The second NC Bourbon & Spirits Festival on the grounds of Weldon Mills Theatre will be the first to be held outside and will be one of the last chances to hear The Steel Woods which has been on their farewell tour.
Gates open at 2 p.m. on September 28 and tickets for the 21 and over only event should be purchased directly from the theater's website, said Julie Powell of BarnBurner Promotions which has been planning the event.
The Steel Woods announced in March this would be their last tour after the death of band co-founder Jason “Rowdy” Cope in 2021. “They canceled their European tour for this fall,” Powell said.
Planning for the festival is heading in the right direction, Powell said.
Allison Askew of BarnBurner said there are 60 vendors lined up for the event that include North Carolina distilleries, artisans and food trucks.
The bull-riding simulation and ax-throwing cage will return and one of the more unique vendors will be Whiskey, Wood & Leather Beard Company which will be offering complimentary beard-trimming, Askew said.
Legacy Tobacco will feature a cigar bar where smoking is welcome.
There will be 15 North Carolina distilleries featured at the event, including some new ones.
Cape Fear Distillery will be bringing its tiki bar. “That’s like a double-decker bus with an upper deck,” Askew said.
With the event moving outside, Powell said they are bringing in a concert stage. “That’s what we wanted to do last year but once we got this (the theater) we decided to do it indoors to show that we were building up to bigger and better things.”
Powell expects attendance this year to mirror last year’s event which brought in anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 people. “There’s going to be a lot of repeats, people that came last year are coming back.”
The music
DJ Dank begins his duties at 2 p.m. after the gates open.
Two local bands, Sons of Earl and The Cove, get things started.
The Davisson Brothers Band from West Virginia. “For anybody who hasn’t seen them, they will love them,” Powell said. “They are very energetic.”
Frank Foster. “He’s been around for a while,” Powell said. He is a Louisiana native with his own record label, booking agency, and publishing company.
The Steel Woods. “I watched The Steel Woods back in ‘19,” Powell said. “I’ve seen them in Nashville twice. They’re unique. I love the way they sound. It’s just not typical, regular country music.”
While saddened the band is on its farewell tour, Powell said, “It’s exciting that we can at least bring them here so that people who love them or haven’t heard of them will get the opportunity.”
The draw
‘What made the event successful last year, Powell said, “I think this area is craving stuff like this,” with Askew adding, “More community events and something different.”
Powell said the festival offers the chance for people to experience multiple distilleries in one area.
“We had a lot of people who were big influencers put it on TikTok last year,” Powell said. “Even at shows lately, there’s one that’s here at just about every show who has about a million followers. He’s here all the time.”
There is also a person who has a bourbon channel with more than a half-million followers who is coming this year. “There’s a lot of people out here who are not close by, they’re a few hours away.”
People came from Georgia last year to attend the festival.
Askew said there will be a merchandise table this year where people can buy festival T-shirts.
There will be eight-person VIP tables for $1,000. There are also VIP tickets for $150. That gives people access to the VIP tent.
This year the distilleries and the artisan vendors will be mixed throughout the grounds, Askew said. “They’ll be focused around this field out here.”
There will be raffles held for different items.
Powell advises to use the theater’s website for tickets. “Do not go to random sites,” she said. “We’ve had a lot of issues with people buying tickets off of third-party sites.”
