Black Mountain Blues Festival plays an ode to resilience
Three-day show Fills downtown with live music exactly one year after Helene
Fred McCormick
The Valley Echo
September 28, 2025
Exactly one year removed from a natural disaster that devastated the region, live music filled every corner of downtown, Sept. 26 - 28, as the Black Mountain Blues Festival returned for its second year.
The three-day event, presented by the Black Mountain Blues Society and hosted by multiple venues, represented an ode to the genre and the resilience of the community in which it was held.
Headlined by a lineup including Robert Randolph, Nik West, Ra’Shad the Blues Kid, Eric Gales and Chamber DesLauriers, the series featured live performances at Old Town District, White Horse, Peri Social House, Town Square and behind the Grange, at the Cherry Pit. Corresponding workshops were hosted by the Black Mountain Center for the Arts.
Dozens of bands featuring scores of artists descended upon the town for the shows, which included acts from Memphis, Mississippi, S.C. and Asheville performed from Friday night through Sunday.
While festival attendees were permitted in designated venues, a stage in Town Square allowed access to non-ticketed spectators. A Celebration of Resiliency, held from 2 p.m. - 5 p.m., Sept. 28, featured an acoustic gas-can guitar performance by Ware Place native and S.C. Entertainment and Music Hall of Fame member Mac Arnold.
The return of the Black Mountain Blues Festival represented a milestone in the community’s ongoing recovery, following Tropical Storm Helene, which brought record flooding to the Swannanoa Valley in September of 2024.
“The blues break us down, and the blues lift us up,” Zach Hinkle, director of operations for the White Horse and Black Mountain Blues Society organizer said.
While the commemoration show in the town square included messages from Town of Black Mountain officials, bass guitar licks and soulful lyrics echoed from stages throughout the downtown historical district. The first night culminated in headlining shows by Nik West, who will embark on a European tour in October, at the main stage adjacent to the Old Town District. The southern drawl of Laurel, Mississippi native Ra’Shad the Blues Kid filled the White Horse, which presented the Roseland Gardens Stage, named for a juke joint that operated in Black Mountain from around 1918 until 1976.
Saturday’s lineup featured performances by eastern N.C. vocalist and instrumentalist Lightnin’ Wells and Airy native Dashawn Hickman. Following a powerful set from Asheville-based Emmy Award-nominated singer Kat Williams, funk-inspired steel guitarist Robert Randolph closed out the evening with a high-energy show at the Old Town District.
Sunday’s card brough Elizabeth and Her Band to the White Horse, while Africa Unplugged took the stage in the Cherry Pit venue. The weekend of performances in that location closed, as dozens of festivalgoers danced in front the stage, where Eric Gales delivered a Memphis-inspired soundtrack.
Photos of the 2025 Black Mountain Blues Festival can be viewed in the gallery at the top of the page.