PRESS EVENT & PERFORMER PHOTOS at BOTTOM of this PAGE

"LEAF restored my LOVE for festivals!” Luis Guerra, Texas

“Thank you for hosting the most amazing festival! We had the BEST time and cannot believe it has taken us 16 years to get there. Every inch of LEAF was filled with positive energy, it was magical!”  Sarah & Russ, North Carolina

LEAF Celebrates the Blues with Their 34th Festival Performing Arts Lineup

LEAF is excited to Celebrate the Blues at Spring LEAF 2012, taking place May 10-13, 2012 in Black Mountain, NC. Headlining the 34^th twice-annual festival are blues legend Taj Mahal, afrobeat progeny Seun Kuti & Egypt 80, and New Orleans institution Preservation Hall Jazz Band. In addition to Taj Mahal, several other artists will be helping to celebrate blues traditions (with support in part by a grant from the National Endowment of the Arts. Art Works), including The Wood Brothers, Corey Harris & The Rasta Blues Experience, David Bromberg, Gaye Adegbalola (formerly with Saffire – The Uppity Blues Women), The Shane Pruitt Band and Music Maker Relief Foundation artists Captain Luke and Cool John Ferguson.

From the dark, smoky clubs of Chicago & St. Louis, all the way down through the Hill Country and into the bayous of the Deep South, you'll be introduced to an sampling of Blues artists, intermingled with the diversity of cultural names and faces you've come to love at LEAF - The Golden Dragon Acrobats (China), Sarazino (Ecuador), The Nuala Kennedy Band (Ireland), and Msafiri Zawose (Tanzania). Rounding out the top of the lineup are dance-pop-meets-afrobeat sensations Rubblebucket, bhangra funk masters Red Baraat, North Carolina folkies The Red Clay Ramblers, Americana up-and comers The Black Lillies, and world-renowned DJ King Britt presenting his Sister Gertrude Morgan multimedia experience.

This lineup is the soundtrack to a diverse weekend festival experience that also includes a juried art show; over 50 free healing arts workshops; a dance hall with plenty of contra, salsa, swing, and professional instruction; outdoor adventures with camping and lake activities; the LEAFlet Kids Village, with two stages and an extraordinary amount of activities; a Poetry Slam with $1000+ in prize money; great food, plenty of vendors, and much more. LEAF’s Blue Ridge Mountain setting is spectacular, and the event is truly magical. LEAF is a family and friend tradition that “recharges our batteries” twice a year.

New to LEAF this May is “HayMow - A Raised Art Experience”. HayMow, in the historic Black Mountain College Barns, will feature four visual outsider artists who will showcase and sell their works of “Uncommon Art,” conduct workshops, and hold conversations with the underlying philosophy of folklore as action. This spring’s first league of HayMow artists features Lamar Sorrento of Memphis, who will be honoring Robert Johnson’s 100^th birthday celebration, as part of LEAF’s Blues focus.

LEAF in Schools & Streets [LSS] in the community!
One of the key LEAF achievements is Empowering Youth in WNC through Festive Arts. LSS is currently working weekly with 15 music and arts programs in local public housing communities and center for after-school programs. Encompassing the festival weekend, over 20 of the LEAF performing artists will be participating in LSS arts-in-education workshops, residencies, and enrichment concerts in local schools and centers. LSS has worked with over 27,000 local youth!

A family-friendly outreach performance and school field trip opportunity:
LEAF in Schools & Streets Presents: The Golden Dragon Acrobats
The Premiere Chinese Acrobatic Touring Company
Monday, May 14th 11am at The Orange Peel, downtown Asheville
All Ages: $2 for kids under age 18 | $5 for adults
Tickets: The Orange Peel box office, www.theorangepeel.net, Ticket Web:866|468-7630
LSS provides this special low cost event to make this outreach performance accessible for schools, families & the community.
More info: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it | 828/68-MUSIC (686-8742) | LEAFinSchoolsandStreets.org

LEAF is a non-profit organization established to build community and enrich lives through the Arts – locally and globally – with festivals, community events, and arts in education programs. LEAF's mission is Connecting Cultures & Creating Community Through Music & Arts. LEAF's three branches include the twice-a-year festival, LEAF in Schools & Streets, and LEAF International.

This Celebration of Blues Traditions is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts. Art Works. LEAF finds the blues culturally and artistically important, as it is poignantly relevant to our mission of “creating communities and connecting cultures through music and arts”.