Shakori Hills announces full Spring lineup

Shakori Hills' spring festival will take place on
April 17-20 in Silk Hope, N.C

Back in February we reported on the initial lineup announcement for Shakori Hills' spring 2014 festival, one that boasted a stunning array of both local and national acts including everyone from Ben Sollee and Morning Brigade to Dirty Dozen Brass Band and the effing Indigo Girls. Since then the festival has been slowly and silently adding artists to the lineup with little fanfare involved. Acts like Des Ark and Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba were added alongside folks like Phil Cook & The Guitarheels and DJ Gonzo, bulking up the local anchors for this already excellent lineup. But earlier this week the good people of Shakori Hills have unveiled the full festival lineup for their April 17-20 festival. With a remarkable combination of world music, funk, Americana, folk, soul and dance music, Shakori Hills has once again proved to be one of the most consistent festivals around.

It feels like with each festival Shakori Hills tries to expand their reach a little bit more, and when they're adding invigorating acts like Miami's Afrobeta, an avant dance-duo and Congolese-Belgian hip-hop artist Baloji & L’Orchestra de la Katuba, one can't help but get excited. Shakori is a festival of exploration, dabbling into new musical territories that may seem a bit overwhelming at first but end up welcoming you in with open arms. I'll never forget my first brush with Afrobeat, my first dance party lead by the Latin funk crew Suénalo or my first (of many) encounters with the washboard slappin', festi-freak rousing antics of Donna The Buffalo. Shakori Hills radiates positivity, and when it falls on Easter weekend it always makes for memorable camping stories. Whether you're waking up to the Meadow Stage's morning musings or cheerfully greeting every passerby, it sure beats the hell out of chocolate binging until you vomit (which no doubt would still probably be pretty awesome at Shakori).

This Spring's headliners are packing quite the punch, Shakori is usually a festival that gets by on its solid undercard. While you may not be jumping at the bits to check out folks like the Indigo Girls or last fall's headliner Yonder Mountain String Band, there's always a few high-tier acts that will rouse up some new and insanely dedicated fans on the farmlands. Ben Sollee's virtuosic cello skills will be a certainly soothing excursion (here's to hoping for an evening set-time) while Dirty Dozen Brass Band will lead a wildly exciting dance party filled with their amorphous blend of jazzy tunes. But artists like The Last Bison and J.P. Harris & The Tough Choices are just as excitable as the top-tier acts, which is arguably the best aspect of the festival. Lump all of those in with some of the finest locals from across the state and baby you got a stew goin'!

Tickets for Shakori Hills are available for purchase at shakorihillsgrassroots.org, a 4-day weekend pass is $100 with individual day passes ranging from $23 to $43. Shakori Hills takes place in Silk Hope, North Carolina on a semi-annual basis. Check out the full lineup on the website and be on the lookout for our regular series "Shakori Spotlights" to find out who we're most excited for at Shakori.