Cherryholmes will conclude the Red, White and Bluegrass Festival by giving Morganton a performance worth remembering.

Cherryholmes will play at 8:45 p.m. Friday before the fireworks show at the Collett Street Rec Center.

Cherryholmes received national accolades including Grammy nominations for Best Bluegrass Album in 2006 and 2007 for their albums, "Cherryholmes" and "Cherryholmes II: Black and White," on Skagg Family Records.

Six family members compose Cherryholmes - father Jere; mother Sandy Lee; Cia Leigh, 24; B.J., 20; Skip, 18; and Molly Kate, 16. With a new album in set for release in the fall, Cherryholmes is eager to perform their original songs in Morganton, Sandy Lee said.

"There will be a number of new things we haven't done," she promised. "We expect to have a wonderful time and make this a memorable Fourth of July."

The band played in Morganton several previous times, including other Red, White and Bluegrass Festivals and at the CoMMA. Sandy Lee said the Morganton crowds are high energy and that contributes to Cherryholmes' performance.

The Cherryholmes started their band after their eldest daughter's death in 1999. Living at the time in Los Angeles, they went to a bluegrass festival to enjoy each other's company, Sandy Lee said. The family found the experience "uplifting" and Jere and Sandy Lee decided to round up instruments for their children. They assigned each one an instrument and taught them to play at home.

Now all band members take part in writing the songs. As the children grow older, Sandy Lee said, the music changes to reflect their experiences.

The band's repertoire now ranges from old to new and from high-energy tunes to old-time clawhammer songs.

With time's passage, other changes occurred in the band. Children switched instruments or learned to play multiple instruments, their mother said. Cia Leigh, B.J. and Sandy Lee sing the majority of lead vocals, but the entire band takes part during live performances.

Sandy Lee encouraged people in the area to come out for the show.

"If they haven't come to a show before," she promised, "the Fourth of July show will be a lot of fun."

There are perhaps no more loyal and truly dedicated fans than those of bluegrass music. The thousands who are attending the City of Morganton Parks and Recreation Department’s fifth annual Red, White and Bluegrass Festival this week are by no means a come-and-go crowd. They are in it for the long haul.

In addition to helping with the sales of soft drinks at the festival, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with numerous folks who travel from nearly every state in the union, and a few from even farther away.

The overwhelming comments ring that RWB is the best thing going in bluegrass festivals today, and this is from those who go, so they certainly are qualified to know.

From the start on day one with "Pickin’ on the Greenway," through today with local, regional and nationally ranked bands for the four day festival, it goes without saying that everyone gets more than they pay for, since the whole event is free, and well more than expected. And I believe there is a solid reason for that.

Although there are dozens of volunteers in addition to the city employees who help to make RWB successful, most of the credit might be attributed to the fact that there are no standing boards or committees overseeing the project. One man with one vision has stayed the path and the results are better than any board dictate or committee compromise could or would effect.

When the community’s annual Fourth of July Festival and fireworks left the grounds of Western Piedmont Community College eight or so years ago, it took a few Fourths for it to find its niche and be up and running.

Morganton’s Parks and Recreation Director Gary Leonhardt, with nearly 40 years experience in the field plus a love of bluegrass music himself, saw an opportunity and seized it by first moving the annual Independence Day fireworks display to the Burke County Fairgrounds. That was OK but he felt it could be better.

The next year RWB got its real beginnings with some concerts with Mike Cross headlining on the Collett Street Recreation Center grounds and a spectacular fireworks display following the music. It took some doing to make it happen, especially getting the permission to fire low level fireworks within the city limits.

We had done it at CoMMA on a few New Year’s Eve events, but that was about it until five years ago. Now even the Historic Morganton Festival celebrates with downtown fireworks.

Leonhardt saw potential and incorporated in 2004 a bluegrass camp for kids who wanted to learn the music with instruction in guitar, banjo, fiddle, bass and mandolin. One of those first students, still a teenager, won the international banjo competition at MerleFest this past April.

The stage and the acts grow every year. The artists want to return again and again. Mountain Heart is a regular. Cherryholmes makes certain that the early July timeslot is set on their tour calendar to be in Morganton.

The Grasscals, JD Crowe, Jeanette Williams and so many more return again and again and they will keep coming back as long as the fans show up... and there is no reason to think otherwise.

My training and roots are in the theatre. But I appreciate the craftsmanship and talent of the artists who are part of the Red, White and Bluegrass Festival. There is certainly a special relationship, even a kinship, that they have with their fans, more than just about any other type of music or art.

With the bits and pieces of bluegrass that has been presented at CoMMA, I have observed a growing comfort from the MainStage Broadway crowd in their acceptance and developing enjoyment of bluegrass music. That might approach evolution in some minds.

It all comes down to quality. If it’s good, even though it might not be your cup of tea, the talent and spirit of what many once called that hillbilly music cannot be disputed.

Since the days of Bill Monroe, Flatt and Scruggs, and Ralph Stanley, many dues have been paid to elevate bluegrass music to be respected worldwide. The Red, White and Bluegrass Festival is testament to this success... and what a great thing it is for it to be Morganton’s own.

RWB continues tonight at the Catawba River Soccer Complex and will conclude tomorrow on the Collett Street Recreation Center grounds. Bring a chair or blanket. It’s real casual... uhh, make that laid back.

CoMMA’s BackPorch series begins in the amphitheatre one week from tonight on July 10. Ceol Leinn, with all the Celtic and Scottish trappings, is not only an exciting musical event but also will be the largest concert we have ever attempted under the willow oaks. From drums to bagpipes to guitars and flutes, these hills will continue to be filled with the sounds of music as MainStage Morganton enters its 23rd season.