Indigo Girls: Georgia legends raise their voices
Sautee Jamboree music festival
When: 7 p.m. Friday-Saturday
Where: Sautee Nacoochee Center, Ga. 255, Sautee Nacoochee
Schedule of performers: Friday, Mosier Brothers 7 p.m., Roxie Watson 8 p.m., Indigo Girls 9:30 p.m.; Saturday, Davin McCoy 12:15 p.m., Lingo 1:30 p.m., Shane Pruitt 3 p.m., Mosier Brothers 4:30 p.m., Sonia Leigh 6 p.m., Rosie Ledet and The Zydeco Playboys 8 p.m., Michelle Malone 10 p.m.
Tickets: $35. Free camping.
More info: Sautee Nacoochee Community Association, 706-878-3300
The Sautee Jamboree offers a weekend of world-class music in a cozy starlit setting.
This weekend's fifth annual festival features the Indigo Girls headlining Friday night and Grammy-nominated roots rocker Michelle Malone on Saturday. The rest of the lineup includes renowned performers playing everything from bluegrass to blues and country rock to zyedeco.
The festival takes place on the grounds of the Sautee Nacoochee Center, a rolling campus of renovated historic school buildings where "historic preservation, history, environmentalism, and the arts come together creating the center of the Sautee community," as SNC arts program director and Jamboree cofounder Tommy Deadwyler puts it.
The SNC is maintained by the Sautee Nacoochee Community Association, a grassroots organization that formed some 30 years ago. SNCA has earned national preservation awards and the community has been designated among the 100 Best Small Arts Towns in America.
The SNCA's resources including studios, a theatre, arts programs for children and adults, a gallery and the Folk Pottery Museum of Northeast Georgia.
Although the Sautee Jamboree has grown steadily over the past five years, it retains a close-knit community spirit.
"Small festivals give the patron the opportunity for a more intimate experience, something you don't get at large festivals," Deadwyler said. "You can actually have an opportunity to meet the artists."
He said ticket sales to this year's Jamboree are limited to 1,000 and are nearly sold out.
With the Indigo Girls on the bill, the festival is certainly getting more attention this year and the Jamboree offers a rare opportunity to catch the duo in a cozy starlit setting.
"We have wanted them to play at the center for some time and we are so grateful that they are helping us in our efforts to keep the arts and environmentalism alive in our community," Deadwyler said.
Jamboree attendees are invited to camp on the grounds. Festivities include art vendors, food, beer and wine, and a pancake breakfast on Saturday morning.
"We have so much talent that will be onstage this weekend. Every artist is amazing and I wouldn't want to miss anyone on the bill," Deadwyler said.