Shawn James

PICKENS — “Music in the Mountains 2013” will continue with the Hagood Mill hosting a special “Songwriters’ Showcase” concert with regional songwriters on Saturday, June 15.

Hosted by singer/songwriter/entertainer Gregg “Buffalo” Barfield, the free event will feature performances on the mill’s outdoor stage beginning at noon, and will include Barfield, Michael Hunter, Shawn James, Derrick Phillips and Becky Stovall.

Attendees are invited to bring a lawn chair and plan on staying a while for some great original music in different styles.

As part of the “songwriter” day, former Nashville songwriter Bobby Holliday will be screening his recent DVD, “Crown of the Carolinas” in the visitor building from noon to 3 p.m. The video is a beautiful tour of the local mountains and lakes with a soundtrack of Holliday’s original songs about the area. Holliday will also be available to answer any questions about the Nashville music business.

Bring your instrument too, as there are usually a couple of jams going on around the site. The old gristmill and other demonstrations will be running from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m.

The old water-powered 1845 gristmill is one of the finest examples of nineteenth century technology in the Upstate and operates just as it has for the last century-and-a-half. The mill will be running throughout the day. In the old mill, fresh stone-ground corn meal, grits and wheat flour will be available, as well as Hagood Mill cookbooks and a variety of other mill related items.

The Hagood Mill hosts a variety of folklife and traditional arts demonstrations each month, including blacksmithing, bowl-digging, flintknapping, chair-caning, moonshining, broom-making, basket-making, pottery, quilting, spinning, knitting, weaving, woodcarving, open-hearth cooking, metal-smithing, leather-working and more.

Show your support for the Mill and the Pickens County Museum by joining them at this monthly Third Saturday event. The Hagood Mill operates, rain or shine, the third Saturday of every month and is located just 3 miles north of Pickens or 5.5 miles south of Cherokee Foothills Scenic SC 11 off SC 178 at 138 Hagood Mill Road. Hagood Mill is open Wednesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., to tour the buildings and grounds and to visit the Mill Site Gift Shop.