Preview: Music on the Mountaintop

We're a mere two days away from Music on the Mountaintop and I for once can barely contain my excitement.  This three-day festival held at Grandfather Mountain Campgrounds kicks off on Friday right around noon and will be bringing an incredibly talented and diverse group of artists for the festival's fifth installment.  With what's looking like a beautiful weekend ahead of us, we'll go ahead and give you our list of bands we're most excited to see on the mountaintop this weekend.




River Whyless
Friday @ 2:00 PM
This Asheville band is without a doubt going to be one of the weekend's highlights.  Formerly Do It To Julia, the band has since changed their name and come out with one of the year's finest releases with, A Stone, A Leaf, An Unfound Door.  Their experimental and unique blend of folk rock with classical music is nothing short of enchanting, and a beautiful Friday afternoon on Grandfather Mountain will serve as the perfect backdrop for this band.  Sadly enough I won't be able to attend their set as I'll be en route from Raleigh at the time (Who needs school anyways?), but we'll be filming our newest Bottom String Session with the band on Saturday!



Dr. Dog
Friday @ 7:00 PM
This whimsical band from Pennsylvania has been making some of the most entertaining and meaningful music of the past decade.  Blending folk rock with indie and psychedelic aspects, it's joyous to watch the band progress throughout their albums with Fate being their latest release back in February 2012.  Dr. Dog are notorious for their powerful live performances, with heart clenching lyrics, soaring melodies and breathtaking harmonies, the band will be gracing the mountaintop with some of the most powerful music of the weekend.  Between this set at MOTM and their Nov. 5 date at Haw River Ballroom, this fall will allow for me to get my dose of Dr. Dog and then some!




Holy Ghost Tent Revival
Saturday @ 11:30 AM
One of North Carolina's gems, Holy Ghost Tent Revival have been absolute workhorses for the past couple of years.  With a brand new full-length to be released on Sept. 4, Sweat Like The Old Days, expect to hear much more from HGTR in the near future.  Their eclectic ragtime folk stylings have never been tighter and quite frankly the band just exhumes energy.  Holy Ghost Tent Revival will surely be spreading good vibes and great tunes, providing a wonderful wake-up for festival goers early on Saturday morning.




Naked Gods
Saturday @ 2:05
One of the only straight-up rock n' roll acts, Naked Gods will be showcasing their energetic indie-rock stylings on Saturday afternoon at Music on the Mountaintop.  Naked Gods are from right down the road in Boone, NC and are one of the few MOTM alumni playing the festival this year (Railroad Earth and River Whyless are also included in this list), so expect a crowd of locals who are ready to get down.  The band has a very Built To Spill meets roots rock vibe, making for a one of a kind live show that features some beefy yet mesmerizing guitar riffs that serve as the perfect backdrop for vocalist Seth Sullivan's frenetic vocal stylings.  Another fantastic rock act on Saturday to check out will be Futurebirds going on at 5:00.

For the rest of our picks check out the full schedule below!

Friday, August 24, 2012

11:00am – Gates Open

12:30pm – 1:40pm – The Black Lillies

2:00pm – 3:05pm – River Whyless

3:25pm – 4:40pm – Greensky Bluegrass

5:00pm – 6:30pm – J.J. Grey & Mofro

7:00pm – 8:30pm – Dr. Dog

9:00pm – 11:00pm – Railroad Earth

Saturday, August 25, 2012

 10:00am – Gates Open

10:30am – 11:15am – Monroeville

11:30am – 12:30pm – Holy Ghost Tent Revival

12:45pm – 1:45pm – Rose’s Pawn Shop

2:05pm – 3:05pm – Naked Gods

3:25pm – 4:40pm – The Hackensaw Boys

5:00pm – 6:30pm – Futurebirds

7:00pm – 8:30pm – Dirty Dozen Brass Band

9:00pm – 11:00pm – Railroad Earth

Sunday, August 26, 2012

9:30am – Gates Open

10:00am – 10:45pm – Stoney Creek Boys

11:10am – Noon – Salem Speaks

12:30pm – 2:00pm – Larry Keel & Natural Bridge

2:30pm – 4:00pm – Railroad Earth Super Jam featuring: Sam Bush, Larry & Jenny Keel, members of Monroeville, special guests & more!

4:30pm – 6:30pm – Sam Bush