A pair of Orange County festivals are joining forces to create a new event this fall — featuring local music and people’s favorite Southern meals.
The organizers of Acme’s Salt & Smoke festival and Sonark Media’s Harvest Festival announced Tuesday the inaugural Salt & Smoke & Sound Festival, which will be held on Saturday, Oct. 18 at Blackwood Farm Park from 12:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Steven Raets — the founder and CEO of Sonark Media — and Acme’s chef and owner Kevin Callaghan joined 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck on the air to unveil the partnership described as “where the culinary arts meet its musical heart.”
“Salt & Smoke & Sound features renowned chefs, pitmasters, and brewers, alongside a curated lineup of musicians and performers,” said Raets. “Our goal is to deliver top-tier live music and food and to bring this community together annually for a day outdoors.”
Raets launched the Harvest Festival in 2024, aiming to create a family-friendly festival to highlight local musicians alongside food trucks and craft vendors. He built out the festival using Sonark’s network of musicians, as the audio-video team has built out an impressive rolodex of collaborations since evolving from Bunker Sound and constructing the recording studio in rural Orange County. Meanwhile, Salt & Smoke was a mainstay festival run by Callaghan and his Carrboro restaurant team before COVID-19 postponed it for three years. It returned in 2024 — and brought Callaghan and Raets together, as the festival was held at Sonark’s performance and taping space “The Barn” known for its music series on PBS-TV.
Callaghan said from the food side of things, the new festival will be continuing what Salt & Smoke fans have come to love. Acme and a team of other local chefs and food trucks will offer the dining alongside a variety of craft beer and spirit-free options.
“We introduced Salt & Smoke over ten years ago as an annual party featuring barbecue, oysters, beer and music,” he said. “A pandemic and other life events derailed things for a few years so we’re excited to bring it back in partnership with Steven and Sonark. Trust us, you’ll still ‘Get Your South On’ but in a larger setting with even more great food and music.”
Blackwood Farm Park — which hosted the Harvest Festival — is located between Chapel Hill and Hillsborough off North Carolina Highway 86. A major renovation completed in 2023 saw the county-run facility add an amphitheater, picnic shelters and restrooms to the 152-acre property as it aims to host events and be a more visitor-friendly space.
“I keep telling everyone in our area, we have no clue how important that park could become for our community,” Raets told 97.9 The Hill. “It is a phenomenal location, it is a beautiful park, we can expand the festival over time. People don’t realize, that park is actually bigger than [where the] Glastonbury [Festival in England is held] and it’s just sitting there.
“So, I think we can do something meaningful for our community there,” he concluded, “and what is better than to bring people music and food together? I think [those are] the basic elements of life.”
Gracing the stage at Salt & Smoke & Sound will be a variety of bands, which Raets announced on Tuesday, with the Burlington-based rocker outfit Big Something leading the lineup. They’ll be joined by The Tan & Sober Gentlemen, Rissi Palmer, Diali Cissokho & Kaira Ba, Nothing Good, Ben Sollee, and My Brother’s Keeper, with the festival organizers saying additional acts may join the ticket.
Starting Tuesday, tickets for the Salt & Smoke & Sound Festival are on sale. Individual tickets — which do not cover food and drinks — are $39 each. The festival also offering an Early Bird Full Car Package for $99, which includes four tickets and guaranteed on-site parking for one vehicle.
Featured photo via the Salt & Smoke & Sound Festival.
Chapelboro.com does not charge subscription fees, and you can directly support our efforts in local journalism here. Want more of what you see on Chapelboro? Let us bring free local news and community information to you by signing up for our newsletter.
A Pair of Local Festivals Combine to Create ‘Salt & Smoke & Sound’ in Orange County Chapelboro.com.
Read More Details
Finally We wish PressBee provided you with enough information of ( A Pair of Local Festivals Combine to Create ‘Salt & Smoke & Sound’ in Orange County )
Also on site :