 Sam Bush (l) and Jerry Douglas (r) rock out at Music on the Mountaintop 2009. Bush will return to the event this year. Special to The Appalachian | Music on the Mountaintop Over 35 artists will share three stages at the festival Friday and Saturday, surpassing its previous length of one day for the first time since the festival’s inception.
“When I went the first year it was really organic and small,” Tia N. Wirbelauer, senior sociology major and Music on the Mountaintop intern said. “It’s definitely different from any festival I’ve ever been to.”
This year’s lineup includes local favorites Do it to Julia, The Native Sway, Naked Gods, Toubab Krewe, Yo Mama’s Big Fat Booty Band, Snake Oil Medicine Show, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, Doc Aquatic and BPL, as well as nationally-recognized performers Sam Bush, Keller Williams and Railroad Earth.
Denise E. Sawyer attended the festival last year and plans to attend again this weekend.
“I had a great experience,” the junior English secondary education major said. “The area was beautiful, the people were very nice and the music was great. I was amazed at how clean it was and that they were so eco-conscious.”
Sawyer is looking forward to Keller Williams after seeing his performance last year.
“He played every instrument himself and I enjoyed seeing him progress through his music,” she said. “I had never seen music come together like that.”
Both Do it to Julia and Sam Bush return for their third appearance at the festival.
“More people are getting involved,” Halli M. Anderson, violinist and co-lead singer of Do it to Julia said. “We have more vendors, more sponsors and especially more bands this year.”
Anderson, a 2009 graduate of Appalachian State University with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, anticipates her return to Boone with her band mates, all of whom graduated from Appalachian.
“We’re hopefully going to see a bunch of friends we went to school with, family members and a bunch of new people that go to Appalachian,” she said. “Everyone who goes to [Appalachian] has this similar mindset— this peaceful, hometown, mountainous feel. It’s going to be a huge homecoming.”
A fourth stage will be located at the festival’s camp ground, showcasing acoustic acts each night upon the conclusion of main stage performances.
A cleanup of the New River, located near the festival site, will take place on Friday before the music begins.
Over 2,000 pounds of trash and seven truckloads of garbage were removed from the river last year.
Attendance has flourished over the past two years from 2,000 in 2008 to 4,000 in 2009.
“Part of the appeal is that it’s a small, hometown festival. The size of Boone wouldn’t lend itself to a Bonnaroo-type festival,” Wirbelaurer said. “If any growth takes place it will be more in notoriety than actual numbers.”
To preview Music on the Mountaintop, festival producers are introducing the Ascent Series tonight, showcasing local and traveling artists at venues around Boone in a head-to-head battle for a cash prize and a spot on next year’s lineup.
Viewers will vote to determine the winner of this feature.
“What I look forward to most about Music on the Mountaintop is the opportunity for everyone I’m friends with in Boone to get to go to a festival together,” Wirbelaurer said.
“I really like the sense of community that comes out to these festivals— the way people act when they’re together listening to good music.”
For more information on Music on the Mountaintop, or to purchase tickets, visit Musiconthe Mountaintop.com.
Story: PHILLIP WYATT, Lifestyles Reporter |
