BLACKSTOCK – Starting on the Friday after Memorial Day, 1,000 acres of idyllic, S.C. countryside will transform into a campground and concert venue for more than 30 bands on three stages, dozens of food vendors and craft beer breweries, and as many as 10,000 music enthusiasts from throughout the Southeast.
The Blackstock Music Festival, May 30 and 31 in Blackstock, will feature bands on three stages from 7 p.m. Friday virtually around the clock until 4 a.m. Sunday.
“I think this festival can grow into a signature event for the Southeast,” said Joshua Leonhardt, the founder and driving force behind the event. “All the bands in our line-up have a strong regional following, and the festival setting is perfect – a beautiful wildlife refuge just a few miles off I-77, a short, pleasant drive from Columbia, Greenville and Charlotte.”
The lineup of music includes a sampling of bluegrass, country, electronic, and “jam” bands. Headlining the weekend of music and get-away-from-it-all fun are Galactic, Leftover Salmon (with Bill Payne of Little Feat), Papadosio and BoomBox.
In addition to a vast main-venue area, the festival grounds will offer “park & camp” areas, a general store, toilet and shower facilities, dozens of concessions and food trucks, as well as a wide variety of activities to keep festivalgoers busy and entertained between performances. The promoters have arranged for event security services, well-staffed medical facilities, professional lighting and sound production by SE Systems Inc., the long-tenured production company of the famed Merlefest.
Music lovers won’t be the only group to come away from the festival with something positive, though. Leonhardt has pledged $1 from each ticket purchased to Nourish International, a student-led charity organization based in Chapel Hill, N.C., working to alleviate poverty and feed the hungry in the world’s most economically disadvantaged countries (Visit http://nourish.org for more information).
“The Blackstock Music Festival is all about people coming together to have a good time, enjoying great music, and supporting regional musicians, regional businesses and a cause with – literally – global importance,” Leonhardt said.
A complete list of festival performers, directions to the festival grounds, ticket information and more can be found online at BlackstockMusicFestival.com and on the festival’s FaceBook page.
