Appalachian Saint Andrew's Pipe & Drum Corps
ASAP&D is one of the newest bagpipe bands in the Southern Appalachians. The band was started and is currently sponsored by the Appalachian Saint Andrew’s Society of Young Harris, GA. The band’s mission is dedicated to the perpetuation of authentic Scottish pipe and drums music, and striving for musical perfection at both the individual and band level. It participates in numerous highland games in Georgia and North Carolina, most notably ceremonies at the 2007 Stone Mountain Highland Games in Atlanta, and the Blairsville Scottish Festival & Highland Games in Blairsville, GA. It is rapidly becoming a standard at many parades, ceremonies and festivities throughout north GA and western NC. In line with its mission, if offers free instruction to all ages on the Great Highland Bagpipes and Regimental Drums to both beginners and experienced musicians alike. The band is under the expert direction of Pipe Major R. D. “Roy” McKee of Blairsville.
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Bella Musica
Bella Musica is a notably respected and sought after professional string ensemble based in Northeast Georgia.  Highly trained and degreed musicians, this group has played together for over fifteen years.


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Buzzard Mountain Boys
Joe Bob Matteson and Jim Bob White are the Bob Brothers and they are The Buzzard Mountain Boys. These two guys play an amusing selection of Bother Duet, Bluegrass and Old-Time music, interspersed with enough corny humor to warm your heart and take you back to the days of the traveling minstrels!  Both musicians are residents of Lumpkin County and are fixtures in the North Georgia traditional music community and heavily involved in the promotion of Appalachian Music.  

They recently...
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Julia Carroll
HaRd FoLk... hUh?!?

Julia Carroll has been an active participant in the indie music scene since her debut record "2 Cents" was released in 2004.  Since that time, she has added a few more notches to her belt of live performances, including numerous songwriter showcases (Indiegrrl, GoGirls, Smith's Olde Bar), playing the stages of many of the southeast's premier listening rooms (Eddie's Attic, The Loft Live, Sentient Bean, The Crimson Moon), all the while gathering a slew of devoted HardFolk fans.


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Arlo Finch
Arlo Finch is part of the rich clump of singer song writers around Atlanta. He plays a Spanish strung guitar and claims to eat fried chicken every day. He performs his own music in bars, music halls, churches, on live radio shows, for real nice folks at record labels, has been on stages from TX to TN and once in the Ukraine at a prison...And now Three Sisters Vineyards & Winery. Arlo was raised small town southern and educated in government schools. He learned to play guitar from a HONKEYTOUNK singer in a newspaper warehouse on lunch brakes. Arlo Finch thinks and is thankful that song writing is a God given insanity and says he is presently seeking wisdom and a fine pair of shoes. So if you like to breath easy , just feed the dog , crank the car & come as you are to see and hear Arlo Finch.

The Georgia Waybacks
The Georgia Waybacks are a group of talented musicians from different back grounds but all with a love for music , very high energy  group, but also do suttle ballads, from oldies of  the 60`s to rock from the 70`s till now , how about some Johnny Cash! ,Bruce Springsteen, blues , blue grass , they do it all, a very laid back group, that will be loved by all! check us out at www.myspace.com/gawayback

Gypsy Hicks
The Gypsy Hicks play 1930's swing in the style of the Hot Club of Paris made famous by legendary guitarist Django Reinhart. With violin, accordion, banjo, and guitars, the Gypsy Hicks re-create the sound of French bistros and cabarets where this blend of musette, gitane, and "le jazz hot" originated. True to their name, the trio sifts in a dash of roots Americana such as ragtime, blues, and novelty songs.  Group members include Mick Kinney on fiddle, guitar and melodica; Evan Kinney on guitar and accordion; and Kirk Mcalpin on lead guitar. The Gypsy Hicks are currently working on recording a full length album to be released soon.

Curtis Jones
Curtis Jones, A.K.A Cortini has traveled the world for the past 15 years performing his original music, and amazing crowds with his phenomenal guitar playing. Curtis spent seven years on the road as a member of the Schankman Twins band  "now Malibu Storm" and also a full time member of the superpicking group Bluegrass ETC. Now residing in North Georgia and active in the Atlanta music scene, Curtis and Holly's music features elements of Flamenco, Gypsy,  Bluegrass, Jazz, Classical and more.

Sarah Dan Jones
After nearly 10 years at the Georgia Mountains UU Church in Dahlonega, GA, Sarah Dan is currently serving as the Music Director at Northwest UU Church in Atlanta. Active as a composer, clinician, and speaker, Sarah Dan has presented workshops around the country on Effective
Songleading, and Growing Music Programs Within UU Congregations... 
Additionally,
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L.D. & Marty Nix
Lisa Deaton can sing the birds out of the trees! LD, as most call her, was born in North Carolina and began her singing career in church. She attended college in Cleveland, Ga. and began to sing with groups "when they would let me". Her wonderful voice, sense of humor, arranging skill and steady bass and guitar work are indispensable to several groups in North Georgia. She has performed with The Georgia Mudcats, Muligan Stew and the Solstice Sisters. Lisa has two CD's to her credit, recorded with Tom Ryan and British guitarist, Steve Hicks.

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Mulligan Stew
The Georgia musical group Mulligan Stew presents a healthy portion of traditional Irish, Celtic, and Appalachian music for winery visitors. The members of this savory musical trio are Tom Ryan, Jim O'Connor and Lisa Deaton.


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Cindy Musslewhite & Friends
Cindy Musslewhite & Friends are Tony Duck, Jason Michael and Cindy Musslewhite. Together, these three musicians will take you back to a simpler time with good old-tyme fiddle tunes, songs of their bluegrass heroes as well as their own original material.

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Outside Agitators & Gravy
Originally the Tator Brothers Jug Band from Mobile, until they were ejected from a local "Hoot Nanny" fundraiser for a Masonic Lodge just east of Birmingham...The Outside Agitators haven't appeared "on" a stage since that time in 1963. In fact, they refuse.
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Queen Deaton and the Hot Dates
For a royally good musical journey, come take a trip with Queen Deaton and the Hot Dates.  If you want to hear blues, jazz, country, folk, rock’n’roll, bluegrass, traditional – we got it.  We seek to please everyone in our listening kingdom.

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Tim Quigley
Tim Quigley  will also perform during the festival this year. Quigley is a Georgia singer/songwriter who plays a mix of original songs with some classic soft rock, folk and Irish tunes. A former member of the contemporary Irish / Americana band, JP Folk,. his CD, Stationmaster, features original tunes plus songs by songwriters David Mallett and Jonathan Byrd, who have influenced his work.

Rising Appalachia
RISING APPALACHIA's Leah and Chloe Smith grew up in the bosom of the Southern Appalachian music renaissance. Born to a fiddlin' mother and a guitar pickin' father, they were raised with old-time melodies and contra dances as their lullabies long before mention of the sound tracks of Oh Brother Where Art Thou and Cold Mountain.
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Spies of LIfe
Featuring the emotional, soaring vocals of PATTY ROBBINS-ALBIGESE, SPIES OF LIFE is an truly a melting pot of Folk, Soul, and  "songs from the road less travelled".  Pianist LOU SIMMONS and multi-instumentalist JOHN TYLER  began performing in 1969 under the name LIGHT BRIGADE, winning both the Atlanta and Georgia State BATTLE OF THE BANDS, and started singing with PATTY,forming the ROCK MOUNTAIN BAND in... 
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Route 66
Originally formed as "The West Wind" in 1966 with members Jim Carriker (bass), Lauren Connell (percussion/vocals) and Shane Atwell (guitar/vocals) and others, the band actually took 35 years off to pursue other things. A reunion occurred in September 03 and a one time jam session led to the reformation of the group under it's new name which honors the year of the original band's formation and the musical "road" the members, old and new, have travelled.


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Elise Witt & Mick Kinney
Group leader singer-guitarist ELISE WITT was born in Switzerland, raised in North Carolina, and since 1977 has made her home in Atlanta. She speaks fluent Italian, French, German, Spanish, and English and sings in at least a dozen languages...
As one of his fellow musicians recently declared, "MICK KINNEY can play anything on any instrument!"  In concert as well as on his new CD, "Nothing Left to Chance," composer/lyricist Mick Kinney plays fiddle, piano, banjo, guitar, accordion, lap steel, and anything else
he can get his hands on...
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Vaguely Vegas
In the fall of 2004 Mike Ewbank and Tommy Dean, two mainstays of the Georgia music scene, were hired to work an event with a Las Vegas theme. They called Ken Gregory to play trumpet, valved trombone and guitar and added Omar Martinez to swing on drums and christened the quartet "Vaguely Vegas."


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LD & The Blind Dates