The top young talent in the area is being lined up for the second annual "Rocky Mount Music Festival: Young Artists/Old Tunes."
The traditional music festival is believed to be the first in the nation featuring only young talented musicians. Many music festivals, including the nearby famed Galax Fiddler's Convention, set aside a special time for performances by youngsters. "The idea behind this is to keep our music heritage alive, the young people of our community is the way to do this" said Janie Hopkins, who serves as chair of the event.
Talented musicians under the age of 19 are being invited to participate and will be the featured performers in Saturday's schedule of events. The festival kick-off will be held Friday night, April 27, at the Farmers Market beginning at 6 p.m. with " No Strings Attached". They will perform two 45-minute sets.
An "open mic" (open microphone) session for young musicians is scheduled for 8:00 p.m. on Friday night.The session will showcase the talents of any young musician or group that pre-registers and performs traditional, bluegrass or gospel music.
Young musicians wanting to schedule a time slot for Friday night should pre-register with Jerry Robertson, executive director of the Rocky Mount Community Partnership for Revitalization. His telephone number is 489-3825. Performers will be assigned performance times on a first-come, first serve basis.
No admission will be charged during the festival. Food vendors will be at the festival site both Friday and Saturday, April 27-28.
A program will be available at the event. |
