Mars Hill University will welcome the return of the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Mountain Music Festival on Oct. 4 with a new indoor evening concert format. The event will be held from 7-9:30 p.m. in Moore Auditorium on the Mars Hill University campus.
This year’s festival will feature some of the region’s finest traditional music and dance performers in a sit-down concert setting. Due to ongoing construction on campus, the Lunsford Festival has moved indoors for 2025, with plans to return to its traditional outdoor format on the Upper Quad in 2026. The event remains free and open to the public with no reservations required.
The Lunsford Festival is the second longest-running folk festival in Western North Carolina and continues to honor the rich cultural traditions of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. The festival was named in honor of Bascom Lamar Lunsford, a musician and folklorist who dedicated his life to collecting and promoting the music of Southern Appalachia.
Doors will open at 6:30 p.m. with the show beginning at 7 p.m. The evening will include an intermission and conclude around 9:30 p.m.
Performers will include:
- Bailey Mountain Cloggers
- Roger Howell and Friends
- Bandana Rhythm
- Lonesome Mountain Ears
- Analo Phillips
- Aaron Ratcliffe
- Carol Rifkin and Friends
- Sourwood Ridge with Brandon Johnson
The event will be hosted by longtime Lunsford Festival emcee John Roten.
During the evening’s festivities, Danielle Buice Plimpton will be presented with the 2024 Bascom Lamar Lunsford Award. Although Hurricane Helene prevented the 2024 festival from taking place, Plimpton was named as the award recipient for her work as director of the Bailey Mountain Cloggers.
Plimpton, a 2006 Mars Hill graduate originally from Pickens, South Carolina, has led the Bailey Mountain Cloggers to 32 national championships during her tenure. Under her leadership, the cloggers have performed throughout the United States and internationally, including recent trips to Indonesia and Slovenia.
The Bascom Lamar Lunsford Award has been given out since 1980 to individuals who have made significant contributions to the folk, musical, and/or dance traditions of the Southern Appalachian mountain region.
For more information about the Lunsford Festival, visit www.LunsfordFestival.com or contact Leila Weinstein at 828-689-1115 or [email protected].
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