Alden and Arnold Nunn at the 2024 Nunn Brothers Bluegrass Festival – photo © G Nicholas Hancock
The Nunn Brothers Bluegrass Festival may be North Carolina’s best kept bluegrass secret.
Held in the tiny community of Woodville, located east of Mount Airy and north of Pilot Mountain, twin brothers Alden and Arnold Nunn have been putting on the festival since 1998 with a three-year hiatus during the COVID restrictions. This past week, Thursday through Sunday, they held the 23rd edition of the event at the Nunn Brothers Music Park at 421 Woodville Road, less than a mile off NC 89, between Westfield and Mount Airy.
Alden and Arnold grew up in the Woodville Community and were taught to play fiddle by their father, the late Clarence Olin Nunn, when they were about eight years old. By the age of 14 they began playing at area fiddlers’ conventions, and at age 16 they formed the Nunn Brothers Band. The two have been playing area and regional events ever since. Alden is the fiddler in the band, and Arnold plays guitar, but both are multi-instrumentalists, each playing banjo, mandolin, and piano as well.
The festival is held in what was once a tobacco field, down in the bottom land between the hills along a small creek named Big Creek, with a roofed stage built across the front of an old tobacco curing barn. The field has been planted in neatly mowed grass, with nine long canopies erected to provide shade and shelter for spectators. There is one permanent concession stand to provide hotdogs, hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and barbeque sandwiches provided by Mayberry Drive Inn, and a portable ice cream and drinks stand provided by Albion Baptist Church. Alden and Arnold have also built a roofed but open dance area with a concrete floor to the right of the stage.
Arnold said they became interested in putting on the festival, “after a large fiddlers’ convention in Westfield died out.” He said it takes about two months to get the field and everything ready for the annual July event.
Alden said they’ve always wanted to create a “good, clean event for families.”
“It feels like a little biddy Grand Ole Opry,” he said.
The festival began at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 25, and was free to the public. Music was provided by the Nunn Brothers & Friends and New River Line. An open jam session was held after the stage entertainment.
Friday night featured stage performances by the Slate Mountain Ramblers, Mountain Blessings, and the Nunn Brothers & Friends. Cost of admission was $10.00.
Late Saturday afternoon, approximately two hundred spectators were awaiting the start of the music for the evening to be provided by New River Line, Coyote Ugly, Carson Peters & Iron Mountain, and the Nunn Brothers & Friends. Admission on Saturday was $12.00. A two-day ticket (Friday & Saturday) was $20.00. Children under 10 are free.
Sunday featured a worship service from 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon, and then free music from 1:30 to 4:40 p.m. provided by Carson Peters & Iron Mountain and the Nunn Brothers & Friends.
Both Arnold and Alden said they want to continue having the festival as long as they can, and as long as people keep coming out. This year, some of them came from as far as Florida, New York, and West Virginia.
I had not heard of this festival until about a month ago even though it has been held for 23 years. I went on Saturday to find out what it was like. It was a most enjoyable evening. Alden and Arnold Nunn are two of the kindest people I’ve ever met. The music played by all four bands was very good and most enjoyable. The sound system was well-suited to the venue, and the concessions and facilities provided for the spectators were first rate. Parking was both convenient and adequate.
The Nunn Brothers Bluegrass Festival is held annually beginning the 4th Thursday in July through the following Sunday at Nunn Brothers Music Park, 421 Woodville Road, Mount Airy, NC. For more information call: 336-325-6866 (Arnold) or 336-325-9891 (Alden) or visit them on Facebook.
