Shape-note singing—also known as Sacred Harp singing—is a thriving American folk tradition where four-part harmonies are sung a cappella based on geometric shapes instead of standard staff notes. Rather than aiming for performance, singers sing for community joy and connection.
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Straight to Love is our third annual community concert and potluck. We created it in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene as a space to gather, heal, and reconnect through music, food, and community—and each year, people have asked us to keep it going. Bring a dish to share if you are able!
Leave your phone behind and reconnect with the world around you through writing. Guided by poet Elaine Bleakney, this half-day workshop explores observation, imagination, and the simple act of paying attention.
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Join Cherokee artist Laura Walkingstick for a two-hour, hands-on cornhusk doll making workshop that brings together art, culture, storytelling, creativity, and community.
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Corn Day is a celebration of corn in all its forms—agricultural, culinary, historical and cultural. Inspired by traditions of gathering at harvest, the day will feature Appalachian stories and ballads led by William Ritter and Jim Veteto as we shuck corn and do other hand work together. We’ll have tortillas for sale by Luis Martinez, who will also talk about heirloom Oaxacan corn varieties. Derek Pettigrew will talk about corn beyond the kitchen. Bring your best cornbread for the Cornbread Cook-off—the winner will get some corn.
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Death Fest: Reclaiming the Art of Community Care Presentations and workshops include community-held death care, autonomous funeral practices, green burial, willow casket weaving, grief tending, death doula work, ritual, and conversations about reclaiming the knowledge and confidence to care for one another in death and dying.
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Using split kudzu vines, you will sew them back together again in a coiled basket. Handles can be made, alternative plant materials can also be used. Come find out what you might have in your backyard or neighborhood that begs to be put to good use. Wisteria anyone?
SOLD OUT!
Our second annual free community concert and potluck in response to our resilient community. Hilary Rose, Liliana Hudgens, and Cole Pulice. Made possible by the generous support of Jazz Foundation of America.
Our Bandaloop Tiny Music & Story Festival brings magic and story woven with music and dance. Friends of the Hot Springs Library will receive 50% of the net proceeds from this event. Lineup: Rosali, Sluice, Angela Autumn, Lou Hazel, Anjimile, Brittany Ann Tranbaugh, Magic Tuber Stringband, Primrose Coke, Rob Amberg, and Evan Gray ~PLUS~ Nature Journaling w/ Spencer Beals, Body Art w/ Jane Sleeper, Baba Yaga’s Photo Hut
The Swan and the Loon is a multimedia performance that was born in the wake of Hurricane Helene. The story is told through stunning art, puppetry and music, and centers around holding together the griefs too big to hold on our own.
Join us for a daylong, hands-on workshop with multi-media artist Primrose Coke as we dive into the fascinating world of Crankies—a centuries-old storytelling tradition experiencing a vibrant revival! Beginners welcome.
Don’t miss a one-of-a-kind evening of roots music. Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light, fresh off a first-place win at the Telluride Bluegrass Band Contest, bring their musical finesse and Rachel’s lyrical bite to the farm. Sharing the bill is acclaimed songwriter Erik Koskinen—praised as “the real deal” by the Minneapolis Star Tribune—with plainspoken poetry and a genre-defying sound.
Using split kudzu vines, you will sew them back together again in a coiled basket.
Cherokee cultural stories told and discussed.
Learn songwriting with Sparrow Smith. No musical experience necessary, beginners welcome.
Sparrow Smith will celebrate her new record, a love letter to Madison County, with a concert and songwriting workshop at Rare Bird Farm. On Saturday evening, Sparrow will play the new album in its entirety, plus some other select tunes, with a 5-piece band. Sweet Megg opens. Workshop on Sunday. SONGWRITING WORKSHOP WITH SPARROW OFFERED SEPARATELY.
Have you ever wanted to carve your own eating utensils, but didn't know how to start? Come learn how to carve a spoon from green wood! We'll start at the very beginning, learning about the kinds of wood that are good for carving and how to select a piece to work with. Then we'll learn how to use basic hand tools to turn that piece into a beautiful, functional spoon that you can take home and use!
Willy Tea Taylor was Michael Gardner’s favorite musician. Michael Gardner (1991–2024) was our dear friend and neighbor, Megan Gardner’s devoted brother and uncle to her three children. Mike was also a distinguished American alpinist, mountain guide, and big-mountain skier, celebrated for his pioneering spirit and significant contributions to the climbing community. Willy Tea Taylor is a singer-songwriter whose music embodies the raw storytelling and heartfelt simplicity of folk and country traditions. Also on the same weekend:
A guided painting session with Sarah Mathilda Stewart of Rattlesnakes and Rainbows. Sarah will provide all the necessary materials and instruction and guidance on how to interact with plants and sacred geometry as muse. Beginners welcome.
Step into a world of haunting ballads, old-time harmonies, and soul-stirring melodies as Elizabeth LaPrelle and Brian Dolphin weave together the deep traditions of Appalachian music with a global folk sensibility. HARMONY SINGING WORKSHOP
Lemonbalm is experimental dream harmony folk trio based out of Sandy Mush, NC.
We will bring you a few different songs in dense and beautiful harmony from places we've spent a bunch of time, likely including one from Southern Appalachia and one from Ukraine. Elizabeth is a world-renowned ballad singer and scholar from rural Virginia and Brian is an ethnomusicologist and choir director has studied folk music all over the world.
Rare Bird’s signature summer festival, Lightning Bug, is a multi-genre celebration of music, art, inclusivity, and the magic of fireflies. This vibrant event bridges artists and music lovers of all abilities, highlighting and supporting performers and attendees with disabilities while fostering an inclusive community. With dynamic musical acts, immersive experiences, and a mission-driven focus, Lightning Bug benefits the Rare Bird Theatre Camp and welcomes all to share in the wonder of music and connection.
Join us for an unforgettable night of raw emotion, dynamic soundscapes, and genre-blurring folk rock as Squirrel Flower, Free Range, and Styrofoam Winos take the stage. With ethereal intensity and a voice that cuts through like a storm, Squirrel Flower delivers haunting, atmospheric indie rock that lingers long after the last note. Free Range brings introspective songwriting and lush, understated arrangements that feel both tender and expansive. Styrofoam Winos round out the night with their off-kilter harmonies and effortlessly cool blend of alt-country and lo-fi charm. Three boundary-pushing acts, one night of beautifully unfiltered music—don’t miss it! Also on the same day - Cherokee Basket Weaving Workshop
Learn weaving and wisdom from National Treasure, Nancy Basket. Weave a small freeform laundry basket with split kudzu while hearing Cherokee stories and wisdom.
Join us to view a documentary of Katherine's journey to grow her own burial shroud from flax seed and reconnect her mortality within nature's cycles. She will speak to how this practice has sparked a community movement to reclaim home-based death and grief care—rituals that root us more deeply in connection to each other and the earth. Filmmaker Charly Louise of Venus Rising Media will join us for discussion and questions. We’ll close the gathering with a participatory song circle led by Danny Blose & Lucy Perry, where we’ll learn songs to offer to our dying—growing the generosity and care within our end-of-life spaces.
Experience an unforgettable evening where the past and future of Appalachian music intertwine. The Cultural Crossroads Series brings together tradition-bearers and an innovator, weaving a rich musical conversation between heritage and evolution. This edition features the deeply rooted harmonies and fiddle-banjo interplay of Maddy Mullany & Clarke Williams, whose devotion to Appalachian traditions captures the heart of old-time music. Joining them is Sarah Kate Morgan, a visionary dulcimer player whose innovative techniques and emotive storytelling push the boundaries of mountain music while honoring its deep legacy. WORKSHOPS OFFERED SEPARATELY.
A survey of some of the fiddle players in the lineage of J.D. Harris (Osey Helton, Bill Hensley, Manco Sneed, Marcus Martin, etc) and the banjo playing styles of the region (up-picking, 2 finger, etc).
Experience an unforgettable evening where the past and future of Appalachian music intertwine. The Cultural Crossroads Series brings together a revered tradition-bearer and a bold innovator, creating a rich and dynamic musical dialogue. This edition features the masterful Stuart, Spence & Shebbish, keepers of time-honored melodies, alongside the genre-defying rhythms of Nathan Bowles, whose fresh perspective breathes new life into Appalachian soundscapes. WORKSHOP OFFERED SEPARATELY.
Rare Bird’s signature spring festival, Doggett Gap, celebrates Appalachia’s rich and evolving traditions through a dynamic blend of music, folklife, and craft. This intimate, family-friendly event brings together tradition-bearers and innovative artists for a day of inspiring performances, hands-on folklife workshops, and immersive craft experiences—all honoring the region’s living heritage.
Join us for a much-needed break—enjoy live music, share a meal, and connect with friends. We all deserve a moment to step away from our individual and collective grief and stress in the wake of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.
CANCELLED- Refunds will be issued ASAP!
CANCELLED - Refunds will be issued ASAP!
Sunday, September 29th, at 2 PM at Aldridge Hall in Christmount Conference Center, 100 Magnolia Rd., Black Mountain, NC. This special matinee will showcase the talents of 15 campers with intellectual and developmental disabilities, along with 24 volunteer artists and two professional teaching artists, who will come together to create an original musical in just two days as part of the Rare Bird Inclusive Theatre Camp.
Chris Wilhelm is known for bringing positive vibes and an uplifting message to his audience. He plays Americana, folk rock originals that are infectious and insightful, and sprinkles in covers too.
Madtom & the Chubs is a bluegrass band hailing from Boone, NC.
Hannah Kaminer is an artist and singer-songwriter writing songs about love, loss, and home. Raised in small towns in Western North Carolina, she fuses echoes of Appalachian and country traditions with wistful, Americana-style songwriting.
Matthew Clark Pike is a seasoned bassist/carpenter/father, and a budding singer and songwriter, born and raised in Winston-Salem, NC, and currently living in the rural outskirts of Asheville, in Marshall, NC.
