‘Southern Culture’ thrives at Shakori

The audience at Shakori Hills Community Arts Center on Saturday night — which will include everyone from young children and families to young adults and college students — will be treated to far more than just a show. They’ll get to take part in a top-to-bottom celebration of community.

Shakori Hills is hosting their first summer concert Saturday, following the success of their biannual Shakori Hills GrassRoots Festivals.

Chapel Hill band Southern Culture on the Skids is set to headline the outdoor show with Fantastico! as the opening act.

And from the site’s location in Chatham County to the coffee and food sold on the grounds, Shakori Hills is tied to the Chapel Hill community.

Even the music has deep ties to Chapel Hill. Southern Culture on the Skids have enjoyed a career that has spanned decades — the band and their music has appeared on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” and in the Adam Sandler flick “Happy Gilmore,” and the band’s style was parodied by Weird Al on his 2014 album Mandatory Fun — all starting right in Chapel Hill.

Before starting Southern Culture on the Skids in the 1980s, vocalist and guitarist Rick Miller — who describes his band’s sound as “toe-sucking geek rock — kind of weird, but it feels good when you’re doing it” — was a student at UNC.

Miller said he always enjoys the opportunity to play a hometown show.

“For decades we’ve lived, played and recorded here, and it’s always special to play at home,” Miller said.

For Shakori Hills Vice President Ed Griffin, one of the coolest aspects of the venue is the opportunity to camp out in Chapel Hill’s backyard.

“I think the big draw that we have that nobody else in the Triangle has is that you can come out and camp for the night,” Griffin said.

“You can come out and have a few libations and enjoy yourself and not have to worry about driving home. Get up the next morning, have a cup of coffee from our coffee bar, then head home and enjoy your Sunday.”

Saturday’s concert is just the first of many that will be featured at the venue this summer and in months to come.

Shakori Hills co-founder Jordan Puryear’s goal is to provide North Carolina residents the opportunity to hear a large range of live music while enjoying the natural beauty that Chatham County offers.

“I think we’d like to be a niche where people can enjoy the combination of good music from all different types of backgrounds — be it oral music or pop music or anything in between — combined with the opportunity to camp out, relax and enjoy nature and get away from things for a minute,” Puryear said.

And when Southern Culture on the Skids comes to town, they’re playing for the exact same reasons — for the fun of it all and the camaraderie that music inspires.

“Music is such an important thing, not for one group or another but for everyone,” Miller said.

“Music is fun. It brings people together.”

arts@dailytarheel.com