Message from Founder & Producing Artistic Director, Christopher Dolman

Welcome to the 2023 Lake Lure Music Festival (LLMF).  This summer we are bringing the highly acclaimed and award-winning bluegrass band Appalachian Road Show to the lake at Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure. This celebrated group has been exciting audiences and fans as they help tell the rich history of bluegrass music and its ties to Appalachia. Building on the success of our A Night on Broadway and A Night of Mozart + concerts in the summer of 2022, we are continuing to produce distinct and extraordinary music for our audiences. 

While it was the beauty of Western Carolina that originally brought my wife, Cathi, and I to the area, it has been the people we’ve met and gotten to know and their dedication to the betterment of our community through volunteering, charitable giving, service to foundations and community boards that has inspired us and led us to put down roots in Lake Lure and create the festival.

No venture in the arts gets done without the enormous effort of countless people, many who are donating their time and resources to bring you our concerts.  They rarely get the recognition they deserve and so I would ask you to click the link of our LLMF Festival Committee and read the names of all our amazing members, your friends and neighbors, who have worked hundreds of hours to produce the Festival. 

I also would like to thank the Lake Lure Community Education Foundation for partnering with us and being our presenting sponsor, as well as our sponsors, community partners, Town of Lake Lure, Hickory Nut Chamber and our venues and their staffs who have also been essential to the success of our programs.  Please take a look at our Sponsorship page and other areas of our site and note the generosity of our community.

We look forward to your joining us on Saturday, June 10, 2023, for an exceptional night of music, on the beautiful shores of Lake Lure at Rumbling Bald on Lake Lure Pavilion. With an eye towards the future, it is the goal of the LLMF to produce unique concerts with diverse artists and musical styles, while continuing our strong commitment to support organizations such as the LLCA that benefit and enhance the lives of those living in the Hickory Nut Gorge.