Garrett Newton & the Lovesick Drifters at Cherokee 2026 – photo © Bill Warren
The North Carolina Bluegrass Festival, held at the Happy Days RV Park in Cherokee, kicked off Wednesday evening with bluegrass fans favorite activity – a covered dish dinner!
Allen Dyer welcomed everyone to the first evening of the festival.
This old picture taker did what he always does – ate too much!
Garrett Newton and the Lovesick Drifters provided the evening’s entertainment. This is a Hank Williams Sr. tribute band. Garrett sang Hank’s hits and told Hank stories for well over an hour.
Lorraine Jordan took Garrett under her wing when he was a teenager. He plays banjo in her Country Grass Band, who will also be part of the weekend’s entertainment, including a set with Larry Cordle.
There are three big days of music yet to come with some of the youngest in bluegrass – Billy and the Kids – to a veteran Larry Sparks.
It was just announced in the park that Caleb Bailey & Paine’s Run were in an auto accident on the way down to the festival from Virginia. We are told that they are all OK, but will be unable to perform as expected today.
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