Save Our Summer festival to be held late June in Georgia

Somebody had to be first, and it looks like it will be the SOS Music Fest in Lincolnton, GA at the end of June.

When announcements first came down that all large gatherings across the country were cancelled until further notice, the question in everyone’s mind was, “When will they start back up?” We are delighted to share that on the same day we learned that the venerable Old Fiddlers Convention in Galax would not be held this August – the first time since the second World War – news has been released that Evans Media Source will be holding a live bluegrass event June 26-27 in Lincolnton, GA.

Since Georgia is the first state to allow businesses to reopen, coupled with the news that sunlight and higher temperatures/humidity greatly restrict the ability of the virus to survive outside a host, Ernie and Debi Evans wanted to offer bluegrass fans a chance to get together outdoors, with proper social distancing procedures in place.

Scheduled to perform are The Malpass Brothers, Sideline, Deeper Shade of Blue, The Kody Norris Show, Rebekah Speer, Backline, and more. Sherry Boyd will serve as MC, and ticket and campsite reservations are being accepted now at (386) 385-3500.

SOS stands for Save Our Summer, and the Music Fest will be held at the Lewis Family Homeplace. Evans Media Source set the festival to run in late June to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions. And since many traditional festival fans may feel uncomfortable attending in person, the music will also be streamed on social media for the folks at home, with support from local businesses.

For those who do attend in person, the following prevention measures will be in place:

  • Limited seating (outdoor venue)
  • Festival ticketing and check in entrance will transition into a paperless system
  • Social distancing in all areas of the festival site will be enforced
  • Daily temperatures will be taken at designated checkpoints
  • Special sanitizing measures will be implemented at stage, vendor, and merchandise areas 
  • Stage shows will be extended to minimize set up times between sanitizing

Tickets for the weekend are $70, and $40 for Friday or Saturday only. Children under 12 will be admitted at no charge.

This SOS Music Fest is being presented by the SOS Coalition, a joint effort by Evans Media Source and the entertainers booked on the festival. They hope to make this a traveling show that can present a live music festival at various southeastern locations this summer.

Yee haw… back to bluegrass!

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About the Author

John Lawless

John had served as primary author and editor for The Bluegrass Blog from its launch in 2006 until being folded into Bluegrass Today in September of 2011. He continues in that capacity here, managing a strong team of columnists and correspondents.