The best, those who have written the hits, the songs you know, will come to

the town where Doc Watson never leaves the corner of King and Depot,

where if you listen, really listen, you can hear him play.

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Antlers & Acorns, The Boone Songwriters Festival brings together the

wordsmiths, the storytellers. The town itself is the venue, the bars and

restaurants, cafes, and theatre the stage. Fans of words and music will

walk the streets from one welcoming door to the next to hear their favorite

singer/songwriter tell the stories of their songs, where they came from,

where they went. It’s an intimate encounter, a weekend in the mountains, a

walk in the woods.

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From Wednesday Night’s Welcome Party at Lost Province, to Thursday’s matinee of The Antlers & Acorns Show, Hayes Carll on Thursday night, Friday and Saturday’s six great restaurant venues presenting “ Songwriters In the Wild” in Downtown Boone, to the Special Events for VIPs only with Kim Richey and Beth Nielsen Chapman, John Moreland, James McMurtry and his band with BettySoo tourists will discover, students will learn, and locals will be reminded why the Blue Ridge Mountains are a sacred place, a source of inspiration, a home for creativity. 

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They’ll stop for ice cream and a barrel full of candy at Mast General Store, dine in our impressive restaurants, and shop in the stores found only in Boone. Hotels will be filled right before leaf season when the town is still surrounded in

greens and blues and sweaters are needed when the sun dips below the

ridge line.

And the stories and songs will sing the trees to sleep for the winter.