Entertainment Announced for CarolinaFest 2012
- The Blue Dogs: After 25 years of playing shows and releasing 9 CDs and 2 DVDs, the Blue Dogs continue to perform up to 100 shows a year. The Charleston, S.C.-based band has performed their Americana and country-rock music throughout the southeast and across the country, performing on the same stage with such well-known and diverse artists as Willie Nelson, Widespread Panic, Bruce Hornsby, and Little Feat. While the band is considered bluegrass by many, they run the gamut stylistically, flexing their country and pop muscles, but then also weaving the bluegrass sensibility that goes back to the band’s beginnings, while also managing to incorporate African djembe drums into some of their shows.
- Chairmen of the Board: Formed in 1969 in Detroit, Chairmen of the Board emerged as a prominent R&B group after the release of their hit “Give Me Just a Little More Time” in 1970. The song reached number three on the pop chart. Since then, the band has become a prominent part of the Southeast beach music circuit with soulful hits like “Pay to the Piper,” “(You’ve Got Me) Dangling on a String,” and “Carolina Girls.”
- Simplified: With raucous guitar riffs, velvety vocals and hook-laden melodies, Simplified has been hailed as one of music’s most interesting and, ironically, most complex bands on the circuit today. Described as “funky, reggae, roots rock & roll,” the rollicking quartet has not only stunned critics with their intricate songwriting and versatile stage show but also managed to create a sound all on their own—from the writing, recording and even the distribution of their four albums. In just eight years since the band’s inception, Simplified has performed more than 2,500 shows.
- West End Mambo: Formed in 1999, West End Mambo is comprised of musicians from North, South, and Central America, as well as the Caribbean. This nine-piece band performs a fiery mix of classic salsa from bolero and rumbas to guaracha and son muntuno. Their repertoire includes original orchestral salsa arrangements that they have performed with the Winston-Salem and Greensboro Symphonies.
MAIN STAGE SCHEDULE
- 12:00 PM: Opening Ceremonies Parade featuring Johnson C. Smith Marching Band
- 12:05 PM: National Anthem: Anthony Hamilton
- 12:20 PM – 1:00 PM: Janelle Monáe
- 2:05 PM – 2:40 PM: Simplified
- 3:40 PM – 4:25 PM: Jeff Bridges
- 5:15 PM – 6:15 PM: James Taylor
CAROLINA STAGE SCHEDULE
- 1:05 PM – 1:50 PM: Blue Dogs
- 2:45 PM – 3:00 PM: Radio Disney
- 3:00 PM – 3:30 PM: West End Mambo
- 4:30 PM – 5:05 PM: Chairman of the Board
