Cherry Blossom Music Festival!
Any Maconite knows that Cherry Blossom season is THE time to witness Macon in all of its glory. For almost two weeks, the city is packed with fair rides, tourists following the cherry blossom trails, and our beautiful town painted in pink. This year is no exception! All of the classic festival affairs are still present, with a few exciting additions to the schedule.
One of the most exciting events to premiere this year is the Cherry Blossom Music Festival on Saturday! I got a chance to sit down with the event coordinator and head of marketing at the Hummingbird, Kristen O’ Neal, and get the scoop on what we can expect!
How did the idea for the music festival originate? Cherry Blossom approached us about 9 months ago. They have had a lot of trouble with the street party in the past being rained out. They basically were going to cancel the event but they wanted to see if there was a way someone would take it on as a sanctioned event and turn it into a music festival. So they approached Tim (Obelgoner) and me. We put a proposal together and submitted it to the board and they picked our proposal. We decided to take the scare out of the event and turn it into an indoor event. We do have a third street park (outdoor) stage that will run from 4 to 8pm but the meat of the festival will begin at 7 pm at 7 venues. So we’re very excited.
photo credit Elizabeth Tate
What was the process for picking the acts? We wanted something that would have a draw in Macon and something for everybody. We have kid friendly acts, a jazz ensemble, DJ’s and college bands, country acts, and rock.
What can we expect for Saturday? From 8 to 4pm we are going to have a business market on the 400 block between 3rd and MLK. The street will be blocked off and all the vendors will have a table set up to create a festival atmosphere and that will tier off from Mulberry Art Festival that ends at 5.
photo credit Vincent Tseng, from the drivin’ n’ cryin’ Facebook page
Which acts are you personally looking forward to seeing? I would say All the Locals. They are really, really good! I hear them on my Pandora channel all the time. One of the few CDs I bought was Cranford Hollow. I saw them play for the Meiko concert. Boot Hill- I don’t get to see them often enough. Of course Drivn’ N’ Cryin’- everybody loves them!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OkFHA1rtp8k]
Anything else? Thank you to Wild Wing Café! This event would not be at the magnitude it is without their generosity. They have live music 3-5 nights a week so it’s really great to tie in with north Macon.
For a full schedule and to purchase your advance tickets online for $15, visit CherryBlossomMusicFestival.com Tickets will be sold for $20 at third street park until 7 pm and then will be available at the participating music venues.
