News & Events

Ah, summer! It’s the season we dream about all year long. Full of endless sun and limitless fun. In the mountains of Western North Carolina, this is the time of year when warm lazy days stretch on into cool starlit nights, painting the perfect setting for outdoor festivities with friends. This is the season for open-air gatherings. And nothing brings people together like live music!

If you’re one of the lucky ones visiting – or living — in the charming mountain towns of North Carolina this summer, you’ll no doubt want to visit Hickory, one of North Carolina’s most enticing summer destination spots. And you’ll definitely want to add the 5th Annual Sails Summer Concert Series to your list of not-to-be missed things to do in Hickory North Carolina on a Friday night.

What started out as “an idea for a modest little music series,” according to Sails Summer Concert Series founder Bob Sinclair, “has become a highly regarded musical event that attracts people from across the state.”

Each Friday in May, June, and September, friends old and new set up blankets and lawn chairs at the Sails on the Square – an outdoor venue the locals affectionately refer to as “Hickory’s downtown living room” – to sample live music from a variety of bands, singer/songwriters, and musical artists. This lineup of hand-picked talent ranges from Grammy winners to up-and-comers, from Hickory’s own to artists from cities and towns from across the United States. Performances start at 6:30 p.m., and the musical numbers keep playing on well past sunset.

Concert-goers are praising the 2017 lineup as “awesome,” “fantastic,” “an eclectic mix” of “top-shelf bands.” They love that the unique variety of music featured in the Sails Summer Concert Series has definite adult appeal but is also family friendly. This is just one reason the concert series keeps growing in popularity year after year, building on its own success with Hickory locals and mountain music-lovers across Western North Carolina.

Take a look at the lineup that’s yet to come in the 2017 series:

·       June 16: THE FRETLESS – musically eclectic maestros

·       June 23: CARAVAN OF THIEVES – rollicking mayhem

·       June 30: DANIELLE HOWLE – Miss amazing

·       Sept 1:   FREE PLANET RADIO – world music manifested

·       Sept 8:   BIG SANDY & HIS FLYRITE BOYS – Los Angeles rockabillyists

·       Sept 15:  WESTERN CENTURIES – newly imagined country, rhythm and Blues

·       Sept 22:  MILE TWELVE – new chambergrass darlings

·       Sept 29:  ADAM LEVY – guitar hero, song maker

This year, Olde Hickory Brewery and Silver Fork Winery will be selling beer and wine to concert goers in designated areas. And if you work up an appetite from all that dancing under the Sails, you’ll want to dip in to one of the nearby foodie-friendly restaurants, cafés, or gastropubs in beautiful Downtown Hickory.

If your idea of the perfect ending to a long, lazy summer week includes good food, good beer and wine (locally crafted!), and an evening of toe-tapping fun with your posse of mountain-loving friends, it’s time to head to Hickory and treat yourself to this series of vibrant, energetic, fresh, and inspiring music from distinctive bands throughout the region. Who knows… you may discover the next great act to sweep the nation, grab a Grammy, or appear on late-night TV. It’s been known to happen!

That’s because music in the mountains is a cherished part of the regional lifestyle. And while we love our traditional Blue Ridge style (bluegrass, jazz, country, rockabilly), we’re always on the lookout for new, homegrown talent. Over the years, this area has inspired some of the most prolific bluegrass artists and musicians in the United States. And it continues to influence a whole new generation of passionate musicians who find their muse in the majestic mountains of the Blue Ridge.

It’s the call of the mountains that attracts so many artists, musicians, and those of us who love all-things-beautiful-and-outdoorsy to explore North Carolina mountain real estate. Year after year, lured by the relaxing but vibrant mountain lifestyle, visitors and tourists turn into neighbors and friends. The custom-built luxury log homes of Hickory, the charming mountain homes near Asheville, and the gorgeous mountain-river properties in Lenoir all play a part in attracting people to the mountains and foothills of Western North Carolina. These gems of North Carolina mountain real estate have to be seen to be believed. They offer mountain living at its most glorious, and make the lure of the foothills almost impossible to resist.

Nestled along the Johns River adjacent to Wilson Creek – just an hour’s drive from Downtown Hickory – sits our gorgeous gated community called The Coves Mountain River Club. Talk about the best of both worlds! This is both mountain and river living, a rarity that’s truly coveted by nature lovers. Situated along 3,200 acres of flora-rich riverfront property, The Coves comes fully loaded with above-and-beyond amenities, including 39 miles of hiking and biking trails, a beautifully tended community garden and vineyard, an elegant equestrian center with handsomely groomed pastures, and a spectacular two-story mountaintop neighborhood lodge that offers jaw-dropping 360-degree views of the surrounding mountains, river, creeks, and waterfalls.

The Coves’ Pisgah Mountain Lodge has a wrap-around porch that welcomes neighbors to its wooden rocking chairs with the promise of a front-row seat to long-range views of Grandfather Mountain. This is the spot where folks will gather to talk about the live band they just heard in Downtown Hickory under The Sails, or share a story about that fabulous find from the antique store in Asheville. This is the place where memories are made. And it’s the place you’ll want to call home.

The Coves is ideally located in Lenoir, North Carolina in the Blue Ridge foothills, with easy access to surrounding mountain towns, including Hickory, Asheville, Blowing Rock, and Morganton.

Call us at 828.754.0700 to schedule your visit to The Coves. We can help you arrange an itinerary so your tour of The Coves coincides with your favorite band’s performance at the Sails Summer Concert Series!

If you’re exploring the area for the first time, ask for our 70 page complimentary Western North Carolina Visitor’s Guide which provides more information about living in the foothills.