Summer concerts, street dance and Music on Main announce upcoming lineups

Staff Reports
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Blue Ridge Tradition performs at the Hendersonville Visitor Center Stage at a 2019 Street Dance while Walt Puckett calls the square dance moves.
Blue Ridge Tradition performs at the Hendersonville Visitor Center Stage at a 2019 Street Dance while Walt Puckett calls the square dance moves.

The Henderson County Tourism Development Authority (HCTDA) invites the community to come to the weekly summer concerts, including the Street Dance on July 18, followed by Music on Main on Friday, July 22, both held at the Visitor Center, located at 201 S. Main St. in Hendersonville. These free, outdoor concerts are from 7-9 p.m., according to a news release from the HCTDA.

Monday’s Street Dance featuring the music of Hightop Mountain Harmony, provides the opportunity to square dance and offer a demonstration of traditional Appalachian clogging performed by the Southern Connection Clogging. Friday evening’s Music on Main concert will include the music of Gotcha Groove.

The Street Dances, which have been taking place in some fashion or another in Hendersonville for more than 100 years, are a celebration of Hendersonville’s history and culture. In recent years, they have also served to encourage people to come and dance to traditional bluegrass music while learning and taking part in the historic dances of Hendersonville and the Southern Appalachian region.

The evening’s band, Hightop Mountain Harmony, is from Fletcher, and has been performing together for four years. The band is formed by the three Drake siblings, Emily on the guitar, Ryan on the mandolin and Kylie on the banjo, and their uncle, Brandon Merrill on the bass.

The evening will also include group square dancing, led by caller (and local legend) Walt Puckett, who will help you learn the moves and ensure you have a toe-tapping good time. People of all ages are encouraged to participate in this local tradition.

Walt’s long, fabled history with square dancing gives him a unique outlook on this hobby. He has been calling square dancing for around 70 years. He developed a love for square dancing when his mother brought him to the Street Dances when he was a child, which, especially in the early days of his calling the Street Dances, in the early ‘80s, really brought things full circle for him, according to the release. Walt’s longevity and dedication also shows what a small-town Hendersonville is at its core.

Although his love for square-dancing began as a child, Walt’s interest and talents grew as he got older. “Back when I was 16, I joined a clogging team and we entered festivals all around, there were six of them. We won all six,” he continued, “The following year, we competed in all six of them again. We won again. The year after that, we went to all of them, but they would not let us dance in competition because we were winning all the time.”

After realizing that he loved performing, he thought he would try teaching as well.

“I got into western square-dancing, calling, and teaching, along with line dancing. I did a lot of that back in my younger days.” Walt continues to show his loyalty, love, and support for the Hendersonville Street Dances. “My favorite memory (of the Street Dances) is how much fun people are having out there square-dancing, that’s my fondest memory.”

Walt is aware that the popularity of square dancing has waned over the years, and in his opinion, “This generation is a little more shy. They’re more interested in watching rather than doing.” He hopes that the younger generations will see how fun and expressive square-dancing can be and, be willing to try it themselves.

Then on Friday night, Gotcha Groove, a popular seven-member group, performs a variety of R&B, soul, rock, oldies, and dance songs.

Friday evenings also offer concessions as well as Classic car shows, which are hosted by the Carolina Mountain Car Club. The car shows are held on South Main Street from Caswell Street to 1st Avenue, which will be closed to thru-traffic. For more information about the classic car shows, go to http://www.carolinamountaincarclub.com/.

The HCTDA hosts free concerts every Monday and Friday evening through Aug. 19. Each week, bring a chair, relax, and sit back to enjoy some music. Dancing, singing along, and toe tapping are encouraged; however, early admission, alcoholic beverages, backpacks and coolers are prohibited.

Monday evening concerts rotate each week between the Street Dances and Monday Night Live! Concerts, while every Friday evening offer a Music On Main concert.

In case of inclement weather, shows will be postponed until 8 p.m.; if the weather does not improve by 8pm, performances will be canceled.

For additional information or a complete concert schedule, call the Henderson County Tourism Development Authority at 828-693-9708 or go online to VisitHendersonvilleNC.org/summer-concerts.

The annual Summer Concert Series, including Music on Main, the Street Dances and Monday Night Live, is an event organized by the HCTDA. The entire series is sponsored by Blue Ridge Hospitality Group, Burger King, Firehouse Subs, Hendokickboxing & Krav Maga, Kathy Watkins of Preferred Realty, and Mast General Store.

This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Summer concerts, street dance and Music on Main announce upcoming lineups