Carter Fold set for 2024 season with 'special shows' to come

HILTONS, Va. — The Carter Family Fold will celebrate 50 years of music at the foot of Clinch Mountain in Hiltons, Virginia. And just one of the ways the music center aims to celebrate the anniversary is with a special show each month throughout its 2024 season.The Carter Fold recently released part of its 2024 season, which starts in March and ends in November.Carson Peters & Iron Mountain will kick-start the Fold's season on Saturday, March 2.The band is led by Peters, who is a Piney Flats native featured on the hit singing show "The Voice," where he warranted a four-chair turn from John Legend, Ariana Grande, Kelly Clarkson and his future coach on the show, country star Blake Shelton.Peters grew up with a fiddle in his hand from the age of 3, with performances throughout his childhood on the Grand Ole Opry stage and on national television shows such as "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" and Steve Harvey's "Little Big Shots." Peters and Iron Mountain signed a record deal in 2023 with Billy Blue Records, which will allow Peters and the band to continue its bluegrass music while giving Peters room to release solo country tunes as well.Other returning Carter Fold favorites on the schedule include the high-energy bluegrass band, the Hogslop String Band, the McLain Family Band and more.The Fold will also offer a few "special" shows, said Carter Fold Executive Director Rita Forrester, the granddaughter of A.P. and Sara Carter of the Carter Family. Some of those shows already appear on the schedule, such as Seldom Scene on March 23 and the Appalachia Rising show with the Lonesome River Band and Volume Five on April 27. Meanwhile, others are yet to be announced."We plan to have a special show each month, " Forrester said. "We've got them in the works."The special shows are planned in celebration of the Carter Family Fold's 50th anniversary, which will also be celebrated with its annual Carter Family Memorial Festival, held each year to honor the legacy of the Carter Family and the famed Bristol Sessions that took place from July 25 through Aug. 5, 1927.This year's festival will be held Saturday, Aug. 3. Few details are solidified, Forrester said — but then again, the Fold is known for surprise guests — and the occasional musical family member."I know the governor is planning on coming to that one," Forrester said. "I think some of the officials plan to be there. And I want to have some of the Carters represented. That's my hope."The Carter Family Memorial Music Center is a nonprofit organization featuring weekly old-time country and folk music at 3449 A.P. Carter Highway in Hiltons, Virginia. For more information on the Carter Fold or for tickets, go to www.carterfamilyfold.org.The Schedule• March 2: Carson Peters & Iron Mountain• March 9: Empty Bottle String Band• March 16: Hogslop String Band• March 17: "The Velveteen Rabbit" (Play from the Barter Players)• March 23: The Seldom Scene• March 30: Whitetop Mountain Band• April 6: J.P. Mathes and Fiddling Leona with friends (with an opening tribute to Bill Clifton)• April 13: McLain Family with special guest Mike Stevens• April 20: The Brother Boys and Friends• April 27: Appalachia Rising featuring Volume Five and Lonesome River Band• May 4: Crooked Road Ramblers• May 11: Robirohi (bluegrass band from Estonia)• May 18: Hogslop String Band• May 25: Twin Creeks Stringband with the J. Creek Cloggers• June 1: The Blue Ridge Opry• June 8: Leftover Biscuits• June 15: Nobody's Business• June 22: Uncle Shuffelo and the Haint Hollow Hootenany• June 29: Carson Peters & Iron Mountain