Bloom WNC to open concert season

Cast Iron Bluegrass kicks off summer performances at Black Mountain flower farm

Jessica Klarp
Guest contributor
The Valley Echo
March 16, 2022

Cast Iron Bluegrass will open the concert season at Bloom WNC, Sunday, March 20. Photo courtesy of Bloom WNC

Things are about to warm up in the North Fork Valley, as Bloom WNC hosts its first concert of the season, from 2 - 4 p.m., Sunday, March 20. Cast Iron Bluegrass will kick off the flower farm’s summer music series.

Tickets to the show are $15 and can be purchased at farmerfloristbloom.com. The venue, which hosts regular open air markets, private farm tours and group events, also offers season passes that allow access to any eight concerts this year.

Farm owner Abigail Moffit started the concert series in 2021 as a way to keep regional musicians in front of audiences in the face of the tour cancellations and closures that were prevalent with the arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic. But as restrictions eased, the musicians just kept coming.

Bass player Celia Millington-Wyckoff uses her vast musical connections to help identify the seasonal lineup. The first combo represents the talent audiences can expect from a concert at the flower farm.

Cast Iron Bluegrass plays hard-driving, traditional bluegrass music. Lead singer and guitar player Rob Sine moved to the area from the Gettysburg, Pennsylvania area some years ago, and has played with a number of local groups.

Banjo player Andrew Blythe, who shares lead vocals with Sine, is a native of nearby Etowah and a graduate of the Eastern Tennessee State University bluegrass program. Nick Dauphinais, who plays mandolin and sings tenor with the band, teaches at the Academy for the Arts in Asheville, and moved to the area from New Hampshire. Millington-Wyckoff retired to Asheville from State College, Pennsylvania, and Adam Masters -the newest member of the band-plays fiddle, and hails from S.C.

Cast Iron Bluegrass is excited to be kicking off the 2022 performance season at Bloom. Bring a chair and some refreshments for an afternoon of toe-tapping fun.

Next up is Jim Avett, a surname that gained popularity with the rise of the Concord-based band, the Avett Brothers. Their father Jim will take the stage at Bloom, from 6 - 8 p.m., Friday, April 22.

Guests are welcome to bring their own food and drinks, but please no dogs and no smoking. For more information visit the website, call 828.450.2801 or email abigail@farmerfloristbloom.com.