If you ask a native Highlander of a certain age what he or she used to do for entertainment in this seemingly sleepy town, chances are they’ll look to a faraway horizon for the briefest of pauses, get a wry smile on their face, and softly mention Helen’s Barn.
That structure, it really was a barn, was a roadhouse for all the things that make a quiet Southern town spring to life on Saturday nights.
Local bluegrass bands would show off their licks, precision teams of local kids would demonstrate their clogging talents, adults and their offspring would square dance with abandon, and enthusiastic sets of buck dancing would spontaneously erupt.
This writer knows three people who were conceived in that parking lot.
Well, as you’d imagine, the shuttering of Helen’s Barn in the early 1980s left a gaping hole in the town’s social calendar.
That’s why the Highlands Chamber of Commerce has, with fanfare and more than a bit of local pride, introduced its twin concert series – Friday Night Live, and Saturdays on Pine.
Friday Night Live concerts take place at Highlands Town Square from 6:00 until 8:00 P.M. Saturdays on Pine are at Kelsey-Hutchinson Founders Park on Pine Street and also begin at 6:00 P.M. These concerts offer the chance to hear some of the finest music the region has to offer and are free to everyone.
Friday Night Live features traditional mountain music, and an opportunity for the audience to participate by singing, clapping, tapping their feet, or dancing if the mood strikes. It’s audience participation at its best and the bands feed off the energy.
Saturdays on Pine is rock and roll, often mixed with a dash of country goodness or smooth soul. It’s a delirious opportunity to bring a blanket, open the picnic basket and enjoy the sensations of live music under a pristine nighttime sky.
And though the Chamber has made every effort to capture all the wonderful things that made Helen’s Barn a Highlands institution, keep the peach bounce at home.
For more information about Saturdays on Pine or Friday Night Live, visit highlandschamber.org or call (828) 526-2112.
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The Highlands Chamber of Commerce’s twin concert series are still slated to launch in May. We’ll let you know about any changes.
May
May 22 Friday Night Live Concert – Silly Ridge Roundup
May 23 Saturdays on Pine – The Caribbean Boys
May 29 Friday Night Live Concert – Trudition
May 30 Saturdays on Pine – Ashley Heath & Her Heathens
June
June 5 Friday Night Live – Byrds & Crow
June 6 Saturdays on Pine – Eli Mosley
June 12 Friday Night Live – Frank & Allie
June 13 Saturdays on Pine – Hurricane Creek
June 19 Friday Night Live – Johnny Webb Band
June 20 Saturdays on Pine – Americana Jones
June 26 Friday Night Live Concert – Trudition
June 27 No Concert
July
July 3 Friday Night Live – Foxfire Boys
July 4 Saturdays on Pine – The Wobblers
July 10 Friday Night Live – Southern Highlands
July 11 Saturdays on Pine – Kurt Thomas Band
July 17 Friday Night Live – Mountain Dulcimers
July 18 Saturdays on Pine – Shane Meade
July 24 Friday Night Live – Sycamore Flats
July 25 Saturdays on Pine – Silly Ridge Roundup
July 31 Friday Night Live – Byrds & Crow
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