OBX Brewfest: Tasty Tunes and Cold Beers on a Sunny Sunday
What happens when you combine about 60 craft brewers from all over the country, four live bands and a sunny day in coastal North Carolina? The Second Annual Outer Banks Brewfest! It was a beautiful day (Sunday, June 5) on the edge of the Abermarle Sound with everything you needed in one great event. Hype Promotions brought drinks, food, music and people together to produce a wonderful affair that will have event-goers eagerly looking forward to next year.
There were rows upon rows of beer and cider vendors from breweries with names such as Devils Backbone, Alligash, and Bhrameri. Beer names like Hogwild IPA, Summer Love, and Briney Melon Gose. They had interesting ingredients of acorns, blood oranges and exotic hops. The breweries came from as far away as Kalamazoo and the great state of Colorado to OBX breweries, literally right down the road. The always smiling and knowledgeable vendors happily doled out their libations into our four-ounce tasting glasses and offered plenty of swag to take home.
The food vendors were well represented and had colorful names such as Capt’n Crabby and Screaming Sicilian Pizza. The VIP ticket holders were treated to a delicious free meal from the Outer Banks Taco Bar and had a welcoming tent to find a comfortable seat, some more beer, and their own air-conditioned rest rooms. They had a gorgeous extra-large hammock to swing in, and there were Eno hammocks available to both GA and VIP ticker holders alike. It was one big party for the almost three thousand attendees, and then the music kicked it up a notch.
If you’ve been in OBX and ever caught some music at a local bar or restaurant, chances are you saw the hard-working trio Formula. This rock band is comprised of Matt Hoggard on guitar and vocals, Jason Rivera on bass, and Jayson Hicks on the drums. This band has played at nearly every Mustang Music Festival, and, when not playing and singing you can catch Matt and his team running sound, as they did for this year’s Brewfest. After a great start with some of their original work, they invited The Heard’s trumpet player Parris Fleming up to add a little brass to their sound. They had a great set and were the perfect choice to get the dancing started.
“The Heard is a funk machine venerated for its deep pocket, authentic grooves, and reverence for legendary funk”. This talented group from Chicago certainly showed the Outer Banks how to get down. I first caught this group at Bear Creek 2014 and loved their sound. With the front line of Parris Fleming on trumpet, Lucas Ellman on sax, and the body-painted Bryant Smith on trombone, these guys had a full-bodied sound and truly showed us how funk is done.
The Appalachian Psychedelic Bluegrass trio Keller and the Keels is one of many ensembles Keller Williams has created. This band has Keller, joined by flat-picking legend Larry Keel on guitar and his wife Jenny Keel on upright bass. They seem to be able to pick and strum at the speed of light. Everyone seemed to love their mountain sound as the music crowd got noticeably larger as they took the stage. Their repertoire takes you from hard-charging, foot-stomping instrumentals to haunting, mellifluous vocals. No need for percussion in this group as creative vocals seem to fill that void with ease. Keller seems to morph effortlessly and change genres in his many groups and is truly an iconic American musician.
The Grammy-nominated band SOJA took the stage for the final show as the wind picked up and storm clouds could be seen in the distance. The philosophy behind this band’s music is to stick up for the human race and to make the world better. This eight-piece reggae group took the stage as the crowd offered some serious love. They entertained us with their wonderful sound and persuasive, inspiring vocals. It was the perfect end to a perfect day.
If you can’t wait until next year, no problem! Join MusicFestNews next Saturday in Leesburg, VA for the Americana Beer + Music Fest. Here’s the link:
