Carolina in the Fall audience at night

March 5, 2019

Wilkesboro, NC ––The fifth annual Carolina in the Fall™ Music and Food Festival, winner of the coveted IBMA Momentum Event of the Year Award, continues its’ tradition of celebrating the heritage of western North Carolina on September 20th and 21st, 2019. Over 100 musicians, chefs, vintners and craft beer brewers from the region will gather on Main Street in Wilkesboro, NC to engage audiences with the best of their craft.

“It is hard to believe we are in our 5th year of CITF. Last year saw some big changes come to Carolina in the Fall”, says Festival Director Michelle Isom. “We listened to our festival guests and added reserved seating. Folks loved having a seat waiting on them when they arrived. Because we limited the number of reserved seats, general admission seating saw very little impact. This year we will maintain the same limited number of reserved seats that are part of the VIP Package. We are implementing a couple of changes that we hope will make the CITF experience even better. We are adding a stage in Sweet Smiles Candy Store that will focus on local talent exclusively. Additionally, we are extending our Friday Night music by an extra hour in the Downtown setting. This will be a fun filled hour of music designed to get you on your feet and get loud. We will have the Carolina Jam only on Saturday night at the Yadkin Valley Event Center. We heard many people say that the Friday Night Carolina Jam left them tired on Saturday morning, so this should let folks get some rest and be ready for a great day of music on Saturday.” More information about the seating and how to select and reserve those available seats is on the festival website, www.carolinainthefall.org.

Wilkes County’s own The Kruger Brothers will once again be the Festival hosts and welcome some of North Carolina’s best Folk/ Roots music bands. They will be joined by bands from other regions that tip their hats to the rich musical history of Wilkes, the Heart of American Folk Music™. This year’s line-up includes The Kruger Brothers, Balsam Range, Chatham County Line, Zoe and Cloyd, Nikki Talley, Lateral Blue, Terry Baucom and Will Jones, Presley Barker and many others to be announced later.

The Kruger Brothers

Originally from Switzerland, brothers Uwe and Jens Kruger began playing North American folk music at an early age and were particularly inspired by recordings of Doc Watson, Flatt and Scruggs, Bill Monroe, and other progenitors of country, bluegrass and folk music. Their first public performances were as a duo, busking on the streets of cities throughout eastern and Western Europe.

After gaining a recording contract as well as a radio show on SRG SSR, the Swiss public broadcaster, they teamed up with bass player Joel Landsberg, inaugurating a trio that has been playing professionally together since 1995. Landsberg is from New York, NY. The Kruger Brothers moved to the United States in 2002, and are based in Wilkesboro, NC.

Through their numerous CD releases, radio and television performances, lectures, and collaborative efforts, The Kruger Brothers’ powerful artistic statement continues to inspire and enlighten audiences and musicians around the world.

Balsam Range

The 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range, has become one of the genre’s most award-winning acts. Since forming in 2007, the group has garnered 13 IBMA awards on the heels of 8 critically-acclaimed albums. Balsam Range has left audiences spellbound while headlining major festivals from coast-to-coast, selling out venues across the nation and in multiple appearances at the Grand Ole Opry. The band collaborated with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble to record 2 albums, the second of which, Mountain Overture, debuted on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart at #5 and the Classical Crossover Chart at #6. Their previous outing, Mountain Voodoo, debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart and remained on that chart for 45 weeks. Three singles from that album reached #1 on the Bluegrass Today Chart, including “Blue Collar Dreams,” which spent three consecutive months at the top. The band most recently claimed the #1 radio chart spot with their single “The Girl Who Invented The Wheel.” In addition to winning Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range vocalist Buddy Melton won IBMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year and bass player Tim Surrett won IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year in 2018.

Chatham County Line

“Our band is a lot like this place,” says Chatham County Line guitarist, lead singer and songwriter Dave Wilson. His eyes wander across the original hardwood lanes of the midcentury Raleigh bowling alley where he just finished rolling and drinking two rounds. Playing traditional string band instrumentation around a single microphone while clad in suits and ties visually projects a similar sepia toned timelessness. “We create a product that you’re familiar with and you’ll enjoy going back to because you know what to expect. My dad ran a local hardware store years ago and I always felt like we shared that.”

Sure enough, like a small town store, there’s no dramatic tale or sexy hook to fuel the hype machine for Autumn, the seventh studio album since the Raleigh, NC-based Chatham County Line—Wilson, John Teer (mandolin/fiddle), Chandler Holt (banjo), and Greg Readling (bass, pedal steel, piano)

In addition to great music, Carolina in the Fall™ offers other events including The Bobby Martin Young Songwriters Competition and The Chad Lovette Memorial Trail Run. Additionally, some of the region’s best Artisans can be found in the CITF Main Street Mall. To cover food and drink, folks who attend the festival will enjoy some of North Carolina’s best cuisine as food trucks from across the state will bring their amazing recipes to feed the masses and vie for the coveted Carolina in the Fall™ Food Truck Championship Award. If you have a grown-up thirst, local vineyards and regional craft breweries will be onsite to provide a taste of the region’s best adult beverages.  For more information about any of these events held during the festival, visit www.carolinainthefall.org.

In its’ fifth year, Carolina in the Fall™ has become an annual pilgrimage for music and food lovers from around the world. Make plans now to be in historic downtown Wilkesboro, The Heart of American Folk Music, on September 20th and 21st to enjoy the sights and sounds of the season at Carolina in the Fall™ Music and Food Festival. Festival tickets are available at www.carolinainthefall.org. Round One pricing is as follows: A One-Day pass is $30.00. A Two-Day pass is $50.00. The VIP package that includes both days and the Saturday evening Carolina Jam session is $120.00 plus a reserved seat at the Carolina Stage. Round Two pricing will begin June 4th with additional band announcements.

Festival sponsorships are available for individuals and companies. If you have interest in partnering with the festival, please contact Chad Treadway at sponsorship at carolinainthefall.org

Carolina in the Fall Music and Food Festival™ is made possible through the partnership of Heart of Folk, LLC, the Kruger Brothers and Town of Wilkesboro.