Join us for a weekend of music, memory, and community, October 10 & 11, 2025, where we will celebrate making music in the concert and community spirit of Odell and Joe Thompson. “Hook & Line—The Thompson Music & Arts Heritage Festival” is a celebration of the
musical legacy of the extended Thompson Family of Alamance and Orange Counties, NC, particularly the world-renowned Thompson first-cousins,
Odell Thompson (1911-1994) and Joe Thompson (1918-2012). The Festival is a collaboration among the City of Mebane, members of the extended Thompson and Evans families, local and regional musicians, the Mebane Historical Museum, and the Mebane Public Library. The film “The Life and Times of Joe Thompson” (2004) by Iris Thompson Chapman provides a unique insider’s introduction into an extended family’s and community’s exceptional story, often in the first-person voice of Joe Thompson himself. The artistry and skill of Reidsville, NC sculptor, Brad Spencer, captured the powerful artistry and commitment to engaging community members and live audiences with music in his installation, “Knee to Knee,” positioned next to the Fiddler’s Stage in the Mebane Community Park, Mebane, NC. For more information about this distinctive public art piece, visit https://www.pbs.org/video/muse-307-knee-to-knee-gbxou8/. The inaugural “Hook & Line Fest” will feature the COVID-delayed official dedication of Brad Spencer’s “Knee to Knee” at 1:30 pm on Saturday Oct. 11, 2025. Following the dedication of the “Knee to Knee” sculpture, the Mebane Community Park’s Fiddler Stage
will host a cavalcade of touring and community musicians, performing music in the community and concert spirit of Odell and Joe Thompson, and curated, in part, by founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Justin Robinson. The weekend will kick off with a community square dance at the Mebane Arts & Community Center on Friday evening Oct 10, 2025. Leading up to the festival weekend, musician and tenured art professor, Michael Ananian will mount a group exhibition, reflective of old time, community-based music—then and now--as well as art made by practicing musicians, at multiple sites Mebane, NC. A festival of the caliber intended by the organizers requires critical support from sponsors, donors, and community volunteers. For more information about supporting the Festival, contact Larry Vellani at [email protected] or call 336.380.6313.
