Seasonal Sounds
Carolina Pine Music Festival returns this month
I BET THAT, IF YOU DID THE MATH, you’d find that Wilmington has more local, original musicians per capita than it does grocery stores, Italian restaurants, or laundromats. Every week, small venues in the Port City act as havens to musicians, singers, and songwriters who want to share their unique sound.
Now, due to a labor of love by a team of young professionals, Wilmington residents can officially say that the city contains enough local talent to host its own, original music festival – the CAROLINA PINE MUSIC FESTIVAL – that makes its third appearance this month.
In 2014, music enthusiast ANNA MANN (above) launched Carolina Pine Productions with Will Daube.
“Our goal is to support local music,” Anna Mann says, “and that’s definitely what this festival is doing.”
This month’s three-day festival will feature twenty-one musical acts at three venues: Brooklyn Arts Center, Satellite Bar and Lounge, and Waterline Brewing Company/Art Factory.
In addition, each site will host local food trucks.
Formally, the Carolina Pine mission is “to encourage local cultural, artistic, and business communities to connect, collaborate, and strengthen their endeavors by offering multimedia services and community events such as concerts and festivals.”
Local musician Rebekah Todd, who has only lived in Wilmington for about two years, explains how the Carolina Pine mission has helped her career. At the second festival in November, Todd and her band performed at Brooklyn Arts Center.
“A lot of (musicians) can’t get in at bigger venues,” Todd says. “They only bring in big bands from way out. Before Carolina Pine, I would have never gotten into the BAC, but because of this, I was able to play a venue that I wasn’t able to get into. That got me in front of the people that booked there.”
Mann adds that all musicians will receive a percentage of ticket sales.
This go-round, Rebekah Todd & the Odyssey will perform again at the BAC, this time as the headliner after three other acts. At the event, Todd will also promote her Kickstarter campaign to help fund her band’s second album.
Saturday festivities include ten bands, and Sunday’s list features seven, including a “secret set guest” that will not be announced until the day of the show.
“They’re local, but you can’t see them in town anymore,” Mann explains. “But that’s all I’ll say.”
Mann isn’t a musician herself, but it’s clear that she holds a serious passion for live, local music. Todd is a good friend of Mann’s, and she repeatedly stresses that Mann directs Carolina Pine out of love and care, rather than financial gain.
When asked what asked what she gets from coordinating the festival, Mann recalls musical get-togethers with her family’s friends. “I grew up around musicians,” she says. “I remember hearing a family friend play as a kid. Live music is fun. It makes me feel good.”
To view more of photographer Katherine Clark's work, go to www.katherineclarkphotography.com.
