Pittsboro, NC — In the picturesque landscapes of Chatham County, a music festival has found its place as a welcoming haven for music enthusiasts, dancers, and families. Each spring and autumn, Shakori Hills metamorphoses 72 acres of farmland into a lively hub of community and music appreciation.
“It serves as a gathering point where individuals can come together and dismantle any preconceived boundaries,” expressed Russ Friedell, talent buyer and marketing director for the GrassRoots festivals.
Currently in progress near Pittsboro, the Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance runs through Sunday. Established in 2003 as a counterpart to the Finger Lakes GrassRoots Festival in Trumansburg, New York, the nonprofit Shakori Hills Community Arts Center is both the owner and organizer of the bi-annual festival.
The festival serves as a reunion for numerous families. “The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival spans across multiple generations,” mentioned Lissa Farrell, a veteran organizer. “I’ve met people this weekend who reminisced, ‘I began attending when I was five, and now they’re here with their own children. Their parents, who initially brought them, are also here. Many kids adore this place. It’s become a children’s festival. And there’s nothing more convincing than a child insisting, ‘I want to go.’
“For many, it’s like a family reunion happening annually or semi-annually,” she continued. “It’s more than just meeting with relatives. It’s a comeback for many people; it’s a homecoming. You see the beautiful sight of grandparents with their grandchildren.”
The festival is also a site for musical discovery. “We take pride in dubbing GrassRoots Festival a music lover’s paradise,” Friedell stated. “For a music devotee, it means searching for something new. This could be the place where you stumble upon your next favorite band in an unexpected setting.”
The event traces its roots to the band Donna the Buffalo, which helped start the original New York festival in 1990 with a benefit concert for AIDS work in Tompkins County. “They did a benefit concert for the fight against AIDS raised $10,000 in one night at that concert,” Farrell said. “The band Donna the Buffalo and their family and friends were the folks who started the original festival. And then the same group of people came down here and started Shakori Hills in North Carolina.”
Jeb Puryear, a founding member of Donna the Buffalo, said North Carolina was a natural home for the festival. “Our band had strong areas and North Carolina was one of those areas, and it actually got started from playing the Good Time Boogie,” he said. “We got invited to it a long time ago, and we played it for a number of years, and there was a good resonance with the audience. And so our band had good traction down here.”
For newcomers, Puryear describes the atmosphere as welcoming and unique. “There’s a lot of really good people here, very accepting and of all walks of life,” he said. “It’s just got a very nice atmosphere. Sometimes when things are nice, they’re not super energetic, and when things are energetic, they’re not super nice. But this is like a very good mix, very nice and very energetic at the same time. And so it’s kind of a rare thing in the world.”
He added, “The one thing that everyone should take away is that Shakori Hills is available to you as a really good time, as an opportunity to find something that you can truly enjoy. I’d encourage people to go ahead and decide to do it.”
Over four days, the festival fills its grounds with live music, workshops, kids’ activities, food vendors and camping under the stars. But for many, it’s the feeling of togetherness that lingers after the last song.
“To be reminded of that and to be in communion with each other, to then go back out into the world and do our day jobs, but feel refreshed with a sense of purpose and reconnection with community and the land,” Friedell said.
The Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festival of Music & Dance runs through Sunday. More information is available at shakorihillsgrassroots.org
