The 5th Annual Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival will take place on Friday-Saturday October 5-6, 2018.* Look for dozens of musicians playing on porches in Oriental.
Folk || Americana || Bluegrass || Country || Gospel || Jazz
Featuring:
- Chatham County Line – Newgrass
- Tellico – Asheville Americana
- The Hall Sisters – Country Pop
- Amigo – Alt Country
- Barry Bey – Americana Folk Rock
- Brant Island Strings – Contemporary Folk & Classic Rock
- Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs
- Cane Mill Road – Bluegrass
- Connie Mason – Folk
- The Del Rios – Country Folk
- Downeast Dulcimers – Old Time Celtic Bluegrass
- Downtown Abby & The Echos – Modern Soul Rock
- Flat Mountain Dulcimers – Old Time Celtic Bluegrass Gospel
- Glenn Eric – Folk Americana
- Green Creek Bluegrass
- Harbor Sounds – Bluegrass
- Honey Magpie – Indie Folk
- Hooverville – Country Americana
- Jason Hoss Hicks – Country Blues and Jazz
- Laurel Creek – Bluegrass & Sixties Pop
- MahaloJazz – Jazz
- Melissa Plett – Alt Country
- Mitch Hayes – Americana Folk
- Moore’s Creek Bluegrass
- Pamlico Flutes – Classical, Celtic and Old Pop
- River Ratz – Americana
- Strung Together – Folk Americana Bluegrass
- The Gospel Ensemble – Gospel
- The Pinkerton Raid – Indie Rock Americana
- The UHOO’s – Ukelele and assorted folk/pop
For scenes from the 2017 OFPMF, click here.
Amigo | Alt Country
“This Charlotte, NC, country-rock trio is very funny, and almost sneakily substantial. On a casual listen, Amigo’s new And Friends simply sounds like easygoing country-rock with a penchant for boogie. Pay a little more attention, though, and be rewarded with staggeringly funny — and ultimately dark — lyrics. ” – from No Depression/ The Journal of Roots Music. https://www.facebook.com/amigotheband
Byron “Barry” Bey | Americana, folk, rock
Singer/songwriter Barry Bey is from Raleigh. He has performed on radio and television, including in an episode of “Matlock.” He served as an award-winning educator in coastal North Carolina for many years. At his Somewhere Recording Studio, Bey has recorded his own songs and collaborated with other musicians. The most charming aspect of Bey’s music is that it establishes a good natured energy that is captivating and easy to identify with. His songs all share easy melodies and lyrics that lean toward a descriptive, picture-painting mode. Bob Stratton of Arapahoe will be playing with Bey at the festival.
http://cdbaby.com/cd/byronbey
Brant Island Strings | Contemporary Folk/ Classic Rock/ Bluegrass
Rick Vogt, Ginny Vogt, Becky Ackiss and Perry Cheatham have been playing together around Oriental and Arapahoe for almost a year. In that short time they have bonded as a group, sharing their love for musical experimentation and the sheer joy of making music together. Combining a lifetime of musical experience, their sounds reflect an eclectic mix of old and new, featuring complex harmonies, driving rhythms, and lively guitar and mandolin solos. http://www.Facebook.com/BrantIslandStrings
Brittany Jean | Country
Brittany is a singer/songwriter in the Pacific Northwest, currently living in the tiny, apple town of Brewster, WA. She grew up in West Chicago and her interest in music started at a very young age ~piano and voice lessons, children’s choirs, youth group bands, youth theater ~ and she started seriously writings songs when she was sixteen. Discovering she liked singing her own stories instead of the ones written for characters in plays, she found her passion in songwriting. bjeanmusic.com
The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs | Folk/Americana
The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs are a folk(ish)/Americana group hailing from Winston-Salem, NC. Formed in 2015, the band is comprised of Zack and Kendra Harding, and Ryan Packett. The band is often joined by other musicians, including Wayne Redden (Log Noggins) and Trevor Walker (Wintervals). Their influences range from Neil Young to Regina Spektor. Blending their unique musical sensibilities, The Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs seek to craft an entertaining experience that has a little something for everyone. Their inaugural album will be released in the fall of 2018. https://www.brownmountainlightningbugs.com/
Cane Mill Road | Bluegrass
Billboard-charting artists Cane Mill Road grew up just down the road from Doc Watson in Deep Gap, North Carolina. Honoring the past the band strikes a balance between preserving the bluegrass mountain sound they were raised on and boldly rocking progressive interpretations of that same sound tackling not only complex original music, but classic covers of the Beatles, Dylan, and more. The band’s debut album “Five Speed” hit #9 on Billboard’s Bluegrass Album chart. The band represented the U.S. in 2015 at a United Nations World Music Festival.
Connie Mason | Folk
Connie Mason is a native of Carteret County who has worked as an oral historian, folklorist and singer/songwriter for the NPS and the NC Maritime Museum. She has performed at many venues including the 2004 Smithsonian Folk Life Festival in Washington, DC. She is the recipient of the Brown-Hudson Folklore Award from the N.C. Folklore Society for her work in eastern NC. She has recorded three CDs of original and traditional music: Calico Creek Waltz, Christmas Quiet Harbors and Bogue Sound Watermelon Blues.
The Del Rios | Country, Folk
Patrick and Jennifer Del Rio met right here in Oriental and it was music that brought them together. A long and winding road to North Carolina for them both began with an early love of music. Folk songs and alt country ballads steered their musical tastes until Patrick , a multi-instrumentalist, “discovered” Jennifer singing Patsy Cline standards at Paradise Cove Marina one evening a few years ago. He talked her into singing for the band he was playing with at the time, Levelland, and they’ve been performing together ever since, and married in 2012. The Del Rios live and work in and near Oriental and enjoy performing at various events around the county. pdelrio253@gmail.com
Downeast Dulcimers | Old Time, Celtic, Bluegrass
Down East Dulcimers began playing together in 2010. Though two distinct groups for many years, they merged to allow for a wider range of instruments and vocal sound. The hammered and lap dulcimers, fiddle, dobro, cajon drum, penny whistle, harmonica, banjammer, U Bass, and mandolin are all represented among these musicians who love sharing the world of music together.
Downtown Abby & The Echos | Modern soul rock
DownTown Abby & The Echoes captures the spirit of old soul while emphasizing its youthful energy and fresh songwriting. The band formed in the summer of 2016 in the mountains of North Carolina, taking influence from the work of the Tedeschi Trucks Band and Grace Potter & The Nocturnals among many titans of southern soul and Mo-town. Over a year later, the band relocated to Charlotte to bring its fresh take on soul to an ever-growing fan base. With performances at regional festivals and some of NC’s most popular music venues under its belt, DownTown Abby & The Echoes has never been more focused on its mission to bring funky, dance-inducing original tunes to the places you most love to hear music. www.downtownabbyband.com
Flat Mountain Dulcimers | Old Time, Celtic, Bluegrass, Gospel
Flat Mountain Dulcimers have been playing together for 10 years. The band consists of Dave Roberson playing guitar, dulcimer and mandolin, Margit Roberson on dulcimer and mandolin, and Nancy Galambush on
dulcimer and cello.
Glenn Meganck | Folk/Alt Rock/Americana
“Glenn Eric is one of those quirky singer-songwriters whose music can fit in several different genres from folk to alt rock to Americana, and manage to push the envelope in all of them. A pinch of Bob Dylan, a dash of Leonard Cohen, maybe a breath of Chris Isaak, the rich timbre of Glenn’s voice electrifies even the mellower tracks here. From a review by Music Morsels Reviews of Meganck’s album, Blanket of Stars.
http://www.glennmeganck.com/
Green Creek Bluegrass | Bluegrass
This group played at Oriental’s Ol’ Store 36 years ago. Ken Belangia and Ernest Dunn are family members of Lucille and Billy Truitt and started this band along with Becky Hollowell Ackiss and Jim Baluss. They are always a big hit with the Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival. belangia@centurylink.net
Harbor Sounds | Bluegrass
“Supporting charities through music.” Harbor Sounds is a dynamic group that originated in Pamlico County during 1998. This lively and enthusiastic group plays a mix of bluegrass/gospel and performs only for charities. Members are Dixie Gatlin (fiddle), Asa Gatlin (upright base and tenor), Paul Sykes (banjo and lead vocal), and Dick Osmun (guitar and baritone). www.theharborsounds.org
Honey Magpie | Indie Folk
Honey Magpie is a four-piece indie-folk band from the Durham, NC, area. Their sound is both traditional and modern, blending classical string instruments and three-part harmonies with pop, rock, and indie influences. They released their first album, Honey Magpie, in July.
http://honeymagpie.com/
Hooverville | Country/Americana
“One of the most popular of the Triangle’s country music bands. Lyrically, Bemis and Hanson explore such traditional Southern themes as rambling, lost love, and murder … while their arrangements bear the stamp of more contemporary styles.” — The News & Observer Hooverville has performed with Old Crow Medicine Show, Nickel Creek, Chatham County Line and many others. https://www.hoovervillemusic.com/
Jason Hoss Hicks | Old timey/country blues/jazz
If you like your music vintage, old timey, mixed in with some Depression-era skiffle, country blues, twangy danceable sounds, then you have come to the right place. Jason “Hoss” Hicks, Hoss to his pals, brings several styles of the music of yesterday right up to today. High and lonesome crooning, 1920’s style jazz, traditional skiffle folk, and classic country are some of the styles and sounds you will hear at a Hoss Hicks show.
https://www.jasonhosshicks.com/
Laurel Creek | Bluegrass/ Sixties Pop
Laurel Creek is a bluegrass band based in Durham, NC, that has been playing traditional bluegrass in the Durham area for the past ten years. A few years ago, while performing at a local church, they teamed up with pastor Jimmy Weaver to play some contemporary Christian and pop music. At the Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival they will play traditional bluegrass as Laurel Creek and sixties pop as the Junk in the Truck Band.
MahaloJazz | Jazz
MahaloJazz is Alison Weiner (piano, melodica, vocals), Robbie Link (upright bass) and Carter Minor (harmonica, vocals) – three eclectic musicians from central North Carolina coming together to have their delightful way with jazz standards and original tunes. Blossom Dearie comes to mind often when hearing Alison sing. Robbie’s sensitive and passionate playing makes the music soar. And when Carter lets go, the joy in the room is electric. mahaloarts.com
Melissa Plett | Alt Country
From a farm in Manitoba to the sophistication of Montreal to the birthplace of folk and country and everything true about music, this truck-driver’s daughter has journeyed through thick and thin, shaping her sound to what it is today. Melissa’s influences come from an musical immersion from birth. She developed a personal relationship with the down-south storytelling of Johnny Cash, the pioneering tell-all nature of Kitty Wells, and the heart-wrenching tales of hardship from Etta James and Ray Charles. melissaplett.com
Mitch Hayes | Americana/Folk
Recently minted “Americana/Folk Artist of the Year” (2016 Queen City Music Awards), Mitch Hayes is a singer/songwriter and national touring artist from Charlotte, North Carolina. His music is as eclectic as the creative influences that have helped to shape his writing through the years, classic singer/songwriters such as Bob Dylan, Neil Young and Jim Croce. Hayes’ latest album “Heroes” has received rave reviews.
http://mitchhayesmusic.com/
facebook.com/MitchHayesBand
Moore’s Creek Bluegrass | Bluegrass
Moores Creek Bluegrass was formed in 2009 by Shane Harris and Gary Goodwin. With an ear for the classic sounds and the motivation for the progressive style, Moores Creek Bluegrass has honed the sound they are going for. From Flat & Scruggs to The Seldom Scene, they will have you clapping and singing along. shane@shaneharrisconstruction.com
Pamlico Flutes | Classical, Celtic, Old Pop
The Pamlico Flutes include alto flutist Janis Rott, popular New Bern musician Denton Dodd, fearless leader Tara Howard-North, flutist & runner Michelle Noevere, and fifer & surgeon Caroline Paul.
mnoevere@hotmail.com
River Ratz | Americana
River Ratz is a four-piece Acoustic Americana String Band from Charlotte, North Carolina. They have strong Bluegrass roots, but perform a wide variety of musical styles including bluegrass, country, rock, blues and folk. They play up-beat original tunes and popular covers. The word that best describes the band is “Fun.” Their musical style has been described as “Bill Monroe meets Old Crow Medicine Show with a little Creedence Clearwater Revival and a touch of Grateful Dead.” https://www.riverratzband.com/
Strung Together Band | Folk/Americana/Old Timey/Bluegrass
Strung Together is a family band, born on the Olivers’ front porch in downtown New Bern, NC. With soaring harmonies and a stringband sound, Strung Together plays songs that they love, adapted to their own style. Playing their own unique blend of folk, Americana, old-time and bluegrass, Strung Together has enjoyed performing for audiences in North Carolina and South Carolina, making music and memories together as a family. They have released a CD, “The Littlest Birds,” which contains a mixture of originals and their favorite tunes. It is available on iTunes and Amazon. www.strungtogetherband.com
The Gospel Ensemble | Gospel
This combined group is homegrown here in Oriental and sings their praises at Pierce Chapel AME Zion Church and Pilgrim Chapel Missionary Baptist Church. They have plenty of reasons to lift their voices in praise.
The Pinkerton Raid | Indie-Rock, Americana
From Durham, NC, The Pinkerton Raid “combine stunning elements of current Indie -Rock that recalls sounds of artists such as Sufjan Stevens, The National, and Fleet Foxes,” according to No Depression/ The Journal of Roots Music. The band has shared stages with The Ballroom Thieves, Annabelle’s Curse, Forlorn Strangers, Lowland Hum, Noah Gundersen and Denison Witmer. Their latest album, “Tolerance Ends, Love Begins” was released in 2017.
www.pinkertonraid.com
UHOOs | Ukelele, assorted folk & pop
The UHOOs a an eclectic group of ukelele strummers and pluckers from Oriental, NC – playing the delightful, often misunderstood and under appreciated ukulele.
facebook.com/ukulelehoalohas
