Summer festivals of note

Summer music festivals are my favorite way to enjoy music, providing me with scores of memorable moments, from getting tossed around in a mosh pit at Lollapalooza in 1991 to waking up to fiddles and guitars at the Lake Eden Arts Festival in 2005.

Years spent absorbing the magical melding of music and nature at MerleFest have led me to believe that music, like baseball and corn-on-the-cob, is best enjoyed outdoors, under a big blue sky or blanket of stars.

Although the big-city sheds will feature a number of top names this summer, festivals offer a way to steep yourself in music, sometimes up to 20 hours a day, depending on your endurance level, fondness for camping, and ability to sleep through 2 a.m. drum circles.

Festivals come in all shapes and sizes, from family-friendly fiddlers' fests where alcohol is forbidden to jam-band blowouts where anything goes.

Our region offers all sorts of festivals, whatever your style, that can be turned into mini-vacations for those who like to camp. Don't forget your ear plugs.

Here's a sampling:

Smilefest

WHEN: June 3-5

WHERE: Jomeokee Campground, Pinnacle

WHAT IT IS: A three-day festival that started in 1995 when some music lovers got together to celebrate the life of recently passed Jerry Garcia. Recently moved to Pinnacle, the festival takes place against the backdrop of Pilot Mountain.

TYPE OF MUSIC: The lineup is jam-band heavy, so expect most songs to clock in around the 20-minute mark.

HEADLINERS: Melvin Seals and JGB, Karl Denson's Tiny Universe, Larry Keel and Natural Bridge, JJ Grey and Mofro.

CAMPING: Yes

MORE INFORMATION: www.smilefest.com

Charlie Poole Music Festival

WHEN: June 10-11

WHERE: Governor Morehead Park, Eden

WHAT IT IS: An old-time music festival celebrating the life of Eden native Charlie Poole, a pioneering banjo player who worked in the nearby textile mill. The festival will feature evening concerts, a panel discussion on the life of Poole and an afternoon competition.

TYPE OF MUSIC: Old-time, all the time. Lots of fiddles, guitars and banjos churning out 100-year old songs from the mountains. Close your eyes and you may be transported back to the 1920s.

HEADLINERS: Riley Baugus, The Dry Hill Draggers, Kinney Rorrer and the New North Carolina Ramblers and The Supertones.

CAMPING: Yes

MORE INFORMATION: www.charlie-poole.com

Boone One Love Gathering

WHEN: June 25-26

WHERE: Grandfather Mountain Campground near Foscoe

WHAT IT IS: More retreat than music fest, the One Love Gathering is a chance to bliss out by attending a yoga workshop, drumming by the fire into the wee hours or lying on a blanket under the stars.

TYPE OF MUSIC: Regional musicians grooving to reggae, folk and bluegrass.

HEADLINERS: Inverted Sea, Nomadic, Moon Water.

CAMPING: Yes

MORE INFORMATION: www.onelovepress.com

Red, White and Bluegrass Festival

WHEN: July 1-4

WHERE: Catawba Meadows Park, Morganton

WHAT IT IS: This family-friendly bluegrass festival has grown over the years, drawing thousands of music lovers.

TYPE OF MUSIC: Some of the best pickin' this side of Merlefest.

HEADLINERS: The Seldom Scene, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder, J.D. Crowe and New South, Mountain Heart and Tony Rice.

CAMPING: Yes

MORE INFORMATION: www.redwhiteandbluegrassfestival.com

MusicFest 'N Sugar Grove

WHEN: July 8-9

WHERE: Sugar Grove

WHAT IT IS: A celebration of the life and music of Doc Watson and Appalachian music on the grounds of a historic stone school in the tiny community of Sugar Grove northwest of Boone. The festival includes music and workshops.

TYPE OF MUSIC: A mix of old-time and blazing-fast bluegrass.

HEADLINERS: Doc Watson, The Carolina Chocolate Drops, Shannon Whitworth and the Kruger Brothers.

CAMPING: Not on site but there are many campgrounds in the area.

MORE INFORMATION: www.MusicFestNSugarGrove.org

All Good Music Festival and Campout

WHEN: July 14-17

WHERE: Masontown, W.Va.

WHAT IT IS: More Woodstocklike than anything else in this listing, expect to smell patchouli among other scents. The festival takes place on Marvin's Mountaintop, a 655-acre piece of private property that overlooks the Allegheny Mountains. While family camping is available, we suggest you leave the kids at home for this one.

TYPE OF MUSIC: Epic jams, dude. Put it this way: You could take a long nap after the first verse and wake up in time to hear the second verse.

HEADLINERS: Furthur featuring Phil Lesh and Bob Weir, the Warren Haynes Band, Primus, the Infamous String Dusters.

CAMPING: Yes

MORE INFORMATION: www.allgoodfestival

.com

FloydFest

WHEN: July 28-31

WHERE: Floyd, Va.

WHAT IT IS: An eclectic mix of music, ranging from bluegrass to Americana on a scenic setting just off the Blue Ridge Parkway. Now in its 10th year, FloydFest has become granola-central, with its emphasis on green living and social activism. Pack your tie-dye. If it gets dirty, you can keep wearing it. No one will care.

TYPE OF MUSIC: A groovy hodgepodge.

HEADLINERS: Robert Randolph & the Family Band, David Grisman Sextet, Sam Bush Band, Old Crow Medicine Show

CAMPING: Yes

MORE INFORMATION: www.floydfest.com

Appalachian String Band Music Festival

WHEN: Aug. 3-7

WHERE: Clifftop, W.Va.

WHAT IT IS: A gathering of string-band instrumentalists and lovers who come from around the world to a scenic spot in Fayette County, W.Va., near the New River Gorge. Prepare to wake up and fall asleep to the sound of fiddles as the jams are nonstop. Bring yer dancin' shoes.

TYPE OF MUSIC: String music and string music. Did we mention string music?

HEADLINERS: This is a contest-oriented festival with no set concerts. Much of the music takes place in the campgrounds.

CAMPING: Yes

MORE INFORMATION: www.wvculture.org/stringband/index.html

Old Fiddler's Convention

WHEN: Aug. 8-13

WHERE: Galax, Va.

WHAT IT IS: A legendary fiddlers' convention, now in its 76th year, featuring some of the most talented bluegrass and old-time players in the area. Billed as the largest and oldest fiddlers' convention, Galax, as it is commonly known, draws fans and competitors from around the world.

TYPE OF MUSIC: You'll hear beginners and virtuosos competing in banjo, autoharp, dulcimer and dobro among other instruments.

HEADLINERS: Like the Appalachian String Band Music Festival, the music here comes from the contests and campground.

CAMPING: Yes

MORE INFORMATION: www.oldfiddlersconvention.com