Lula Lake Land Trust will put on a music festival in August to celebrate its 25th anniversary.
The local non-profit that has protected 12,000 acres will hold the celebration event Saturday, August 10 on its 850-acre core preserve on Lookout Mountain along Lula Lake Road. The Timber Roots Music Festival will be an outdoor concert that allows the public to witness the beauty of Lula Lake while listening to live music, according to a release from a trust spokesperson
"We're excited to invite the public to our special anniversary celebration," said Cody Roney, trust executive director, via the release. "Timber Roots will herald a new era for Lula Lake with special announcements for where our nonprofit envisions itself in the years to come."
Country artist The Kernal, Caleb Gents and local band The Afternooners will open the show. Local sister trio Spinster will also perform.
The event will be headlined by Aaron Lee Tasgan - an Americana musician from Nashville who has received accolades from the New York Times, NPR and Rolling Stone, according to the release.
"We're Americana as they say," Tasgan told the Times Free Press. "It's a rock 'n' roll band at heart. The places we're coming from are from a lot of guys like Elton John and Tommy Petty ... It's Beatles-influenced rock 'n' roll done Nashville style."
The band previously played at the local Nightfall concert series, and Lula Lake representatives approached the band about headlining the event.
"I read up about [Lula Lake Land Trust] and thought it was something I could certainly get behind," Tasgan said. "We're happy to be supporting people who are doing the kind of stuff we believe in."
The land trust was founded in January 1994 by the will of Robert Davenport to protect and preserve the natural and historic landscapes surrounding Rock Creek and Bear Creek along with their tributaries through conservation, education and low-impact recreation. The property is closed to the public with the exception of open gate days the first and last weekends of the month. The land trust hosts educational groups throughout the week and does other conservation work. Reservations are required for open gate days and can be made at the Lula Lake website.
The Timber Roots Music Festival begins at 3 p.m. and is expected to last until 11. Food trucks and restaurant vendors will be on-site. There will also be an outdoor bar, hiking, raffle prizes and more. Tickets range from general admission to VIP with camping accommodations. More information and tickets are available here.
Contact staff writer Mark Pace at mpace@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6659. Follow him on Twitter @themarkpace and on Facebook at ChattanoogaOutdoorsTFP.