Ginny from the Blog

I’m giving you a little over a week to plan for a weekend event that I predict will be the most fun and the best value: Mountain Aid 2009.

The weekend concert at Shakori Hills aims to bring awareness to mountaintop removal and creating a clean energy future. Gates open at noon Friday June 19 and the two-day series climaxes with Donna the Buffalo. Then you can wake up in your tent Sunday morning and leave.

If you haven’t been to the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival in Chatham County before, then Mountain Aid is a good way to ease yourself into it. You can camp on the beautiful grounds (the Shakori Hills festival farm is a little less than an hour from downtown Raleigh and Durham) and take turns dancing to about a dozen bands over the course of the two day event.

I’m a big fan of Shakori Hills after camping out there for the spring grassroots festival.

Tickets for Mountain Aid 2009 are $22.50 in advance or $30 at the gate. There’s a $10 tent camping fee, but I highly recommend spending the extra dough to spend some time out in the woods. Kids 12 and under are free. The money will benefit “Pennies for Promise.” Here’s an explanation of the campaign:

To build a new school for the children of Marsh Fork Elementary. Located in Raleigh County, West Virginia, the school is threatened daily by a 2.8 billion gallon coal sludge impoundment in the hills above them.

Here are a few bits of advice if you plan to camp there:

* Bring closed-toe shoes. There’s a gravel road and rocks in the campsite. It gets very dark at night. You’ll thank me later.

* Bring a cooler of beer if you plan to drink. Coolers are allowed and you’ll be happy you brought your own.

* Bring bug spray and have your camping partner check you for ticks often. Trust me on this one.

Finally, the Shakori Hills Grassroots Festival happens twice a year. Tickets for the fall festival go on sale June 22 and are $20 cheaper if you buy them early, so it might be worth marking your calendar if you plan to buy a festival pass this year.

I think there’s a law that says if you live in North Carolina, you must be a James Taylor fan. So the folks pulling the strings behind the Barack Obama campaign were pretty smart to snag the Carolina Crooner for five free concerts throughout the Tar Heel state given how much of a battleground state it has become.

He performed for free Tuesday in downtown Raleigh’s Moore Square during a lunchtime political rally. It may have been the first time a concert in Moore Square featured political paraphernalia instead of Bud Light.

Here’s a video I made for 30THREADS that includes some of Taylor’s Obama freestyling. I was able to record a few of his songs from the media risers as well. I posted those on 30THREADS.

And, for the record, if John McCain’s campaign organizes any free concerts in downtown Raleigh, you better believe I will totally be there with my camera in hand.

If you were at the concert and posted any pictures or video online, feel free to share links to in in the comments section.

If you still haven’t been to Durham’s American Tobacco complex, you might consider checking it out on Labor Day. There will be a free concert in the lawn from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday featuring John Brown & The Groove Shop Band, an R&B and funk band that are likened to Earth Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder and KC and the Sunshine Band.

It’s a good opportunity to explore the restored tobacco warehouses while enjoying some free music. Bring a blanket or some lawn chairs, a cooler with snacks and make a Labor Day evening of it. American Tobacco is a must-see for Triangle residents who don’t visit downtown Durham as often as they should. My favorite part is the urban stream that runs through it and the strategically placed concrete slabs that allow you to cross it.

I visited my old home in Durham Friday to watch a free blues concert at the West Village, which occupies the former Liggett & Myers campus. About 50 people plopped down on blankets and chairs between two renovated tobacco warehouses to hear Tad Walters and Book Hanks perform for the Warehouse Blues Series.

I used to live in a loft overlooking that courtyard. On Friday nights, I would hoist open my warehouse-sized windows and listen to the live music drift in while I cooked dinner. Then I would head downstairs with a glass of wine and mingle with neighbors, friends and city officials (the concerts are sponsored by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation).

But that was three years ago. I thought for sure that the concert series would have either been trimmed out of the city budget or that so many people would have caught on that it would have lost its intimate vibe.

I was surprised Friday to see that wasn’t the case.

The only thing that changed was the positioning of band. Everything else was still the same. Still a good mix of West Village residents, city staff and families. Still wonderful live music. And still free.

The series runs until mid-August. Check out the line-up here.