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020 would have been the 8th annual Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival (it all began in 2014). But COVID-19 caused the festival to take a year off.

Going on faith that life will be back to normal by this fall, the organizers of the Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival have begun signing up bands for the return of the three-day festival. This year the festival is set for the second weekend in October, Oct. 8-10.

2021 brings new challenges in scheduling a music festival. Festival organizer Doug Sligh explained: “Because of COVID-19, bands have no booked travel schedules. This makes it virtually impossible to book any out of state bands. Usually they book multiple shows in a region so a tour makes economic sense for that band.”

The 2021 solution? The festival has focused on bringing in great North Carolina performers. These bands come from across the state.

Four new and three returning North Carolina groups have already committed to the 2021 festival.

The Charlotte-based all-acoustic quartet Province of Thieves appears for the first time. The band won the 2018 Carolina Music Award in the Folk/Bluegrass category.

Province of Thieves

See and listen to Province Of Thieves:

Nu-Blu, a bluegrass-Americana band from Siler City, NC (featured in 2019 on a segment of CBS Sunday Morning) will do two shows on Saturday.

Nu-Blu

Nu-Blu sings about horse thieves and moonshiners:

The Tan & Sober Gentlemen hail from Snow Camp, NC. Their music is hard to pigeon-hole… some call it Scotch-Irish Hillbilly music. They don’t even mind “Celtic punk-grass”.

The Tan & Sober Gentlemen

Be brave and check out The Tan & Sober Gentlemen:

Blue Cactus, based in Chapel Hill, performs Americana/Indie-Country.

Blue Cactus

Returning this fall are several festival favorites, including the Deep Gap, NC, bluegrass group Cane Mill Road; Into the Fog, the Raleigh-based band described as creating a “melting pot of acoustic newgrass”; and the bluegrass piano virtuoso Jeff Little, who has performed at The Smithsonian Institution and the National Folk Festival.

Local bands already scheduled for 2021 include Moore’s Creek Bluegrass, Harbor Sounds, Dust Parade, and the Pamlico County High School Jazz Band. Salty Paws (based out of a cruising sailboat) returns.

The Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival celebrates the musical heritage of North Carolina every October with three days of roots music on the front porches of homes in Oriental and on a riverfront stage. All performances are free. The festival also features a Village Market showcasing local and regional artisans and crafters, plus a Food Park.

Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival, Inc., is a 501©(3) nonprofit organization. Its purpose is to provide the region’s multi-cultural and racially diverse musical talent with support, promotion and performance venues and encourage development of roots music appreciation and skills in Pamlico County, in particular among its youth.

The festival receives support from many generous donors, and from the North Carolina Arts Council, an agency of the Department of Cultural Resources and the National Endowment for the Arts. Contributions are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

Related Links

• The 2019 Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival
• Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival 2018
• 2017 Ol’ Front Porch Music Festival

Posted Thursday January 21, 2021 by Keith N. Smith