Beaufort County Traditional Music Association

Beaufort County Traditional Music Association and Arts of the Pamlico present the 13th Annual BOCO Traditional Music Festival in Downtown Washington, NC. Family Friendly, free Music all day, 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM.

Boco OPEN jam in turnage gallery

10:00 am - 12:00 pm    BCTMA Musicians

The festival opens with a BoCO Festival Open Jam. It is open for all acoustic musicians and features BCTMA jammers. This takes place 10:00 AM – noon.  Then there is a lunch break and sound set up for the afternoon performances.  You can enjoy lunch at one of the many delicious restaurants in downtown Washington, and stroll the beautiful waterfront boardwalk.

BOCO musicians in Turnage Gallery

2:00 pm    Flat Mountain Dulcimers

Flat Mountain Dulcimers consists of Nancy Galambush, Dave and Margit Roberson.   The trio have been playing together as Flat Mountains Dulcimers since 2005. They are from the Goldsboro area.

Nancy is a trained cello player and has played with large orchestras.  She learned to play the dulcimer in the late 1990s.   Dave has played the guitar since high school.  He has taught himself how to play and played with a small country band back in the 1980s.   Margit has had no prior experience with music until learning to play the dulcimer in the late 1990s.  

They play various genres of music from old time fiddle tunes, Celtic, gospel, a little bluegrass to more modern tunes, such as Nights in White Satin from the Moody Blues. They enjoy playing all types of music.   For the festival, they will play a variety of music They like to make their concerts interesting and fun and have the audience participate in singing with them.  

3:00 pm    The Sweet Peas

The duo, The Sweet Peas, is made up of Bekah Santis and Greyson Leybourne, both from Kernersville. Bekah plays fiddle and guitar, and Greyson plays a variety of instruments including guitar, fiddle, banjo, and more! They play traditional music, including Old-time and gospel songs. Greyson and Bekah met in 2019 and have been musical sweethearts ever since. Greyson’s love for music started at an early age, and he went on to study music at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. He has a background in classical music, but he has been playing various types of traditional music for 15 years. Bekah’s love for music also began early, as she grew up surrounded by bluegrass and country music. She also participated in choirs and musical theater for many years. Her love for traditional music began when she picked up the fiddle in 2021, and she hasn’t put it down since!

Their sound is influenced by a variety of amazing Old-time musicians, such as fiddlers Rhys Jones and Sami Braman, but they are also greatly influenced and inspired by the many great musicians that make up our local music community.

4:00 pm    Lightnin' Wells

Mike "Lightnin'" Wells breathes new life into the vintage tunes of the 1920s and depression era America. He employs various appropriate stringed instruments in a dynamic style which he has developed in over 50 years of performing experience. Raised in eastern North Carolina, Wells learned to play harmonica as a young child and taught himself to play the guitar as he developed a strong interest in traditional blues and folk music. His many years of public performance began in Chapel Hill, N.C. in the early 1970s. During the following decades he has presented his brand of acoustic blues throughout North Carolina, the United States and Europe.

Lightnin' Wells produced the first commercial recordings of second-generation N.C. blues veterans Big Boy Henry, Algia Mae Hinton and George Higgs. He has traveled and performed extensively with these musicians and has documented their backgrounds and musical histories for future generations.

His albums include Shake 'Em on Down, Jump Little Children: Old Songs for Young Folks and O Lightnin' Where Art Thou?

Lightnin' remains an insatiable student and researcher, studying the various forms of American roots music from bygone eras. He plays a number of instruments besides the guitar including the harmonica, ukulele, mandolin and banjo. He has taught blues guitar at most of the leading "Blues Weeks" sponsored by universities and teaching organizations throughout the country.

With his experience, knowledge and well-honed performance skills, Lightnin' Wells has established himself at the forefront of the traditional blues revival. His musical style is personal and energetic yet remains true to the original root form.  "Whether you look to performers for inspiration, education, virtuosity, or sheer entertainment, Lightnin' Wells delivers all the above, every single time".