fill with picnic blankets and chairs as people stake  
their spot for the show and shop the farmer's market.  The bands  
start playing at 6 and run until 8 with organizers collecting for the  
band using a large swan bucket to hold donations- which is what  
covers band fees -and this inevitably inspires weekly jokes about the  
Swan Song etc.

Crowds have peaked at over 1000 a week for some of the biggest bands  
including the Two Dollar Pistols and Polecat Creek, and organizers  
note that even with crowds of that size there is never trash left on  
the ground and the hills hold the crowds so that it doesn't feel too  
full.  Maybe it's the historic setting, or the river, or the local  
feel of the event but the sense of camaraderie and community is so  
strong with all ages, all kinds of backgrounds joining together to  
enjoy a lovely night out with the only cost being what you might  
choose to feed a swan.

Sponsors for the series include The Saxapahaw Rivermill, Haw Village,  
Fifth Season Gardening, Open Eye Cafe, Townsend Bertram and The  
Barbecue Joint.
Children's Activities are run and sponsored by Ceres and Bioallies.

Join us for the last Saturday in Saxapahaw this year!  (Oktoberfest  
is October 20th!)
More information www.rivermillvillage.com

The Kickin Grass Band  http://www.kickingrass.com
Up-and-coming bluegrass group, The Kickin Grass Band, have set  
themselves a cut above the rest with their tight vocal harmony,  
driving instrumentation and effusive energy on and off the stage. The  
band prides itself on reaching all types of bluegrass and non- 
bluegrass audiences, incorporating standard bluegrass tunes, rock &  
country classics and a number of "can't get 'em out of yer head"  
originals into their entertaining sets.  With rich vocals, skilled  
fiddle and a banjo that lives in the perfect space between Scruggs  
and Fleck, The Kickin Grass Band brings traditional music to the  
forefront of modern bluegrass and a new generation of music fans.

"The band picks with power and authority and the vocals are sung with  
passion and grace. And, best of all, along the way, the band has  
forged its own unique sound. The original tunes are just stellar." —   
Dave Higgs, Bluegrass Breakdown, Nashville Public Radio

"A unique musical offering, which stands out in the sometimes crowded  
field of similar sounding bluegrass acts, and appeals to a broad  
range of tastes."- Swallow Hill Newsletter, Denver CO

"An entertaining ride fueled by rich harmonies and pulsing rhythms."-  
Chris Parker, The Durham Herald-Sun