First published in  The Goatee E-Mail

April 2001 Goat Notes

4.25.01
Whether you caught the phenomenal Phil & Friends shows last week or missed them, I'm sure you be glad to know that they are coming back in August. Phil & Friends will make two stops in NC with the Allman Brothers Band:
August 4 - Alltel Pavillion in Raleigh - ABB closes.
August 4 - Blockbuster Pavillion in Charlotte - Phil & Friends close.
No ticket information is out that I know of, but mark your calendars.<http://www.thephilzone.com>

The end of April is something everyone in NC looks forward to because it's time for MERLEFEST or as some locals call it 'The Watson Festival.' Well, it's this weekend and if you are a fan of bluegrass and old time music you really do not want to be anywhere else. You'll find a few of the SMILEFEST artists there including the David Grisman Quintet and Vassar Clements. This is Vassar's first Merlefest appearance if you can believe it! <http://www.merlefest.org>

After Merlefest winds down each evening, you may want to change course a bit and check out the electric tension jams of 'Ancient Harmony' in another Smilefest preview. We'll have them set up at Player's Niteclub each nite from 11PM until? The club is really a hop-skip-jump from the Wilkesboro Campus so swing by. There is a flyer posted at Lonely Goat Central. <http://www.lonelygoat.com/lonelygoat><http://www.ancientharmony.com>

This weekend is also the big Center Cityfest in Charlotte and they have another incredible lineup on the schedule including The String Cheese Incident, Bob Dylan, Acoustic Syndicate, The Black Crowes, Bruce Hornsby, Widespread Panic, DJ Logic and many more.<http://www.centercityfest.com>

04.18.01
First off, I want to apologize to everyone on the list for disappearing during the last two months. Our last Goatee was on February 8th, which is a far cry from the weekly service we promised. Things are once again under control and my intent is to get this weekly email going again full steam. Thank you to everyone for your patience during this absence.

Welcome to the new subscribers from the Smilefest page. We are in the process of setting up a separate email for Smilefest updates. Everyone on the Goatee list will be added automatically. Since I am just one guy, I am asking for everyone's help with this conversion. You will all be on both the Goatee email list and the NFA/Smilefest email list. If you do not want one or the other, please reply with unsubscribe in the subject to the appropriate list at the appropriate time. Thanks for your help with this reorganization.

There has certainly been no shortage of activity while I was away. You will be hard pressed not to find a good band playing in your area of the state during the next few months and there are plenty of opportunities to get out and travel a bit too. I encourage everyone to check out the full listings of shows currently scheduled in NC at the main Jambase site. Tough choices all around.

I'm sure that everyone knows 'Phil & Friends' are in state this week. They play Thursday in Asheville and Friday in Charlotte. Check out the schedule below for an assortment of 'After Parties' at local establishments. I will point out that our friends at NFA Entertainment (proprietors of Smilefest) are co-sponsoring a Smilefest preview with 'The Larry Keel Experience' at Mojo's in Charlotte after Phil. Come on out and say hello or buy your tickets for the festival if you haven't yet.

This weekend is also the host of many Earthday celebrations. I'd like to highlight the Earthfest at Grandfather Mountain. It takes place Saturday at Macrae Meadows on the Mountain and will feature some familiar names like 'AVAS,' 'Snake Oil Medicine Show,' 'Acoustic Syndicate,' 'The Marshall Tucker Band,' 'The Southern Lights,' and Winston Salem's 'Papa Gumbo.' <http://www.earthfestival.org/index.html>

I've also just discovered The French Broad River Festival. It will take place May 11-13 in Hot Springs, NC. I know David Via will be playing, but the festival website does not list the other acts yet. This is a camping event.<http://www.frenchbroadriverfest.com/>

The Flatrock Music Festival also takes place May 11-13. It is held at Camp Ton-A-Wandah in Flat Rock, NC. Featured performers include 'The David Grisman Quintet' and Knoxville's 'Gran Torino.'<http://www.flatrockmusicfestival.com>

There are plenty more festivals comming up. Check out the What's Happening page at Lonely Goat Central for a listing of festivals I know of in NC. Also be sure to download the Deadhead's Festival Calendar for all the details of this year's events.

I'm pleased to introduce you to the 'Single Malt Band' from Colorado. They contacted me to let me know about their upcoming NC tour and you will find them in just about all the regions of the state over the next couple of weeks. Their full schedule is in the Jambase listings. As Vince Herman of Leftover Salmon says, "These guys are all great pickers who together add up to one powerful whiskey grass good time. You need to see them right away, before they injure themselves!"<http://www.singlemaltband.com>

Greensboro's 'Analogorithm' have added a guitarist to their rich brass sound. Bob Palmer joined the group in February so you may have already heard the new ensemble.