MainStage

2024 MainStage Musicians

Join us in the MainStage tent next to Hancock Park for two days of fabulous musicians! All performances are free.

Saturday

10:30     Storytelling Kickoff

11:00     Crooked Mile
Crooked Mile’s brand is traditional bluegrass music – timeless songs with a special driving intensity.

12:00     John Grimm
A fabulous performer and songwriter, as well as the owner of Vintage Music and a founder of Pick & Bow where he teaches fiddle.

1:15     Cup O’ Joe
Cup O’Joe is a progressive bluegrass and folk band founded and based in Northern Ireland by three siblings Tabitha, Benjamin and Reuben Agnew, later joined by Tabitha’s husband David Benedict. Their unique mix of original compositions and re-imagined traditional songs paired with their lively performances has given them a growing presence in the acoustic music scene.

2:30     Curtis & Kim Jones Mountain Gypsy Music
Guitarist, songwriter, composer, singer, artist and multi-instrumentalist Curtis Jones and his wife, Kim, who is an accomplished vocalist and multi- instrumentalist as well, call the interweaving styles of their dynamic duo MOUNTAIN GYPSY MUSIC   

3:45       Ugly Cousin
A group of musicians with varied tastes who combine all those influences into one back-country moonshine still, and out drips a very refined blend of Americana. Ugly Cousin plays and writes music that speaks from the heart and hopes it resonates with listeners.

5:00       The Kody Norris Show

The talented group — comprised of frontman Kody Norris, Josiah Tyree, Mary Rachel Nalley-Norris, and Charlie Lowman — finds themselves with a growing legion of fans craving the comfort that comes from their retro look, but equally craving dynamic instrumentation and thought-provoking lyrics.

6:15       BlueBilly Grit

BlueBilly Grit is an American bluegrass band composed of female and male vocals, acoustic guitar, upright bass, mandolin, fiddle, and banjo. In 2012 they placed first in the nationally renowned Telluride Bluegrass Competition in Colorado.

8:00      Contra Dance

Plan to join your fellow festival-goers in the MainStage tent for music by Glenda Pender’s Gold Town Pickers and calling by Marie Graham. No contra dance experience necessary!

Sunday

11:00   The Glenda Pender Gospel Jam

This Bear tradition is always standing room only as local musicians gather on the stage to perform gospel favorites.

12:30   Pick & Bow Students

Students in grades 4-12 learn fiddle, guitar, banjo, mandolin and ukulele in the after-school music programs offered by Georgia Pick & Bow.

1:15     Chatham Rabbits

Partners in music and life, Chatham Rabbits’ Austin and Sarah McCombie blend their personal histories through songs that present a congenial, collaborative spirit that has captured the adoration of fans and earned praise from Garden & Gun Magazine, American Songwriter, and No Depression. Steeped in the regional traditions of their North Carolina home, Chatham Rabbits’ musical pursuits represent a new age of roots music.

2:30      Joe Newberry

Known around the world for his clawhammer banjo playing, Joe Newberry is also a powerful guitarist, singer and songwriter. A longtime and frequent guest on A Prairie Home Companion, he sang with the 2016 Transatlantic Sessions, and at the Transatlantic Session’s debut at Merlefest in 2017. The Gibson Brothers’ version of his song “Singing As We Rise” won the IBMA “Gospel Recorded Performance” Award, and with Eric Gibson, he shared the IBMA “Song of the Year” Award for “They Called It Music.”

3:45      Frances Mooney and Fontanna Sunset

In bluegrass music most all her life, Frances Mooney has performed bluegrass music for more than 50 years at festivals, concerts, and clubs taking her band from Georgia to China and all over the USA. She is the recipient of IBMA Awards with the Daughters of Bluegrass in 2006 and 2009, and has achieved additional nominations from IBMA, SPBGMA and GMA. Frances and band member Rickey Rakestraw are also proud members of the Atlanta Music Hall of Fame. 

Watch Highlights from the 2023 MainStage

Thank you Jim Crawford for sharing these videos. Watch more here