The North Carolina Azalea Festival is excited to announce that Belk, Inc. is sponsoring the Festival’s 2016 Belk Main Stage and renewing its partnership as the 2016 Presenting Sponsor.
“Our partnership with Belk in 2015 greatly enhanced the Festival guest experience,” said Robby Collins, president of the North Carolina Azalea Festival. “Belk shared with us its Southern Musician Showcase winners, which provided entertainment at the Festival Parade, the Airlie Luncheon Garden Party, the Belk Street Fair Stage, and the After Garden Get Down at Bluewater. Additionally, the partnership brought us in-store and on-site promotions for our community, as well as an incredible Belk Lounge at our Street Fair. We cannot wait to see what new Festival enhancements this expanded partnership with Belk will bring to Festival attendees at the Belk Main Stage and throughout the Festival.”
“Belk is honored to be back at the Azalea Festival as the title sponsor of one of the South’s most beloved celebrations and to have our Southern musicians on the Belk Main Stage,” said Jon Pollack, Belk executive vice president of marketing, sales promotion and eCommerce. “We know the important role community festivals play in the south, and the Azalea Festival is a respected tradition in North Carolina.”
The Belk Main Stage will be the site for headlining entertainment musical artists for the 2016 North Carolina Azalea Festival Presented by Belk. Past entertainers have included Alan Jackson, Nelly, Widespread Panic, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and Randy Houser.
The North Carolina Azalea Festival is pleased to announce its first concert act on the Belk Main Stage will be The Avett Brothers, playing Thursday, April 7, 2016. “The Avett Brothers have recently become a tradition for us here in Wilmington. They are Carolina musicians who perform a great show for the whole family. Wilmington loves The Avett Brothers, and having them join us is another way the Festival promotes the celebration of the talent and culture of our region,” said Robby Collins, president of the North Carolina Azalea Festival.
TICKETING INFORMATION
Tickets to The Avett Brothers at the Belk Main Stage on Thursday, April 7, 2016 are $55.00. Showtime is 7:00 pm with doors opening at 5:00 pm. This is a rain or shine event. No ticket refunds will be granted.
Tickets to the show will go on sale online only Saturday, December 5th at 9:00 am. Tickets may be purchased through the North Carolina Azalea Festival website at www.ncazaleafestival.org. Tickets will go on sale in the North Carolina Azalea Festival Ticket Office on Monday, December 7th at 9:00 am. The Festival Ticket Office is open Monday – Friday, 9:00 am – 5:00 pm and located at 5725 Oleander Drive, Suite B-7, Wilmington, 28403.
VENUE INFORMATION
The Belk Main Stage is an outdoor venue located at 411 North Front Street, Wilmington, 28401. The venue is general admission standing room only. This is a non-smoking venue. Chairs, backpacks, umbrellas, any and all weapons/knives, coolers, and alcohol will not be permitted to be brought inside the venue. All handbags will be inspected. Food and beverages will be available inside the venue for cash purchase.
ARTIST BIO
When you’re receptive to the forces around you, you’ll notice there’s something powerful in the air.
It’s that feeling of inspiration to which The Avett Brothers consistently remain open. It’s a spirit that courses through everything that they do. You could call it a “creative lifeblood” or a “muse”, but it’s ultimately indefinable. However, you can hear it and feel it within 2013’s Magpie and the Dandelion.
Recorded immediately after The Carpenter with Rick Rubin (marking their third consecutive team-up in the studio with the iconic producer), the North Carolina quartet—Seth Avett, Scott Avett, Bob Crawford, and Joe Kwon—rode a creative wave that yielded another ponderous, poetic, and passionate collection on the heels of their most successful set to date, no less.
Their eighth studio album went on to debut at #5 on the Billboard Top 200, while they performed on The Tonight Show With Jay Leno and The Late Show with David Letterman as well as joining legendary Soundgarden singer Chris Cornell for a rapturous Pearl Jam tribute on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. A string of sold out shows followed as the boys continued to dream up their next step. Much like their own music, it promises to continue tradition, while making a decidedly personal statement. If you keep your eyes, mind, and heart open, you’ll undoubtedly feel it.
During 2009, the group made mainstream waves with their lauded major label debut, I and Love and You. It landed at #16 on the Billboard Top 200 and garnered unanimous critical acclaim from Rolling Stone, Paste, New York Times, Los Angeles Times, and Time, who even dubbed it one of Top 10 albums of the year. 2012 saw The Carpenter hit #4 on the Billboard Top 200—their highest bow to date—while People, USA Today, and American Songwriter lauded the album. The group graced the stage of Jimmy Kimmel LIVE! twice in merely a few months’ time. During the second performance, they invited the Brooklyn Philharmonic Orchestra along to pay homage to Brooklyn with “I and Love and You” as personally requested by Mr. Kimmel.
In 2001, banjoist Scott and guitarist Seth formed The Avett Brothers with standup bass player Bob. Growing up in Concord, NC, the boys immersed themselves in their musician dad’s record collection, falling in love with Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Crosby, Stills & Nash. They rose to the status of genre stalwarts over the course of six albums, including 2007’s acclaimed Emotionalism.
The book is open though, and the next chapter for The Avett Brothers will definitely be the brightest, boldest, and biggest yet.
For more information on the upcoming 69th Annual North Carolina Azalea Festival, visit www.ncazaleafestival.org or contact Executive Director Alison Baringer at alison@ncazaleafestival.org or (910) 216-9400.
About the North Carolina Azalea Festival
Since its inception in 1948, the North Carolina Azalea Festival has blossomed into an extended weekend celebration that attracts more than 300,000 people and generates more than $51 million for the local economy. The Festival showcases our community’s rich array of artwork, gardens, history and culture through recreational, educational and family-oriented events.
About Belk, Inc.
Charlotte, N.C.-based Belk, Inc. (www.belk.com) is the nation’s largest family owned and operated department store company with 296 Belk stores located in 16 Southern states and a growing digital presence. Its belk.com website offers a wide assortment of national brands and private label fashion apparel, shoes and accessories for the entire family along with top name cosmetics, a wedding registry and a large selection of quality merchandise for the home. Founded in 1888 by William Henry Belk in Monroe, N.C., the company is in the third generation of Belk family leadership and has been committed to community involvement since its inception. In the fiscal year ended January 31, 2015, the company and its associates, customers and vendors donated more than $21.5 million to communities within Belk market areas.
Belk offers many ways to connect via digital and social media, including Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Google Plus, and provides exclusive offers, fashion updates, sales notifications and coupons via email or mobile phone text messages. Customers can also download the latest Belk mobile apps for the iPad, iPhone or Android.
The North Carolina Azalea Festival Thanks Its Sponsors
Belk
Miller Lite
Neuwirth Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram Trucks
Duke Energy
Hilton Wilmington Riverside
Wells Fargo
New Hanover Regional Medical Center
R.A. Jeffreys
UNC Wilmington
LM Restaurants
BB & T
Wilmington Health
BlueCross and BlueShield of NC
Coastal Carolina Neonatology/Coastal Children’s Services
Colonial Marketing
Coca-Cola
Corning
Live Oak Bank
MassMutual Financial Group
Nangle Consulting
North Carolina Ports
ONEHOPE Wine
Pacifica Senior Living
Parkway of Wilmington
