THROUGH THE LENS: Dreamy Draw Music Festival & Appalachian Allies Benefit Concert

This week’s column features two events in different and scenic locales: the Dreamy Draw Music Festival (November 1 & 2, 2024) in Scottsdale, Arizona in the beautiful Sonoran Desert at the foot of the McDowell Mountains; and the Appalachian Allies Benefit Concert (October 27, 2024) in Knoxville, Tennessee at the height of the Appalachian mountains’ fall colors.

Arizona’s C. Elliott attended Dreamy Draw and Knoxville native Kelly Shipe caught the Appalachian Allies Benefit Concert. Their photos of Molly Tuttle, Sarah Jarosz, Larkin Poe, Jerry Douglas, Darrell Scott and many more are featured in the gallery below.

Dreamy Draw Music Festival

The Dreamy Draw Music Festival, which is held in the Scottsdale Civic Center and returned for its second year, is among a new kind of roots music festival–one that also includes the other arts. With a Western-inspired atmosphere there were art installations, handcrafted jewelry, paintings, and fashion to go along with a wide assortment of gourmet food and craft drink options. It’s an immersive experience that keeps you engaged from start to finish. 

The festival has three stages, two of them are set up back to back, with the main stage, an amphitheater just a short walk away. This meant that, as Elliott told me, you did “not have to spend most of the day walking miles to just get to each stage. The organizers have used this event space very well and there’s no choking on dust in this grassy and paved venue.” The logistics were well thought out.

But of course, a festival’s core is the music, and it did not disappoint. Elliott told me that the joy of the fest was “the variety of artists, both established and up-and-coming.” This was her first time seeing Molly Tuttle, and like the rest of us she was flabbergasted by Tuttle’s flatpicking, as well as her band, The Golden Highway.

The Appalachian Allies Benefit Concert

On October 27, 2024 at Knoxville’s historic Bijou Theatre, Appalachian Allies presented a benefit concert to support hurricane Helene relief efforts in east Tennessee. All proceeds went to the East Tennessee Foundation’s Hurricane Helene Disaster Relief Fund, for both immediate and long-term recovery efforts in the 25-county region.

The festival was hosted by Tennessee’s Daniel Kimbro (bassist for the Grammy-nominated Jerry Douglas Band) and Knoxville native Sam Lewis. The event featured artists who had a connection to the area, including Larkin Poe, Darrell Scott, Sarah Jarosz, and Knoxville’s own Adeem the Artist.

“Storm waters don’t recognize borders. There are towns in East Tennessee’s Appalachian region that lack the resources to repave a sidewalk, let alone start recovering from a truly catastrophic event,” Kimbro told the assembly. “I grew up visiting family, fishing, and playing music in many of these communities and counties that are now in deep trouble. I’ve been a professional musician for over twenty years, and while I try not to ask favors of my peers, this time I cast a wide net, this time it’s too close to home, and this time I feel like I can help.” 

Kelly told me, “The show was a musical journey that knit everyone together in a symbiotic sphere of goodwill and pure love. The true magic of the evening was in the collaborative moments, where they came together to create a musical tapestry that flowed seamlessly, much like the nearby Tennessee River.” 

The four-and-a-half-hour show concluded with all the artists gathered on stage to perform Darrell Scott’s “It’s a Great Day to Be Alive.” The number served as an extra special coda to an uplifting evening, or as Kelly put it, “I’m pretty sure the famous Bijou ghosts even joined in.”

Click on any of the photos below to view the gallery as a full-size slideshow.