Rock the Plateau

06/09/2026

Join us Thursday, June 25th for an intimate Salon Series performance with Rayland Baxter — storytelling, humor, and beautifully crafted songs. Get the full details and reserve your spot: https://wix.to/GlXd78y

We are thrilled to welcome our next guest artist Rayland Baxter on Thursday June 25th as the next performer in our Salon Series.Rayland has built a career on capturing timeless, deeply human sentiments while bringing colorful characters to life with equal parts humor and pathos, all....

06/09/2026

Happy birthday to one of our founders, Bill Samson . A lover of music, a benefactor of artists. The one who will tell you why Spotify is the wrong choice because apple music or band camp pays the artists. The man who sent Vic Chestnutt a $17 check when he got a free demo of his cd. The guy who will spend his last dime on live music. We love your dedication to creating a music scene on the Plateau!! Love seeing some pics of recent shows that meant so much to you! To the year ahead. May it be filled with music!

06/09/2026

There are very few things that could pull me away from Bear Shadow — but a daughter's wedding and a granddaughter's first birthday? Those two will do it every time.

Missing this year's festival was bittersweet because, by all accounts, it was another extraordinary weekend on the Highlands-Cashiers Plateau. With headliners like Charley Crockett, Trombone Shorty, and Mavis Staples, Bear Shadow continues to cement Highlands' growing reputation as a genuine destination for Americana and roots music — set against one of the most breathtaking natural backdrops in the South.

For those of us at Rock the Plateau, the music doesn't stop when Bear Shadow wraps. Our Salon Series had the privilege of hosting an afterparty with Jeremy Ivey — musician, songwriter, and husband of the incomparable Margo Price— and the evening became something truly unforgettable when Margo herself joined him on stage. That same Bear Shadow weekend, the Highlander Mountain House was graced by a dear friend to all of us: the incomparable Hunter Park, performing as She Returns From War. It was exactly the kind of intimate, once-in-a-lifetime experience that makes the Highlands music scene so special.

🎶 AND WE HAVE AN AMAZING SHOW LINED UP FOR LATER THIS MONTH — Nashville Americana singer-songwriter Rayland Baxter comes to the Plateau on June 25th. Tickets are available at the Highlander Mountain House. Don't miss it.

Looking further ahead, we are beyond excited to announce that S.G. Goodman will be joining us later this year in November. She'll be coming to the Plateau fresh off her performance at ShoalsFest in Muscle Shoals, AL — one of the most storied musical landscapes in American history. We couldn't think of a better artist to carry that energy up to the mountains.

The Plateau is alive with music. Come be part of it. Look at our website and see how you can help build an amazing music community. Great things on the horizon. www.rocktheplateau.org

05/26/2026

This Bear Shadow after party will be rocking!

Highlander is thrilled to welcome singer-songwriter Jeremy Ivey as our next Salon Series Guest on Saturday, May 30th, for the late night fireside set after Bear Shadow. These intimate post-fest shows are our homage to Jazzfest latenight shows and always our favorite of the year. That late night magic just never hesitates to unfold ✨

Jeremy and his badass wife Margo Price will both be in town that weekend, and Jeremy will be here in support of his latest album “It’s Shape Will Reveal Itself”, following his 2022 masterful “Invisible Pictures”.

Of the new album, Ivey says “there’s no big narrative or story arc, no shocking diss tracks, no hot-button political statements here,” he continues. “There’s no clickbait, tell-all gossip, no stories of guru producers meditating with monks in the Andes. It’s just a few home recordings with unsightly blemishes, slightly out of tune sleeplessness and warbling, hissing with sometimes clumsy ex*****on. It’s called Its Shape Will Reveal Itself, and if anything, it’s honest and vulnerable.” Margo sits in on the haunting tune “Edge of Darkness”.

Don’t miss Jeremy do his thing by the candelabra next Saturday night, and watch first hand as a little magic unfolds✨if you’re lucky enough to be there then you’re lucky enough friends….Oh, and this one is on us🔥🖤⚡️

05/26/2026

We couldn't be more excited about this show! You won't want to miss this.

Highlander is thrilled to welcome singer-songwriter Jeremy Ivey as our next Salon Series Guest on Saturday, May 30th, for the late night fireside set after Bear Shadow. These intimate post-fest shows are always our favorite of the year. That late night magic just has a way of seepin in ✨

Jeremy and his wife Margo Price will both be in town that weekend, and Jeremy will be here in support of his latest album “It’s Shape Will Reveal Itself”, following his 2022 album, the masterful “Invisible Pictures”.

Of the new album, Ivey says “there’s no big narrative or story arc, no shocking diss tracks, no hot-button political statements here,” he continues. “There’s no clickbait, tell-all gossip, no stories of guru producers meditating with monks in the Andes. It’s just a few home recordings with unsightly blemishes, slightly out of tune sleeplessness and warbling, hissing with sometimes clumsy ex*****on. It’s called Its Shape Will Reveal Itself, and if anything, it’s honest and vulnerable.” Nowhere more than on the track “Edge of Darkness” that he lays down with his wife Margo.

Don’t miss Jeremy do his thing by the candelabra next Saturday night, and watch first hand as a little magic unfolds✨if you’re lucky enough to be there then you’re lucky enough….oh, and this one is on us🔥🖤⚡️

05/06/2026

SG slaying it.

05/02/2026

Wow. The talent that comes through Yonder in the summer is top tier. Ed Snodderly is a legend. Don't miss this show.

🎵 The moment you’ve been waiting for…who is playing Yonder’s Concert Series this year? 🎵

We’re kicking off our 2026 Summer Concert Series with Ed Snodderly.

A true Appalachian songwriter with decades behind him, Ed has been shaping the sound of this region for a long time. His songs carry weight, history, humor, and a sense of place you can feel.

His newest release is ES Pearl Presents…Baggage Flies Free, out now on You Need To Know Records. The record was recorded in Nashville by Sean Sullivan and features Kenny Vaughn, Tim O’Brien, John Gardner, Daniel Kimbro, Brandon Story, Steve Hinson, with vocal contributions from Amythyst Kiah, Verlon Thompson, and Eugene Wolf.

📅 Sunday, May 24, 2026
🕓 4:00–6:00 PM
📍 Yonder Community Market lawn (151 Hillcrest Avenue, Franklin, NC)

💵 Suggested donation: $20–$40
Collected at the table when entering

🎶 Family-friendly + dog-friendly
🪑 Bring a chair or blanket

🔥 The Wood Fired Grill will be on site for any hot food needs!

The store will be open the whole time with picnic foods, beverages of all kinds, natural wines, mead, and so much more so you can build your own spread for the lawn.

Come on out, bring a few friends, and help us start the season right!

Poster Design by: Crawlspace Press

03/28/2026

We love following and cheering on our alumni from the Salon Series Highlander Mountain House. Can’t wait to buy the album and download from a site that pays the artist well.

03/20/2026

Check out the outstanding work coming from ANTI records this year. We were lucky enough to have Madi Diaz at the Highlander Mountain House this winter and you can see why she is here. But check out all this great music.

03/18/2026

We are so excited about this one! Even the likes of this post have us excited - former performers Secret Sisters, Caleb Caudle, Valley James, and the marvelous Margo Price. Ringing endorsements. Don't miss out.

Highlander Mountain House is thrilled to welcome crooner on Thursday, March 26th as the next musical artist in Highlander’s Salon Series🔥

Take one part George Jones, one part Johnny Cash, a little Roy Orbison, a dash of Chris Isaak, and a sprinkling of atmospheric Golden State and then shake it up with a little T Bone Burnett into something amazingly unique and utterly timeless- and there you have this amazing human’s vibe…..Sounds delicious don’t it…come see for yourself friends, by candlelight of course✨