PICKENS — Hagood Mill in Pickens will come alive with a huge music festival on Saturday, April 28. The annual POSAM Memorial Music Festival will bring an all-star cast of bluegrass and old time music performers to the stage; along with jam sessions, workshops, and youth competitions running throughout the day.
On-site camping will be available this year for the first time. For more details on the festival, visit www.YAMupstate.org.
The fun-filled family event will feature a variety of awesome food concessions, so no one should go hungry. Gates will open at 8:30 a.m., with the festival lasting until 7 p.m.
Hagood Mill is located north of Pickens on US 178 (http://www.co.pickens.sc.us/CulturalCommission/HagoodMill/default.aspx). Tickets are $12 in advance for 17 and over, $15 at the gate. Children 16 and under are free with a paid adult. Tickets are available at any YAM (Young Appalachian Musicians) school or call (864) 878-4257 or e-mail mcdanibw@bellsouth.net. Bring your own chairs and blankets; no alcoholic beverages allowed. The festival will be held rain or shine.
Workshops and open jamming sessions will be held throughout the day. Youth competitions for ages 18 and under will be held, along with the ever-popular Hot Licks Competition, which is open to all ages, beginning on the main stage at 6 p.m. This competition will close out the festival. There is no registration fee for the competitions, but registration must occur before the cut off time with limited spaces available.
On the main stage, an all-star lineup of musicians is scheduled to play, including 4 Mule Pileup, Last Road, Timberline and the West End String band. Also playing will be the Pickens High School Bluegrass Band, Sweet Potato Pie Kids and Young Appalachian Musicians from member schools, which are Holly Springs Elementary, A.R. Lewis Elementary, Ambler Elementary, Ben Hagood Elementary, Pickens Elementary, Liberty Elementary and Pickens Middle.
tHE POSAM Memorial Music Festival honors the memory of teachers and supporters of the YAM program who are now deceased, such as John Foster (“Papa John”), Al Osteen, Lewis Crowe and Sam Hyder.
The festival is a benefit for the Young Appalachian Musicians program (www.YAMupstate.org), which teaches traditional Southern Appalachian music to Pickens County students in the third through eighth grades.
Like the popular Young Appalachian Musician program, the music festival is sponsored by Preserving Our Southern Appalachian Music Inc. (POSAM), a charitable non-profit organization. For more information on the YAM program, visit www.YAMupstate.org, call (864) 878-4257 or e-mail mcdanibw@bellsouth.net.