—David Menconi, Down on Copperline
Some years back, Danielle Rose went to the annual bluegrass festival regularly held at the Moorefields estate just outside of Hillsborough. Even more than the event’s music, what made the biggest impression on her was the festival’s bucolic woodlands setting at Moorefields, a 70-acre tract a few miles west of where Interstates 40 and 85 split.
“Moorefields is an absolutely stunning place, a beautiful estate with a lot of history,” Rose says of Moorefields (which is in the National Register of Historic Places due to its architecture). “I went to one of their bluegrass festivals and was just in awe of the grounds. And I just really thought we should hold a concert series out there.”
Fast-forward to the present day, in which Rose is now station manager at WHUP, 104.7-FM – the Hillsborough community radio station’s first paid employee. WHUP is co-sponsoring the inaugural Hillsborough Jazz Festival at Mooresville on April 18, and it’s actually something of a revival despite also being the first edition of this event.
Previously, Moorefields hosted an ongoing jazz festival until replacing it with the bluegrass festival, which has been quite successful and continues to this day (the next one is scheduled for Oct. 10, 2026). So both festivals will be co-existing at Moorefields going forward.
The 2026 Hillsborough Jazz Festival will be a one-day event on Saturday, April 18, 2026, during daylight hours so as to be all-ages and family-friendly. Along those lines, kids 12 and under are admitted free.
The festival will feature an array of food trucks from the region and an artisan market. Headlining the performer lineup is Greensboro keyboardist Sam Fribush, who plays “blue-collar jazz” on Hammond organ. Rounding out the schedule are Triangle jazz singer Angela Bingham and her Quartet, and the Durham Jazz Workshop.
“Even though Moorefields is out in the country, it’s actually not that far away,” says Rose. “It’s just six miles from downtown Hillsborough, and just outside the city limits. Knock on wood, it will be a lovely situation if we get a break on the weather with April sunshine instead of shows. Flowers will be blooming then, and the garden at Moorefields is just amazing.”
The first annual Hillsborough Jazz Festival begins at 1 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, 2026, at Moorefields, 2201 Moorefields Road in Hillsborough. It’s a fundraiser for Moorefields as well as Hillsborough community radio station WHUP (104.7-FM). The performer lineup is Sam Fribush, Angela Bingham Quartet and Durham Jazz Workshop. Tickets are $29.15 for adults, $27.15 for military members and $22 for children age 13-17. Children 12 and under will be admitted free.
