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Plateau elevation: 4,118 feet. Population: 1,116. Average summer temperature: 76 degrees. Average annual snowfall: 13 inches. Number of colors you’ll find in the foliage during autumn: limitless. These numbers begin to paint a picture of Highlands, North Carolina, a magnetic mountain town just a few hours from many Southern cities.

The 17-year-old guitar phenom Grace Bowers and her band were the arguable highlight of the whole festival. During an early afternoon set, she paid homage to the crop of guitar legends who came before her, focusing not on playing as many notes as she could, but on playing the right notes to set just the right moment.

Bear Shadow music festival will return to the Blue Ridge Mountains again for its fourth annual iteration. Under the tagline of “Music, Mountains & Revelry,” the festival will occur on May 11 and 12 in Highlands, N.C. Alongside headliners JJ Grey & Mofro and Black Pumas, the genre-spanning weekend will see live performances from North Mississippi Allstars, Futurebirds, American Aquarium, The Record Company, White Denim and Grace Bowers.

On any given spring or summer evening, there are several places to enjoy live music on the plateau. In this two-part series, we explore an expansive list of offerings, so expansive, in fact, that we decided to split the offerings by location in order to highlight as many as possible. For this issue, our focus is Highlands. In our next issue, we will explore the equally wonderful and unique offerings in Cashiers.

For thousands of country, Americana and bluegrass music fans, warmer weather brings with it a staple of the live music experience: music festivals. Throughout the year, music fans gather at festivals across the nation and around the world, celebrating with friends (and often making new friends), enjoying cold beverages, culinary experiences and of course soaking in music from artists offering a range of styles, from pop-country, Americana, bluegrass, rock-fueled country, ’90s-inspired country and more.

I’ve traveled to a fair share of music festivals and concerts for our Back Porch Sessions, including Bear Shadow in Highlands, North Carolina, and of course, Moon River in Chattanooga. I’ve saved all the wristbands and passes and have quite the collection going. I’m still looking for a fun way to display all of them!

Set in the captivating Blue Ridge Mountains is the Bear Shadow Festival. This annual springtime celebration takes place at a time when bears emerge from hibernation, heralding the end of winter with its enchanting mix of Americana folk tunes.