The Neuse River Music Fest, Kinston’s finest bluegrass music event, is scheduled for Friday and Saturday at Lenoir Community College. LCC has hosted this event for several years, and the community has been fortunate to witness many well-known bluegrass “greats” hit the stage for numerous outstanding performances. Each year, Kinston witnesses an influx of bluegrass fans from as far away as Florida and Canada. This year is to be no different as tickets have been selling at a fast pace in recent weeks.
On Friday, the college is expecting more than 800 fans of bluegrass music on campus to hear both returning artists and new artists alike. Local businesses such as King’s Restaurant, Bojangle’s, Pepsi and more have signed on to sponsor the event, and many local vendors will be on site to provide food and beverages to concert-goers.
This year, the Neuse River Music Fest will welcome five-time Grammy nominee Rhonda Vincent, and multiple Top 10 Hits winner Moe Bandy as headliners. Rhonda Vincent & The Rage has achieved the status of Most Awarded Band in Bluegrass Music, and she was named Entertainer of the Year at the 40th Annual Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America Convention. Dolly Parton once said of Rhonda, “Rhonda Vincent! What a talent, what a beauty, what a special human being!”
Moe Bandy’s string of hits include “Hank Williams, You Wrote My Life,” “Americana,” “Barstool Mountain,” and dozens of other chart-toppers. Moe has performed to packed houses all over the world, and his honky-tonk style is sure to please country music fans and bluegrass music lovers alike.
Other bands performing at this year’s festival include The Malpass Brothers, Grass Cats, Lonesome River Band, Marty Raybon, Al Batten & The Bluegrass Reunion, Samantha Casey & The Bluegrass Jam, and Mountain Faith. Lonesome River Band has performed on stage at the Grand Ole Opry, and their song, “Angeline the Baker” won an award for Instrumental Recorded Event of the Year in 2012.
Tickets are available for this event and may be purchased online at www.neuserivermusicfest.com, or by contacting Timothy Maddox, special events coordinator in the LCC Foundation office, at 252-233-6843.
Want to go? Here’s who’s playing:
Marty Raybon: 2:40 p.m. and 8 p.m. Friday
Mountain Faith: 12:10 and 6:20 p.m. Friday
Al Batten & the Bluegrass Reunion: 1 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. Friday
Grass Cats: 1:50 p.m. and 7:10 p.m. Friday
Lonesome River Band: 3:30 p.m. and 8:50 p.m. Friday
Samantha Casey & the Bluegrass Jam: 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday
Malpass Brothers: 2:50 p.m. and 6:50 p.m. Saturday
Rhonda Vincent and the Rage: 3:40 p.m. and 7:40 p.m. Saturday
Moe Bandy: 8:30 p.m. Saturday