Asheville Music Jamboree

I have began a blog transformation, or shall I say, redirection of my input. Please note that I am a real estate broker and that my primary purpose of this blog has been to inform the public as to the real estate market in Asheville. After much consideration, I have came to the conclusion that this blog will be better suited for Asheville information in general. I am therefore throwing in my towel as a local once a week and treating myself as an Asheville tourist. I hope that the insights from my experience can help you to better understand the unique culture that we have here in Asheville. Please feel free to contact me regarding any real estate questions that you might have. You can also visit my website for lots of other Asheville information. www.brianbeasley.net

This weeks topic: The Asheville Music Jamboree, aka, AmJAM

I have been hearing a lot of good things about this festival and have missed it the last few years. Having been an avid supporter of the music scene for many years, I thought I would take the weekend off and see what it’s all about.

The venue is very nice. For those that do not live around here and absorb the mountains on a daily basis, it would be considered extraordinary. Being in the real estate business, I had heard about this property before. As many of you know, large land tracts around Asheville are now almost extinct with the surge in development over the past 10 years. This particular piece of property, referred to as “Deerfields” has remained unspoiled. They have 940 acres of mountain wilderness that contains several ponds for swimming (very refreshing when it gets hot), primitive camping, several cabins, and RV camping. They have added a main stage for musical performances which seems to be much nicer than many other outdoor venues I have attended. My fiance and I camped in an apple orchard, directly beside the smaller pond. This was a great spot. We could hear all of the music clearly from the tent which was a plus except for the 5:00 am drum circle alarm clock. The parking is a mile or so outside of the stage area. They run shuttle buses for people and follow them with a Uhaul for all camping supplies. That worked out good. My overall experience with the Deerfields venue was superb and I give it two thumbs up. Check out there site: www.deerfields.com

The festival organization was an overall good experience as well. The ticket prices were hefty and I even complained at first. After the weekend was over, I felt as if I had gotten my money’s worth. This feeling was a combination of the musical enjoyment and the ability to bring in your own cooler. Almost every outdoor festival venue that I have ever been to will not let you bring your own beverages through the gate. They would rather sell you a $5 beer or a $3 bottle of water. At this festival, you could come and go as you pleased and they did not sell alcohol. I’m sure that this ability to save money counteracts the ticket pricing. The line up for this year was good. I enjoyed seeing Larry and Jenny Keel with the Acoustic Syndicate brothers under the name “Keel and McMurray Farms”. It was a lot of fun as well as Burning Spear, Gov’t Mule, and many others. I give the overall music experience two thumps up although next year I would like to see more acoustic/bluegrass acts. Hey, it is Western NC.

You can check out the AmJam site at www.amjam.net or link to their page via my site: www.brianbeasley.net