—David Menconi, Down on Copperline
Fall is always a bustling time of year on the music-festival front. But here’s a new one that actually manages to decrease the overall number of festivals – because it combines two events that already exist.
Set for October 18, 2025, the inaugural Salt & Smoke & Sound Festival promises “a groundbreaking fusion…where the culinary arts meets its musical heart.” It happens at Blackwood Farm Park, just south of Hillsborough in Orange County.
The food part of this festival comes from its prior incarnation of the Salt & Smoke Festival, which had 12 editions over the years under the auspices of owner/chef Kevin Callaghan’s Carrboro eatery Acme Food & Beverage Company. And the music part is the Harvest Festival, put on last year by the Hillsborough multi-media facility Sonark.
Salt & Smoke & Sound joins a busy calendar of music festivals scheduled for October in the area, a lineup that includes Sleepy Fest in Saxapahaw on Oct. 11 and Hillsborough’s River Park Concert Series on Oct. 25. But Sonark founder/CEO Steven Raets says his festival has an ace in the hole for establishing Salt & Smoke & Sound: the time-honored real-estate mantra, “location, location, location.”
“October is a crowded month, but what we have different is the most incredible venue you can imagine,” says Raets. “Blackwood Farm Park is an amazing place and we want to build something we can grow into a multi-day, multi-stage festival over time. This year we’re focused on one stage at the main amphitheater in the park. There are expansion possibilities. Between the band lineup and the food, we’re expecting 3,500 to 4,000 people this year. We’ll try to grow it from there.”
The band lineup is as follows:
Big Something
Tan and Sober Gentlemen
Rissi Palmer
Kaira Ba
Nothing Good
Ben Sollee
My Brother’s Keeper
As for the food side of the event, that lineup is still coming together. Callaghan estimates there will be somewhere between 12 and 15 food trucks onsite during the festival, offering a wide range of cuisine.
“Everything from vegetarian to barbecue,” Callaghan says. “The main thing is, if you drive people to a 10-hour concert, you’ve got to have food there – and you can’t make people stand in line 30 minutes for a taco. We’ve all gone to concerts where you pay $20 for a hot dog and a warm beer. But I’m confident this will be high-quality. The space is great, and we just have to figure out how to deliver the goods.”
Since Orange County artists and businesses are still digging out from the aftermath of Tropical Storm Chantal’s floods back in July, Salt & Smoke & Sound will also have a charitable component. Through Sept. 15, some $5 of the price of all advance tickets sold will be donated to the Orange County Arts Alliance. And at the festival, $1 for each drink sold will be split between Orange County Arts Alliance and the teen-cancer support organization Be Loud! Sophie Foundation.
“Exciting musical guests, great food and hopefully no hurricane,” summarizes Callaghan. “So it’s going to be a beautifully perfect weather day. Let’s go with that.”
The Salt & Smoke & Sound is scheduled for Saturday, October 18, 2025 (rain or shine), at Blackwood Farm Park – south of Hillsborough at 4215 NC-86. For ticket details and volunteer opportunities, check saltsmokesound.com.
