Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF), celebrates its 20th festival! Come enjoy LEAF May 13-15 and October 14-16 in Black Mountain , NC .

A state of mind ... and more. Memphis in May hosts the city's largest events like the Beale Street Music Festival, the World Championship Barbecue Cooking Contest and the Sunset Symphony.

MerleFest is held each year on the campus of Wilkes Community College 1328 S. Collegiate Drive; Wilkesboro, NC 28697

Deerfields is located in Mills River, NC - 20 miles south of Asheville. The venue features 940 acres of mountain heaven with camping, hiking, orchards, mountain biking and two lakeside stages.

SUMMERFEST - THE WORLD'S LARGEST MUSIC FESTIVAL

Welcome to the Telluride Blues & Brews Festival, held every September in Telluride, Colorado. The festival features three days of world-renowned musicians performing live on the famous Telluride Town Park stage, late night jams in the local juke joints,

The Rib America Festival is a fun filled family event featuring award winning BBQ, live entertainment from national, regional and local talent, and more!

The big news this week - just in case you live in a cave or somehow missed the boat on Beatlemania - is the Heavy Rebel Weekender in Winston-Salem. We've got a cover story about it this week, so you don't need to turn to me for the details. There are a couple rad Independence Day shows, but otherwise it's a light week. Apparently, musicians and club owners like to take some time off for holidays too. Also, significantly, Elliott's Revue in Winston-Salem has taken a summer break on booking shows, and Garage owner Richard Emmett is getting busy with the Eastern Music Festival Fringe series.

The June heat is rising off the asphalt and the telephone wires are buzzing. No room for anything but the essentials here. "The Moravians' Passion for Music" features performances by JF Peter and W. Piecl, and Andrew Willis and Gesa Kordes at Calvary Moravian Church in Winston-Salem on Wednesday, while "The Excitement of Improvisation" features performances by violinist Ingrid Matthews, harpsichordist Joe Gasho, lute and theorbo player John Lenti, cellist Nika Zlatzric, recorder player Justin Godoy and soprano Ah Hong at Gray Auditorium in the Old Salem Visitors Center.

In the midst of playing the mountain vacation spots, Greensboro folksinger Bruce Piephoff is working on a book of song lyrics and poems called Fiddlers and Middlers that will be illustrated by his son, David, and released eventually by Yonno Press. He also reports that he's completed a new cycle of songs for a record called Clockwork, which pretty much describes his work pace.