Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival fundraises for an artistic future

Established in 2003, Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival is a biannual, multi-day music and arts fair situated in rural Chatham County.

The festival has seen consistent growth since its early years, and this weekend’s event aims to be no exception. If money permits, Shakori Hills plans to entrench itself in the community as much more than just a music festival.

The fall festival, which kicks off today, is focused on raising the funds necessary to buy the property on which the festival takes place.

“We’ve been renting the land and this past March, our lease ran out,” Waters said.

“We’ve renewed it for another year, but our plan was, when the lease ran out, to go ahead and buy the property. So this year has been a big fundraising year for us.”

Between the last festival in the spring and two fundraising events since then, the nonprofit organizers have already put together $27,000.

“We’re hoping by the end of this fall we’ll be pretty close to getting a down payment,” Waters said.

With nearly $50,000 left to raise, the festival still has a long way to go before realizing its goal.

“We’re feeling good about it — at the last festival we told a lot of people about it and I think the awareness has grown,” Waters said. “And people really consider Shakori Hills a big part of their lives and a big gift to the community. We’re expecting people will try and help us out.”

Claiming ownership of the land opens up several opportunities for the organizers to expand the property’s use to year-round.

“Along with the festival, we plan to have a lot of other events out here – camps, retreats, weddings,” Waters said. “We’re excited about growing as a venue for the community.”

It’s not hard to imagine a wedding or a reception at Shakori Hills in the downtime between festivals. Based out of Silk Hope, the backwoods backdrop provides a picturesque setting — a setting apparently scenic enough for Luke Quaranta, percussionist for repeat headliners Toubab Krewe, to have considered owning his own piece of land in the area.

“One thing I remember about Shakori is Silk Hope being so beautiful,” Quaranta said. “Last time we played, I was really thinking about settling there. I love the area. It’s just such a great spot for a festival.”

Shakori Hills’ lineup has traditionally brought a mix of folk, including Americana, zydeco and bluegrass and have brought in performers like Nickel Creek, Keith Frank and Big Fat Gap.

For The Carolina Chocolate Drops, who are set to headline the festival this year, Shakori Hills helped catalyze the band’s career.

“We were playing a set there a few years ago and our current manager, Tim Duffy, was in the audience,” said band member Justin Robinson. “He came up to us and was like, ‘Hey, I own the record company. Why don’t we put out a record?’ We were like, ‘Um, OK!’”

This year’s lineup promises to expand the festival’s musical palate and bring out a wider audience with the popular southern rockers The Marshall Tucker Band.

“We’re pretty excited about The Marshall Tucker Band, which is kind of new genre-wise for us,” Waters said. “They’re a different band than we’ve had before and I think they’ll bring out some different people that have never been to the festival before.”

New attendees will be quick to note Shakori Hills’ branding as a family friendly event. Rather than offering a place for parents to stop and drop their kids, Shakori Hills aims to provide their younger audience with their own festival experience with instrument and songwriting workshops, Waters said.

“I think it’s a great balance of a family friendly festival with a party vibe,” Quaranta said. “It’s hard for a lot of festivals to strike that balance. It’s a really great place to be.”

Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.