
The Piedmont Old Time Society had a noticeable presence at the Old-Time and Bluegrass Fiddler's Festival, specifically the Hoppin' John Festival at Shakori Hills. The festival was held this past weekend. Located in Chatham County and a little less than an hour from Greensboro, the Shakori Hills farm and campground is a great place to be on a late-summer, early-fall weekend. During Hoppin' John, people get together to play music, square dance, enjoy acoustic music, and celebrate the old-time and bluegrass traditions. This year, the 1st Place Old Time Band and the 1st Place Non-Traditional Band winners had ties to the Piedmont Old Time Society. A nice feature of Hoppin' John is that the festival is still small enough to have an intimate, neighborly feel.
If you like old-time music and live locally, you should consider jamming with the Piedmont Old Time Society. The group is so welcoming to musicians of all ability levels. As seen in the above photo, they had several tents set up for jamming and socializing. They even had a covered kitchen area with a stove and oven. There was no shortage of good food and fellowship. Unfortunately, yesterday evening, the magic was over for another year. Members packed up their gear and headed back to Greensboro. While the fields near Silk Hope, NC are quiet today, those who attended are probably still hearing fiddle tunes in their head as they drive to work.
If you aren't afraid of big crowds and like grass roots festivals, the big Shakori Hills event is just right around the corner on October 8-11. Below are a few photos from Hoppin' John so that you can see what the Shakori Hills venue is like. And, don't worry, if driving fiddle and banjo music is not your genre, for the upcoming Grass Roots Festival, there will be a wide variety of music. And, if it is like previous years, there will be a lot of people from Greensboro in attendance. (Featured below: Fiddles for sale; the cakewalk under the big tent; a literacy moment with a little girl tracing the shape of the letters on Carson Grove Stage; and, finally, the Green Grass Cloggers celebrating their 40th anniversary with festival goers).



