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Now Booking 2010 Ola Belle Reed Music Festival
Got a band that plays americana, bluegrass, old-timey or country music? Do you think you'd be a good fit for the Ola Belle Reed Music Festival? If so, we'd love to hear from you. Contact our Festival Director, Beth Rembert at olabellefest at gmail dot com.
See You Next Year!
"Such a wonderful festival!!!! Great job, Beth - and everyone else involved! If you didn't go, you sure missed out!"
--Stacy Claude of Dehlia Low Thanks to everyone who made the Fourth Annual Ola Belle Reed Festival the best yet -- our volunteers, our sponsors, our bands and, most of all, everyone who made it up to Lansing, NC this weekend. We'll be posting more pictures and video in the coming days, so stay tuned! 
Surefire Bluegrass at the Ola Belle Reed Festival, Sat, Aug 15, 2009
© 2009 Doug Strickland
Another Sunny Day in the Blue Ridge
Earlier this week we were worried about the weekend weather forecast: isolated thunderstorms. But yesterday was gorgeous and today looks to be even better: sunny, blue skies, light breezes, high in the low 80s. Its about 70 now and couldn't be any more pleasant. Here's a picture that Doug Strickland took yesterday. We'll be posting more pictures and videos in the coming days. If you have any you would like to share, please email me at marketing at olabellefest dot com. 
Countdown to Good Times & Good Music
The 2009 Ola Belle Reed Festival kicks off in just 60 hours with the Elkville String Band, followed by Jim Brooks & Mountain Drive, the Grayson Highlands Band, Dehlia Low and a fireworks display. - TICKETS: Three-day passes and single tickets are still available online. Click here to buy your tickets now.
Advanced tickets are also on sale at Ashe County Arts Council, Ashe County Chamber of Commerce in West Jefferson and Lansing Foods in Lansing, NC until August 14th at 5pm. Saturday only tickets (12pm-9pm) are $10 (Gate Price: $15). Three-Day Passes are $20. Gate Prices Friday (5pm-9pm) and Sunday (11pm-5pm) are $5.
- DIRECTIONS: Where the heck is Lansing, North Carolina? Located in Northwest Ashe County on NC Highway 194 N, Lansing is proud to be the birthplace of Ola Belle Reed, whose influence continues to be as strong as it is diverse.
Lansing is about 15 minutes from West Jefferson, 45 minutes from Boone, 1-1/2 hours from Winston-Salem and 2-1/2 hours from Charlotte. (It's a beautiful drive in the Blue Ridge Mountains.)
- CAMPING/LODGING: We have room for RVs of all sizes, as well as tent camping. You will be charged a nominal fee of $15 for up to 3 nights of tent camping and $25 for up to 3 nights of RV camping. You'll find a map of the camping area and more details here.
If you would prefer to stay in a hotel or bed and breakfast, you'll find some options here and here.
- SPONSORS: We'd like to thank all of the sponsors who've made this year's festival possible. In no particular order, thanks to American Emergency Vehicles, Ashe County Arts Council, First Citizens Bank, Lansing Foods, On the Windfall, West Jefferson Medical Associates, WKSK, Workman Financial Group, Dr Pepper Bottling of West Jefferson, Jefferson Rent-All, United Chemi-Con, Warrensville Drug Store, WNCW, Ashe County Chamber of Commerce, Boone Family Funeral, Buffalo Tavern, Ernie Carpenter Grading, New River Winery, Old Hat Records, Reeves Law Firm, Priscilla Cox Cuthbertson, Dorothy T. Korb, Hakan Kjellin, and especially Anonymous. You know who you are. Much appreciated.
- SCHEDULE: Scroll down or click here.
For the latest information about this year's festival, including live updates, check back here or follow us on Twitter or Facebook. We can't wait to see you in Lansing this weekend!
2009 Ola Belle Reed Festival Stage Schedule
Click here to download the PDF| Friday, August 14 | | 5pm | Elkville String Band | | 6pm | Jim Brooks & Mountain Drive | | 7pm | Grayson Highlands | | 8pm | Dehlia Low | | 9pm | Fireworks Display & Open Pickin' Session until... |
| | Saturday, August 15 | | 12pm | Coffee Pickers | | 1pm | Charles Welch | | 2pm | Deborah Jean & Randy Sheets |
| 3pm | Dehlia Low | | 4pm | The Faithful Four Gospel Quartet | | 5pm | Whitetop Mountain Band | | 6pm | Surefire Bluegrass | | 7pm | Blueground Undergrass |
| 8pm | Holy Ghost Tent Revival | | 9pm | Jam Session until... |
| | Workshops: Saturday, August 15 | | 12:30pm | Appalachian Harmony - DJ & Randy Sheets | | 1:30pm | Old Time Dance - Martha Spencer (Whitetop Mountain Band) | | 2:30pm | Guitar (Piedmont Finger Style) - Charles Welch | | 3:30pm | Claw Hammer Banjo - David Reed & Judy Marti | | 4:30pm | Meet the Band - Blueground Undergrass |
| 5:30pm | Meet the Band - Holy Ghost Tent Revival |
| | Sunday, August 16 |
| 11am | Tribute to Mike Seeger with Ola Belle Reed Family & Friends | | 12pm | Deborah Jean & Randy Sheets | | 1pm | Blueground Undergrass | | 2pm | Wayne Henderson & Friends | | 3pm | Holy Ghost Tent Revival | | 4pm | Whitetop Mountain Band | | 5pm | Ola Belle Reed Family & Friends Farewell Jam |
R.I.P. Mike Seeger
 "He was the supreme archetype [of the folk musician]. He could push a stake through Dracula's black heart. He was the romantic, egalitarian and revolutionary type all at once."
--Bob Dylan We were saddened to hear that folk legend Mike Seeger passed away last Friday after battling multiple myeloma cancer. He was 75 years old. We were fortunate enough to have Mike at the first Ola Belle Reed Festival. He played two sets, judged the Banjo Contest and held a banjo workshop. Mike founded the New Lost City Ramblers in 1958 and was the brother of Peggy and Pete Seeger. Recently, Mike played on the Ry Cooder album My Name is Buddy and played autoharp on the Grammy-winning Raising Sand by Robert Plant and Alison Krauss. The Ola Belle Reed Family will pay tribute to Mike and his music at the festival this Sunday at 11am. You can expect other performers to pay their respects to Mike throughout the weekend.
Ola Belle Artists on iTunes
Jeff Mosier & Phish
Chatting with a friend this morning over coffee, he asked, "Who's headlining the Ola Belle Reed Festival this year?" " Jeff Mosier and Blueground Undergrass," I answered. "Jeff Mosier! I saw him at Eddie's Attic in Atlanta back in the early 90s. Awesome player," he said. We continued to talk about music of the 90s, one thing led to another, and Phish came up. I didn't realize this, but "in 1994, Jeff Mosier of Blueground Undergrass toured with Phish while teaching the band all about the world of bluegrass." For the uninitiated, "Phish: The Bluegrass Sessions," is now available on YouTube. The Rev. Jeff Mosier (Blueground Undergrass) was contracted by Phish in the Fall of 1994, to help them learn Bluegrass. They flew him to Michigan and Gordon picked him up in a limo, and they had their first lesson on 11-14-94, same night as Grand Rapids. With his Blessing, the footage he shot of this whole experience, backstage and onstage, was remastered and is now being shared
Whitetop Mountain Band's Latest, "Loafer's Dream"
From CD Baby:  The Whitetop Mountain Band is a family-based band from Whitetop an area containing the highest mountains of Virginia. Whitetop is a region rich in the old time music tradition; this band has deep roots in mountain music. The members have done much to preserve the Whitetop region’s style of old time fiddling and banjo picking and are legendary musicians and teachers of the style.
The Whitetop Mountain Band is one of the most popular dance bands of the Appalachian Mountains. They have a great following at square dances all over Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Kentucky at venues like the Carter Family Fold. In addition to local venues, the band has also performed at the Smithsonian Folk life Festival, National Folk life Festival, World Music Institute in NYC, Dock Boggs Festival, World Fair, Virginia Arts Festival, Floydfest, Ola Belle Reed Festival and Merlefest. They recently were featured on the 2007 NCTA Crooked Road Music tour of California, Nevada, Oregon, and Idaho. Members also toured the United Kingdom and Ireland playing the Cornish Bluegrass Festival and Open House Festival along with venues through England, Wales, and Ireland. In January 2008, members of the band also performed at the Illawarra Folk Festival and Tamworth Country Music Festival in New South Wales, Australia.
"Holy Ghost Tent Revival members feel the spirit"
From the Charleston Post & Courier (" Holy Ghost Tent Revival members feel the spirit"):  Holy Ghost Tent Revival's name is aptly chosen. On stage, they always break a sweat. Harmonies may verge on screaming (but stay in tune). Even the skeptical and bashful in the audience find themselves moved by the spirit, twisting and twirling on the dance floor.
Based around multipart vocal harmonies layered with banjo, guitar, bass, keys, drums and trombone, the six-piece group's core sound is acoustic, drawing from swing and big-band roots.
But HGTR defies any genre pigeon-holing. "Needing You," from its 2008 self-titled debut album, starts with horn-laden verses reminiscent of the Skatalites, followed by Avett Brothers-like heart-wrenching harmonies, before dropping into a "doo-doo-wop" closing that's straight from a 1950s-era soda counter.
Ola Belle Reed Festival Bands on Lala.com
About the Ola Belle Reed Bluegrass Festival
Ola Belle Reed (1916-2002) was an acclaimed songwriter and musician, recognized by the Smithsonian, the National Endowment of the Arts and many additional organizations. Such celebrated artists as Marty Stuart, Del McCoury and the incomparable Tim O’Brien have recorded her signature song, High on A Mountain. Featuring top-notch award winning visiting and local musicians from Old-Time Mountain, Bluegrass, and folk traditions, the Ola Belle Reed Festival is a community-based event and fundraiser for the Greater Lansing Area Development Committee (GLAD), a 501(c) 3 organization committed to the revitalization of Lansing, the birthplace of Ola Belle Reed. The group consists of community volunteers, dedicated to this annual event in the spirit of Appalachian tradition. The Festival site is located in the American Legion Field, in the town of Lansing, near the banks of Big Horse Creek and in the shadow of Phoenix Mountain. Over 12 musical acts will provide continuous day and evening concerts in addition to instrumental, songwriting, and voice workshops inside the historic Lansing School, connected to the field by an underground tunnel. An outdoor jam tent on the school grounds provides a place for amateurs and professionals to come together and exchange techniques. In addition to the artistic programming, we provide a Craft Market, Food Court and much more.
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