Friday and Saturday, October 25-26, 2019
Hagan-Stone Park Campground Shelter 5920 Hagan-Stone Park Road Pleasant Garden NC 27313Camp-o-ween
Performing Friday starting at 8 PM:
The Shiloh Creek Girls
The Shiloh Creek Girls are a band from the backcountry roads of Ramseur, North Carolina. These ladies produce a mixture of bluegrass and gospel music that inspires and reaches the hearts of both young and old.
This talented band consists of four sisters and their mother, so their bond goes beyond their musical abilities. Katie (guitar) is the oldest sister, Karrie (fiddle) and Kylie (mandolin) are identical twins, Kassie (banjo) is the youngest, and Lanette (bass) is the mother of the family who leads her girls to come alive on stage and entertain audiences of all ages.
In 2019, the three younger girls each won a $500 High Lonesome Strings Youth Scholarship that can be applied to lessons or attending a music camp. Karrie used her award to attend a Mark O’Conner Fiddle Camp. Kylie and Kassie are applying their winnings to lessons on their instruments.
The Shiloh Creek Girls second album, There is a Time, made its debut at the 2019 IBMA show in Raleigh, NC, when they had the privilege to play on the IBMA World of Bluegrass Youth Stage. In addition, they played at the High Lonesome Strings stage during the StreetFest. The band enjoys playing in churches, local events, and has also played on the main stage at the 23rd annual Bluegrass First Class in Asheville, NC in 2018.
Performing Saturday starting at 8 PM:
Old River Road
Old River Road, an emerging bluegrass band hailing from south-central North Carolina, consists of Bob Dotson (guitar, lead vocals), Stephen Caviness (banjo), Amelia Freeman (mandolin, lead and harmony vocals), Malachi Freeman (fiddle, lead and harmony vocals), and Justin Freeman (bass, lead and harmony vocals). They met as regulars at the [Clyde] Maness Pottery & Music Barn in Carthage, NC and the band was “formed” fortuitously when Becca Rae heard them jamming there and invited them to open for the Jeff Little Trio at the Sunrise Theater in Southern Pines. She put them on the spot by asking for the band name. The name of the road the Freemans live on in Carthage was suggested off the cuff and Old River Road was born.
Band front man Bob Dotson is a bluegrass lifer from Hamlet, NC. He started taking guitar lessons at the age of nine and was playing in Gospel groups and at church by the time he was thirteen. Bob fell in love with bluegrass music about that time and bought his first album by Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs. He has played in many bands all over the eastern seaboard including local groups The Twisted Grass Entourage and Flatt Blue. An accomplished guitar picker, Bob has won numerous awards at area competitions, most recently winning the bronze medal in the instrumental category of the Silver Arts portion of the North Carolina Senior Games State Finals. He loves to share music whenever and wherever possible and can be found anywhere from senior centers and local shops in Hamlet to jams and conventions throughout North Carolina.
Stephen Caviness, from Carthage, NC, provides the driving banjo that Old River Road thrives on. A multi-instrumentalist who has been playing since a young age, he has also won often at the local conventions. In college, Stephen was a member of Petite Team (with Steve Petite, now the president of Bob Jones University), recording a couple of CDs with them. During his run with Petite Team, Stephen played banjo, some guitar, and bouzouki on Celtic arrangements. He has played banjo for Bridgetown and Flatt Blue, and currently plays with the Ingram Family as well. When he’s not protecting and serving the City of Sanford, Stephen enjoys spending time with his family and filling in with any group who needs him.
As brother and sister, Malachi and Amelia Freeman have travelled the same path together. When Malachi was six years old and Amelia was five, a family friend gave them both ukuleles and their musical journey began. Four years later, both were singing with the Moore County Choral Society Children’s Chorus, having been selected with no prior vocal training. Mostly self-taught from books and internet resources, they began performing on fiddle and mandolin having never had a formal lesson. They were blessed to meet T and Pammy Lassiter at Clyde’s who taught them about performing as part of a band, and have included them in several editions of The Twisted Grass Entourage. This past year, Malachi and Amelia were both selected to perform in the 2019 IBMA Kids On Bluegrass showcase in Raleigh and both also received High Lonesome Strings Youth Scholarships (THANK YOU HLS MEMBERS AND DONORS!!!).
Now 13 years old, Amelia has already enjoyed performing with bluegrass superstar groups Flatt Lonesome and Sideline. She has been a perennial youth division winner at local fiddler’s conventions, and this past March she won first place at the Highfalls Fiddlers’ Convention in her first year competing with adults. She followed that achievement with a fifth place finish in the youth mandolin at the Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, VA. In addition to singing and playing the mandolin, Amelia toys with the fiddle, guitar, and upright bass. She has also played the piano since age 7 and was the pianist for her church’s Young Women’s group. Other than singing and playing music, Amelia is an animal lover, hatching and raising chickens and ducks.
Malachi is 15 years old and has already been able to sing and play with the Lonesome River Band and Sideline. In only his second fiddle performance ever, he won the Most Promising Talent category at the 2017 Seagrove Fiddlers’ Convention, having never had a formal lesson. Since that time, he has enjoyed success at fiddlers’ conventions in both youth and adult divisions. At the IBMA World of Bluegrass this past September, Malachi discovered busking and spent two nights playing (and making a little extra money) with newfound friends. In addition to singing and playing the fiddle, Malachi also plays piano and is dabbling with the guitar. He also enjoys acting, 4-H firearms and archery, and robotics team. Malachi has earned the rank of Life in Boy Scouts and is working toward his Eagle rank.
Justin has been involved with music his whole life. His mother is very musical and had Justin, along with his 9 brothers and sisters, participating in Kids Chorus from a young age. He played the drums in his high school band. Justin’s father played the guitar and participated in folk bands. So, in college, Justin picked up the guitar and started learning it along with the mandolin. Then life got busy with 5 kids and Justin put music on hold until a few years ago when Malachi and Amelia began playing regularly at Clyde’s Music Barn. He then taught himself the upright bass. Justin also is one of the lead vocalist for the band and sings harmony.
