When the leaves begin to turn, the festival season is about to wind down. Music lovers throughout the Southeast know we still have the finale for the season: Art of Sound (known as AOS to the locals).
The date this year is Sept 19-21, so ink us on your calendar and come visit.
Sponsored by the Cleveland County Arts Council, AOS is a music festival by and for lovers of the arts.
It began as a local festival, and by word of mouth has grown into a respected regional event. AOS now attracts headliner acts from the national scene. In spite of being bigger and better, it retains its home town charm.
The festival is in uptown Shelby, N.C., the home of Earl Scruggs and Don Gibson. It is held on the historic court square and nestled in several venues that afford the listener an up-close experience with the artists. Jack Lawrence once said it reminded him of the European festivals he and Doc used to play. The venues are tucked away at a variety of indoor stages around the square. It is a crisp, cool, time of year, but you can enjoy in comfort regardless of the weather.
AOS prides itself on a presentation of a variety of traditional music styles. You might have bluegrass or jazz on one stage, then Cajun, county rock, or old time on the next. Like MerleFest, there are often spontaneous moments of improvisation in jam sessions you won’t hear elsewhere. Click here to view to the schedule.
The venues this year include the outdoor stage on Washington Street (free, Saturday), the Arts Center, Don Gibson Theatre on Washington Street. Come join us for Thursday and Friday evenings and Saturday mid day to late evening. We’d love to have you come by.
Call the Cleveland County Arts Council at 704 484 2787 for more information. |
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Thoughts on the 10th Annual Art of Sound
As the last remaining volunteer member of the original planning committee that founded The Art of Sound, I want to make a few remarks about our tenth annual festival, designed as a tour through decades of music in celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Cleveland County Arts Council.
First a word of thanks to the many people, who have volunteered, contributed, performed and attended. This community has many farsighted and talented people who include the practice of artistic endeavors in their daily lives. It was the intent of the founders of The Art of Sound to honor and celebrate our musical heritage by bringing awareness of regional amateur and professional artists, while offering opportunities to hear and learn from others from further away that might have some connection to our place or styles popular here. We have tried to focus on original music including a wide variety of styles and cultures, acknowledging all the participants in the performance: musicians, sound technicians, dancers, foot-tappers, announcers, and listeners, as part of the art of sound.
You will notice that we have two performers for Art of Sound 2012 that introduce yet another facet in the practice of the art of sound, the collector of music: J. Maxx Vennom and Cat Daddy Mike have extensive collections of music from which they will be sharing selections as hosts for dances.
Sadly, we also have two nights of tribute performances for two artists, beloved members of the community and devoted members of the Art of Sound planning committee for many years, who died in the past year, Tawanna Padgett and Dr. Bobby Jones. The loss of these great artistic spirits seems insurmountable. In their memory and in celebration of their lives and all they contributed to the Art of Sound, we bring together friends, fans, family, and musicians they loved.
And finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank Tommy Forney, a co-chair on this committee since almost the very beginning, as the source of many of the connections, discoveries, revivals of interest, and great ideas for musical opportunities offered here through these ten years of The Art of Sound.
We look forward to this year’s festival and many more to come!
Dr. Becky Love |
