With nine bands, four stages, more than 40 craft beers and countless memories to be made, the inaugural Brewgrass Reunion at Adventures on the Gorge (AOTG) June 8 and 9, 2018 is shaping up to be a “Good Un.”
The festival celebrates Appalachian folk music – “bluegrass” – along with craft beers in a classic West Virginia setting on the AOTG campus on the New River Gorge.
“I think our first raft was still wet when someone popped a beer and started strumming a guitar next to a campfire some 40 years ago,” said Dave Arnold, co-founder of AOTG and a pioneer of West Virginia rafting. “And even with band after band set up in various spots around the resort, that down home atmosphere will still be prevalent.”
The festival is sponsored by AOTG, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. and New River Gorge Convention and Visitors Bureau. The live music is free. A tasting glass that will allow guests to sample the various brews is $30 if purchased in advance and $35 at the door.
The festival kicks off Friday, June 8, at 5 p.m. with music by Andrew Adkins and Friends followed by Groundhog Gravy at 8:30 p.m. On Saturday Black King Coal will be the first band followed Lost Cannon Bluegrass Band, Poor Taters, The Masons, Will Jones Band and Neil Allen Curry. Local favorite The Wild Rumpus will wrap things up from 8:30 – 11:30 p.m. at the resort’s Rendezvous Lodge.
The Biergarten will be open on Saturday from 2 to 6 p.m.
AOTG will also offer a Brewgrass Rafting Weekend package featuring a half-day rafting the Lower New River, two nights of lodging, a tasting glass and breakfast, lunch and dinner on Saturday. Rates start at $189 per adult.
AOTG is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year after four long-time rafting outfitters merged their operations and began adding activities, dining options and a wide array of accommodations.
To reserve a package, call 1-855-379-8738.
