All-star jams and the Hank Williams Songwriting Competition live finals are hallmarks of the Flat Rock Music Festival. The festival features acoustic Americana music at four venues, live songwriting contest finals, musical and songwriting workshops, open mikes, jams, Kids Village with crafts, children's parade, food and other vendors, chapel service, plus camping, boating, and swimming. The Flat Rock Music Festival is at 365-acre Camp Ton-a-Wandah, in historic Flat Rock, NC.

The non-profit festival partially benefits Camp Merry Times for cancer-stricken children, and local ECO conservation. The Flat Rock Music Festival has been featured on public television, and garnered international acclaim with magazine coverage in Germany.

Del McCoury is the top headliner. His bluegrass legacy spans six decades and shines stronger than ever. The Del McCoury Band is The International Bluegrass Music Association's reigning Entertainer of the Year, reeling in top honors for the eighth time.

The band earned a 2004 Grammy nomination for best bluegrass album, for �It's Just The Night�. He was part of two more Grammy-nominated works, �Christmas On The Mountain� and with Marty Stuart on "Let Us Travel, Travel On" from Country Album of the Year nominee, �Livin, Lovin, Losin�. McCoury earned Grammy nominations for �A Deeper Shade Of Blue� in 1993 and, in 1996, for �The Cold Hard Facts�. He called his latest Grammy nominations "icing on the cake" of his phenomenal career.

McCoury, 65, a Bakersville, NC, native, is in the Grand Ole Opry's cast. He was guitarist for legendary Bill Monroe's Bluegrass Boys, in 1963-64. He has led his own band since 1967, first with the Dixie Pals, then the Del McCoury band that features Del (guitar), his sons Ron (mandolin) and Rob (banjo), fiddler Jason Carter, and bassist Mike Bub. Their bluegrass is traditionally based, yet very innovative. The band tops the bill Saturday at the festival.

McCoury follows such illustrious the Flat Rock Music Festival headliners as Doc Watson, Dr. Ralph Stanley, Sam Bush, David Grisman, Curtis Burch, Trout Fishing in America, Acoustic Syndicate, Donna the Buffalo, Larry Keel, Bob Margolin, Livingston Taylor, the Rev. Billy C. Wirtz and Loudon Wainwright III. Festival Entertainment Director Charlie Tucker has presented giants and emerging stars of bluegrass and eclectic Americana roots music from across the nation and Blue Ridge Mountains.

"This festival is perfect to give exposure to acoustic music and for artists to be expressive," said, Sam Bush, who also commended the lovely lakeside setting in the mountains.

Jackson Crossing includes Jerry Eubanks, former Marshall Tucker band saxophonist. The band plays smooth acoustic rock with some electric guitar and plenty of eclectic mixes of styles. They do originals and classic rock covers. Jackson Crossing includes guitarists Rick Willis and Mike Rogers, with Eubanks on alto sax and flute. A four-person, acoustic version of seven-piece SevenMoore, Jackson Crossing is among main acts on Sunday.

Another treat on Sunday is versatile The Filthy Rich, which plays blues, Texas swing, jazz, Latin, country, and honky-tonk. The band showcases Nick Branch's earthy vocals as well as the soaring solos of guitarist Guthrie Trapp. Trapp, 25, a rising star guitarist, played for Patti Loveless on her current tour. He is a busy studio musician in Nashville, TN. By age16, Trapp was two-time Alabama guitar and mandolin competition winner. The Filthy Rich's new release, their fifth CD, is �No Borders�.

Cast Iron Filter forged "Irongrass" roots rock featuring rifts of mandolin player Mike Orlando on "SOKY Fair" and in long jams, plus Dustin Edge's edgy vocals. The Charlotte band's live energy is reflected in last year's �Live from the Highway� CD.

The festival also features Abe Reid and Woody Wood, zany stars of the former Blue Rags, popular, up-tempo roots band from Asheville, NC. Hollywood Red is Aaron "Woody" Wood's band, and headlines on opening night. Wood dazzled the spring 2004 Flat Rock Music Festival crowd with earthy vocals, raucous rock, and slick showmanship.

Abe Reid and the Spikedrivers play a boogie-woogie blend of blues, ragtime, and funk rock a la the Blue Rags. His band follows McCoury as the late act on main stage Saturday.

The Carburetors play a lively alternative country-bluegrass concoction with bluegrass rhythms, driving bass line, Latin percussion, funny lyrics and "kick-butt lead guitar." The Asheville, NC-area band's debut CD, �Y'all Don't Tell My Mama I Was Here�, cracked the Top 50 in both the Americana Chart (for all of July) and the Roots Music Report, also reaching Number 6 on RMR's bluegrass subchart.

The music keeps flowing on the main stage with mini-sets between main acts, with late shows, midnight artist jams, and impromptu jams open to patrons.

The festival features several award-winning acoustic singer-songwriters talented with guitar work, lyrics and vocals. They include Rock Killough, Gigi Dover, Michael Reno Harrell, Gove Scrivenor, and Phyllis Tanner-Frye.

Killough crafted country gems for the Oak Ridge Boys, Randy Travis, Hank Williams Jr., and Carole King. He played guitar on six Oak Ridge albums. He also plays keyboard and sings on original country, Southern rock, blues, and gospel recordings. He wrote a book on songwriting. Like Killough, Michael Reno Harrell is versed in teaching songwriting at the Flat Rock Music Festival. He emphasizes clarity and blending melody and words. "Look what Hank Williams (Sr.) did with very simple lyrics and three chords." Harrell writes witty songs about mountain life. He won MerleFest's songwriting contest in 2002. For that entire year, he had the second most requests on WNCW public radio.

Gove Scrivenor fascinates with �chair dancin'" as he sits and plays frenetic, foot-stompin' autoharp. He also plays inventive slide guitar for his earthy, energetic, folk-blues tunes. He has co-written songs with Dave Loggins, was a recording session musician for Neil Young, Dolly Parton, and Emmylou Harris, while Doc Watson and Marty Stuart played on his album, �Solid Gove�.

Dover is a slender "sultry, soulful songstress" in country rock. She hit Number 11 on the Gavin � Americana Chart in 1997 with "Checkpoint."

Other performers include jazz-blues guitar virtuoso Marc Yaxley, ragtime/blues Hubris, comical, honky-tonk/blues keyboardist Anon Dixon Day; Hobex and Friends, peppy duo Walt Whitney and Ellen Trnka, and Red Mango with a world music mix.

The festival will wrap up Sunday with the Jukebox Jerry Jam � a couple of hours of jammin' by the Southeast's top acts. Eight of those regional stars will also take turns playing songs in a two-hour "in the round" session Saturday, also on the main stage.

One of the more popular events during festival weekend is the songwriting competition. In the festival's sixth Hank Williams Songwriting Competition, finalists will perform the opening afternoon in Little Rec Hall by the lake. Performers said the cozy, large cabin has good acoustics. Typically, the live finals have 12 � 15 singer-songwriters from across the Southeast, ranging from novices to veterans. The winner earns the honor of performing on main stage Sunday.

Songs will be judged for originality, lyrics and melody � with a premium on Hank Williams Sr.'s simple, emotional style, Entertainment Director Charlie Tucker said. Songs can be folk, bluegrass, or country alternative or with pop or rock blends. Songs must be original. They cannot be " commercially released," but can be self-released with in-person distribution, contest supervisor Bob Sinclair said. Each entry consists of a form, tape or CD, five copies of lyrics, and $20 fee. Entries must be postmarked by September 3. Finalists will be notified by September 10. Each contestant receives free admission for the entire festival.

Workshops on September 25 will include sessions on songwriting and guitar. Drum and soccer workshops are among activities geared for teenagers, along with swimming and boating for all ages.

Kids Village for younger children has various arts and crafts. Accredited teachers are among the instructors. The Kids Parade starts at the Village at 4 PM on Saturday. Parents can supervise their children from the adjacent lakeside main stage. Childcare is available at $3 an hour, 8 PM � 1 AM, September 24 and 25.

Festival sponsors include WNCW 88.7 FM Spindale, WTZQ 1600 AM Hendersonville, Mountain 1st Bank & Trust, Park Deli Restaurant, Budweiser, Barley's Taproom & Pizzeria, the Orange Peel Social Aid and Pleasure Club, Purple Onion restaurant, Western Carolina Dent Repair, Kinko's Printing, and Tempo Music Center.

Weekend passes are $60 in advance or $80 at the gate, and include camping. Youth (ages 11-17) tickets are half-priced. Daily tickets cost $30 Friday, $35 Saturday, or $20 Sunday for adults, or $15/$15/$10 for youth. Children 10 and younger get in free. Tickets can be ordered online or by phone. For tickets or more information, call 828-692-2005, or visit their web site, www.flatrockmusicfestival.com.

(Top image provided by the Flat Rock Music Festival)

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