Black Mountain Blues Festival comes back to give back
Three Days of Live music to Draw Big Names and Blues Lovers to multiple Downtown Venues
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
August 20, 2025
The Black Mountain Blues Festival, which debuted in July of 2024, is returning, Sept. 26 - 28, for its second year. The event, presented by the Black Mountain Blues Society, will bring scores of artists and up to 2,000 concertgoers to downtown. Photo by Fred McCormick
In the middle of the 1970s, as the U.S. celebrated 200 years of nationhood, poet, musician and author Gil Scott-Heron reflected on a uniquely American musical genre in his song “Bicentennial Blues.”
“The blues has always been totally American, as American as apple pie…” he delivered the lyrics in his distinct brand of spoken word poetry. “The question is why. Why should the blues be so at home here? Well, America provided the atmosphere.”
Nearly 50 years later, the music that originated in the Deep South in the mid-19th century continues to be an international phenomenon, influencing countless styles and artists, while often reflecting the tragedies and challenges faced by common folks.
When the streets of downtown host scores of artists on local stages, Friday, Sept. 26 through Sunday, Sept. 28, year two of the Black Mountain Blues Festival will celebrate the genre while commemorating a sorrowful Swannanoa Valley anniversary.
The festival, presented by the Black Mountain Blues Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting communities through music and cultural initiatives, debuted in July of 2024. While the inaugural event hosted approximately 1,400 attendees and headliners like Sugaray Rayford and Corey Harris, it also provided an opportunity to collect helpful feedback from area business owners, according to director of operations for the Black Mountain Blues Society and White Horse Black Mountain Zach Hinkle.
“As part of wrapping up last year’s festival, we sent a survey to business owners in town, asking for feedback on how the weekend was for them,” Hinkle said. “One major piece of feedback we received was that the weekend we held the festival was already a busy week, from a local business perspective. They preferred we schedule it for a time where bringing in nearly 2,000 people for a festival would benefit everyone.”
The final weekend of September emerged as the preferred date for its return, according to Hinkle, who is organizing this year’s event with Blues Society board chair Justice Rodgers and Piedmont Blue Preservation Society President Aliba Berkley.
“At that time, nobody really put together that the anniversary of Helene was falling on that weekend, just that this was the weekend that made the most sense in town, based on the history of local businesses,” Hinkle said.
Despite an initial feeling of trepidation, the committee and its community partners embraced the dates, which include the one-year anniversary of Tropical Storm Helene, as an opportunity to support local businesses and area disaster relief efforts while facilitating community-inspired observances of the occasion. The Blue Festival will donate 50% of its proceeds to local nonprofit organizations assisting victims of the natural disaster and host non-ticketed events in Town Square.
“We do not want to craft any anniversary message or messages, we’re talking to community and spiritual leaders about partnering with us for this specific venue,” Hinkle said. “We are basically acting as stage managers for anniversary-related observances by providing the stage, lights, tent and any music people may want. We’ll provide the infrastructure to help it go smoothly, but it’s up to local officials and leaders to determine what those messages will be.”
Publicly accessible offerings will include live music, face painting and juggling and other family-friendly activities. The area will also feature booths occupied by representatives of local organizations working with Helene victims and a range of community-led initiatives.
The Bush Farmhouse is one of several venues participating in the Black Mountain Blues Festival for the second straight year, when the three-day event returns, Sept. 26 - 28, to downtown. Photo by Fred McCormick
“The use of that space is really geared to community building,” Hinkle said. “That Sunday we will host a celebration of resiliency, which will include a lot of music and some messaging from local leaders on stage.”
Those events, he added, include no barrier to entry.
“We knew, if we have this blues festival on this weekend, everyone is going to feel different ways. Some people may not want to have anything to do with public gatherings and prefer to recognize that date quietly or with church groups,” Hinkle said. “This feels appropriate, because almost everyday after the storm, people came to the town square in the afternoon. It was a terrible time, but there was meaning in that schedule, and as tough as things were, there were some beautiful moments in that town square.”
Additional changes, based on responses from local businesses, are in store for the second year of the Black Mountain Blues Festival, which will not require the closure of any downtown streets or use of an outdoor vendor village.
“We’re capping attendance this year at 2,000 people, and we found last year that the vast majority of people were in the venues watching a strong lineup of artists,” Hinkle said. “There really isn’t a need to close the streets, and without a vendor village or food trucks, we’re encouraging attendees to visit brick and mortar businesses in town. We’re creating a packet for ticket holders that highlight businesses in town, with some offering discounts for attendees, blues-themed drinks or food specials. The goal is to showcase our town and benefit as many local businesses as possible.”
Ticket options for the 2025 Black Mountain Blues Festival range from a three-day pass, which includes admission, access to venues and events, for $150. The VIP pass, which includes exclusive access to the rooftop lounge at Hell or Water, priority entry at the general admission stages and designated seating, can be purchased for a limited time for $250. Youth passes range from $25 to $75, while organizes plan to offer one-day passes in the coming days.
The value, according to Hinkle, is reflected by an “amazing” lineup, which will play on the main stage at the Old Town District, the “Cherry Pit” behind The Grange and in the White Horse. Peri Social House, which will host a “Blues to Bluegrass” performance space, offers an alternative to the busy scene, while the Bush Farmhouse will once again host acts on its outdoor stage.
“We’re really excited to partner with the OTD, a beautiful new bar and food truck location in town,” Hinkle said. “The owners already had plans to beautify the parking area behind the business and using that space to host music, so the timing worked out well.”
The main stage will host headliners Robert Randolph, a five-time Grammy Award-nominated artist who is recognized by Rolling Stone as a top 100 guitarist of all time, and Nik West, bassist, vocalist and songwriter discovered by Prince in 2012.
“Nik West is on a European tour that is averaging somewhere around 45,000 per show, while Robert Randolph is literally one of the best guitarists of all time,” Hinkle said. “These are two ridiculously strong headliners for this little blues festival we’re throwing, and both of them heard about what we were doing on the anniversary of a terrible tragedy and they were sold on the positive impact of this festival, from a community building standpoint.”
The undercard stands strong on its own, he added.
“Even if we didn’t have these two tremendous headliners, it would still be a really good festival,” Hinkle said.
As the Black Mountain Blues Festival returns, Sept. 26 - 28, organizers are donating 50% of the proceeds to support victims of Tropical Storm Helene. Photo by Fred McCormick
The roster of musicians includes names like Eric Gales, Ra’Shad The Blues Kid, Annika Chambers and Mac Arnold, who is returning to Black Mountain for the second straight year. Local artists like Kat Williams, Leeda “Lyric” Jones and the Lazy Birds will represent the Western N.C. music scene.
“We love that we have blues artists here who can hold their own in a festival like this,” Hinkle said. “This is a national stage for them to show people from all over the country just how good they are. We’re so proud to have the ability to give our local artists a platform like this.”
The addition of a new venue at Peri Social House will provide organizers an opportunity to explore how blues has influenced music in the mountains.
“Peri will host music Friday, all day Saturday and Saturday night,” Hinkle said. “The focus there will be on our “Blues to Bluegrass” program, which is something we’re really excited about. I’ve learned a lot about blues influence in this region, and one of the reasons we started this festival in the first place was because we recognized that a large piece of the historical narrative of the mountains was being lost.
“There was a period of time where 30% of the population of this region was Black, and now it’s closer to 3%,” he continued. “As a result, the keepers of that cultural flame, which includes blues, have nobody to pass that flame to. When you look at bluegrass, which is considered a mainstay in the mountains, blues is a huge part of the genre.”
Led by three Grammy Award-winning artists, the performances at Peri Social House will dive into those connections.
“It will be a space where we can showcase how much of blues is found in bluegrass, and how you can easily transition from one to another,” Hinkle said. “It’s not an educational experience, but it is an intimate venue where the performers can communicate with the audience while they’re performing. It’s something fans of blues, bluegrass or really any kind of music will appreciate.”
More than three dozen businesses and organizations, including founding sponsors Dynamite Roasting, Hickory Nut Gap, Owners Only Real Estate and Wellspring Direct Primary Care, are supporting festival.
“Right now, things are tight and people are still hurting from the storm,” Hinkle said. “The fact we have local business owners and leaders who are enthusiastic about supporting us, with monetary sponsorships, partnerships or gifts in kind, feels really good.”
As the region continues to recover from Helene, organizers would like to see the upcoming Black Mountain Blues Festival become one of many examples of the resiliency of the Swannanoa Valley.
“The blues is a kind of a perfect genre and medium to share stories about tragedy and rising up from tragic circumstances,” Hinkle said. “We really believe this festival will provide something meaningful for our community.”
For more information about the Black Mountain Blues Festival, including the lineup, concert schedule and ticket packages, visit blackmountainblues.org.