This year’s Texas Blueberry Festival gets an early start with a new Friday night concert, the Blueberry Bluegrass Concert in the Park, from 5 to 10 p.m. June 12 at Banita Creek Park North in Nacogdoches. Rex Perry Autoplex is sponsoring the family-friendly event that will feature five musical acts: The Steve Hartz Family Band, The Coursey Family Band, The Blake Brothers Bluegrass Band, The Bottom Dollar String Band and Catahoula Drive.
The concert starts at 5 p.m. with a local act, the Steve Hartz Family Band, with Old Time String Shop proprietor Steve Hartz, his wife Sheryl and their daughter Sidney Rose. The Coursey Family Band, a three-generation band from North Texas that features a 13-year old fiddle player and a 7-year-old singer/guitarist, performs at 6 p.m. The Blake Brothers Bluegrass Band, a high-energy bluegrass group from Shreveport, performs at 7 p.m., and The Bottom Dollar String Band, a contemporary bluegrass band from Austin, performs at 8 p.m. The headliner, Cataholoua Drive, takes the stage at 9 p.m. This Pineville, La. four-piece is looking to the future of bluegrass music while keeping true to tradition, and was a finalist in the 2014 Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of American Band Contest.
First Baptist Church is partnering with concert organizers to provide convenient and accessible parking for the event. The concert will also feature food vendors and lots of water, and organizers encourage music fans to bring blankets and lawn chairs to enjoy the wide-open spaces in the park. The event is family-friendly, so no coolers or alcohol will be allowed in the park.
The Texas Blueberry Festival presented by Brookshire Brothers continues Saturday with a full day of activities in downtown Nacogdoches, including a blueberry pancake breakfast, competitions and more live entertainment. For more information, visit tbf.nacogdoches.org/ or call 936-560-5533.
