Carolina Indie Fest

05/21/2026

Energy, excitement and an awesome, engaged crowd - those are the marks of a great Carolina Indie Fest and we had them all this May. Here are some of the moments captured by Ben Brown Photography over the two days of the festival.

Without our sponsors this festival wouldn't exist - and it certainly wouldn't be completely free to the Sanford area. I am grateful to them for bringing this event to Sanford and continuing to support it wholeheartedly. It's a challenge for me to bring it all together and a privilege to do so, I appreciate their trust - and yours - in making Carolina Indie Fest a signature event for our area. Thank you, and see you September 25th and 26th for our 9th Carolina Indie Fest!

05/15/2026

Today is a day for a free music festival, it's day one of our Spring 2026 Carolina Indie Fest! This post will try to summarize everything we got going on and some helpful tips to enjoy your time.

* bring a lawn chair for the best seats in the house! Also, check out the festival website (www.carolinaindiefest.net) for links to maps of public parking.

* that blue cup is the official festival cup. It's $1 and that is a one time fee, just keep getting it filled. Or bring a cup from a past festival of ours and skip the $1 charge. We do the cups to reduce waste over a weekend when we are going to have a lotta trash.

* band lineup is posted here as well as on the website (which also has a description of the band and links to their music). Performing tonight are Jack the Radio, Whoop, The Dapper Conspiracy and Pageant

* food truck lineup is also posted here, more info on the website - you will find food trucks in public parking closest to Steele Street. Serving tonight are Cousins Maine Lobster - Raleigh, NC, Pana's flavors, Doy Doy Grill, Thai Smile Street Food and The Yinzers Truck

* so much to do outside of music - a gaming area hosted by Raven Forge Games, a festival beer called Raven's Revenge sponsored by Raven Forge, custom Indie Fest shirts and flannel bar courtesy of Get Under My Skin. Many many crafty vendors offering cool stuff. Do you like cookies? Visit C&G Sweet Spot and Mom Lisa Gourmet cookies. Want to see and try the coolest instrument you've never heard of? Check out the Woodrow instrument booth. Or how about honey from Homespun Honey NC? There's more, a lot more, so take a stroll into the public parking area or under the parking deck in the area we call The Big Weird.

* don't forget to bring all your burning questions to the Ask A Booth in the beer garden - tonight you'll find the The Pint Sized Pasture and the Sanford Spinners at the booth.

* and get all your Carolina Indie Fest and Hugger Mugger Brewing gear at the back back inside our spacious beer hall. We've got a sale rack and an Amy who is just itching to make you a deal.
We are always excited to host Indie, expect a lot of energy and good vibes as we make this two days of live music and partying with friends old and new.

05/13/2026

What did the spider say to the fly? The can tell you that and more on Friday night - they’re a surprise sub in at the Ask a Booth in the beer garden at Carolina Indie Fest.

This is the inaugural fest for the Booth - get your answers from a human being (we’re still relevant!) instead of an AI ChatBot. We’ve got a wide array of subject matter experts for you to connect with - come engage with them on Friday and Saturday.
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05/12/2026

Special Indie merch coming your way! .under.my.skin is making one of a kind wearable Indie Fest themed art pieces using applique techniques on upcycled clothing.

You can choose from any of their ready-made garments or customize your own at Marilyn’s flannel bar at Indie. Staff will to cut, iron, and sew your customized shirts while you enjoy your Indie Fest experience.

Look for .under.my.skin in the beer garden next to the double doors each day of Carolina Indie Fest.
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05/11/2026

Two great back-to-back interviews with The Southern Brothas and Jo Gore - both new to Indie Fest and both performing Saturday. Lots to enjoy here, Jo answered one of Gordon’s questions by breaking out into song and that’s just one fun moment. The history that the Southern Brothas have, and where they’re headed, is likewise super cool. It’s exciting to get to know these great artists before seeing them live on stage.

Carolina Indie Fest is less than a week out, and we have interviews with two of the performers for Spring 2026 – the Southern Brothas out of Durham and Raleigh’s Jo Gore. Carolina Indie…

05/08/2026

Grab your sweetie and head over to Carolina Indie Fest where smooches might just win you some bling. Before you start laying on the kisses let’s talk deets. How do we turn making out with our sweetie into making out like a bandit? Read on ...

Step 1 - Find the selfie booth inside Hugger Mugger Brewing - it’s a big red British phone booth in the hallway to the beer garden that currently has a sign hanging in it.

Step 2 - Steal a kiss and capture it on camera.

Step 3 - Post the picture on Facebook or Instagram and tag AND

Step 4 - You are now entered to win a pair of 14K Yellow Gold 1 Carat Total Lab-Grown Diamond Stud Earrings. Look to be contacted by the same social(s) you posted on or check our socials as we let folks know you’re a winner!

Step 5 - Repeat step 2 as much as needed.

Can’t make it to Carolina Indie Fest on Friday May 15 and Saturday May 16? This contest starts Friday, May 8th and runs through the end of day Saturday, May 16th. You’ve got 8 days to get your winning smackers over here!
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05/07/2026

Every Carolina Indie Fest has a sponsored collaboration beer and family friendly Raven Forge Games in downtown Sanford is our fest beer sponsor for next week's Indie Fest. Their chosen beer? A cherry sour. We love it, ravens are known to eat cherries - will a conspiracy of ravens drink a cherry sour?

Here are some pictures from the Hugger Mugger Brewing brew day - it's sure not non-stop action on brew day, a lot of waiting on things like water and grain to transfer and water (or wort) temps to rise (or fall). Here's some images to tease your imagination - the real unveiling will be when we have a picture of the beer itself next week.

05/06/2026

Got a burning question? Maybe the Ask a Booth can help? Born of Lucy’s entrepreneurial psychiatric venture in the Peanuts comic strip, the Ask A Booth is a place where you can find expert help on a variety of topics at Indie Fest.

For example, Cascade Plumbing will be at the booth from 5-7pm on Saturday, May 16th. Maybe you’ve got a toilet that won’t stop running, or maybe your hot water runs out quicker now than 5yrs ago. Or maybe you want to know what those stains and buildup are on faucets and around drains. Ask these questions and more, including how much is it gonna cost to fix all this?

Look for the Ask A Booth in the beer garden, away from the stage so you can actually hear the answers! This is an entirely free service populated with folks who just want to engage with the community. Here’s a full list of who’s showing up:

***Friday May 15***
5-7pm -

7-9pm - .nc

Saturday May 16

2-3pm -

3-5pm -

5-7pm - Cascade Plumbing

7-9pm - The Rant

05/05/2026

🚨 New band alert 🚨 is joining us on Saturday May 16th at 8:15pm with their fun brand of hard charging indie rock.

They are replacing whose guitarist is currently stationed in the Middle East and whose deployment was recently extended. All the best to them and to their band member on a safe return home soon.
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02/05/2026

Would you be willing to share your opinion to help improve Carolina Indie Fest?

I'm being challenged to think differently about Indie Fest and how we foster connections with our fans through a local Small Business Center marketing course. I'm getting some great new ideas but they aren't terribly meaningful without hearing from folks who enjoy Indie already.

If you are interested please write to [email protected] - I will reply to your email with a link to the survey in the coming week. It is possible I may ask for a phone conversation afterwards to clarify your answers.

I'm not sharing the survey here, I want committed fans participating - thus the extra step of writing to me. I won't use your email for any other purpose and you won't be signed up for the newsletter (you can do that yourself on the Indie Fest website!)

Thank you, this is a lot of my time being spent on this survey and plan but I'm looking forward to the results!