I didn’t discover bluegrass music until I moved to South Carolina when I was 10 years old. Ironically, I moved here from Washington, D.C., which for years had a large, vibrant bluegrass music scene. I discovered bluegrass one Sunday morning when the Stonemans, a family of bluegrass singers and pickers, were on the air. I found that I loved the energy and the harmonies and have been a fan ever since.

Maybe that’s what draws the crowds to the Moonshiners Reunion & Mountain Music Festival in Campobello every year.

This year’s festival, Sept. 30-Oct. 1, will be the first without founder Barney Barnwell, who died on March 29. Barney’s wife, Debbie, “the Moonshine Queen,” says she and the crew are committed to carrying on Barney’s legacy and will be serving up an action-packed weekend of fun and alternative bluegrass music. This year’s concert roster will be headlined by Barney’s group, the Plum Hollow Band. Also appearing will be Bill Noonan and the Barbed Wires, Dosheno, Evergreen, Highway 56, South 85 and Spider Farm.

Big Daddy Hawgs BBQ will be cooking up the vittles all weekend.

Debbie Barnwell promises all who attend will have a good time. “We have strict rules because we want everybody to have a safe and fun time. We don’t always promise to start on time though. Barney always wrote in our festival brochure (under the band schedule) … ‘these thangs never start on time.’ We try to be relaxed and just put on a great show for everyone.”

If you’re going:

This year’s festival will be Friday, Sept. 30, and Saturday, Oct. 1. Tickets are $25 a day or $45 for the weekend per person, which includes camping and all concerts. The gates open at noon.
Tickets will be available for purchase at the gate on the day of the event. Anyone wishing to start the weekend early (Thursday, Sept. 29) should call (864) 680-0225.

Plum Hollow Farm offers cabins and primitive camping sites. RVs and campers are welcome although the farm has no hookups. A shower house and restrooms are provided.

No pets, glass containers, fireworks, four-wheelers, loud radio music or modified golf carts are allowed. Regular size golf carts are permitted, but they must be equipped with lights if used after dark.

Plum Hollar Farm is located at 5015 Rainbow Lake Road in New Prospect. It is 16 miles northwest of Spartanburg, near intersection of S.C. 9 and 11, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains.