October is typically a time reserved for autumn events like football games and Oktoberfest, although the Corolla, North Carolina-based Mustang Music Festival has found a way to bring both beer lovers and music festival fans to the same place this fall. Keller Williams and Rusted Root, the headliners this year, are sure to bring in the crowds who will want to buy tickets that are on sale now.
Mustang Music Festival is being held this year on October 9th and 10th and will be celebrating its fifth year since forming in 2011 under the name "The Spring Jam." This year's lineup features 20 artists across three stages including Keller Williams & More Than a Little, Rusted Root, Dirty Dozen Brass Band, The Nth Power, Ryan Montbleau Band, Sister Sparrow & The Dirty Birds, and The Mike Dillon Band. Prior years have included acts like The Fighting Jamesons, Delta Rae, Holy Ghost Tent Revival, and The Revivalists.
The two-day event is held at Whalehead in historic Corolla Park in the Outer Banks and in addition to the music, the festival features over 30 artisans and a Craft Beer Village with numerous regional breweries, as well as food and drink vendors.
Tickets for The Mustang Festival are currently on sale and all proceeds from the festival will go to benefit the Corolla Wild Horse Fund, which helps care and protect the famous wild mustangs of Corolla, and the Mustang Outreach Program, a program dedicated to supplementing cultural arts programming in local Outer Banks schools. A weekend general admission pass includes general admission to festival grounds for Friday and Saturday with access to all 20 bands, the craft beer village, artisan market, morning yoga and first-come, first-serve access to late-night venues. Currently, the GA pass is going for $79.75. A single-day GA pass can also be purchased for $48.75.
A VIP ticket to the festival, meanwhile, includes furnished, shaded VIP lounge access, temperature-controlled, flushable restroom access, VIP-viewing area access at each of the three stages, five complimentary beverages per day, snacks throughout the day served in VIP area and dinner service on Friday and Saturday evenings, not to mention a Thursday admission kick-off party. The VIP ticket is priced at $222.75. A weekend shuttle pass to the festival can be purchased for $23.25 for festival attendees looking for transportation to the event.
Mustang isn't quite the size of popular music festivals like Bonnaroo and Coachella, but the quiet, intimate festival setting caters to music fans that are looking to kick back with a beer and get closer to their favorites artists in a highly desirable vacation town at a time when accommodations partners are willing to let their homes be rented for a more affordable rate.
