Raleigh’s third annual Raleigh Wide Open is a 36 hour free festival that is set to celebrate the opening of the new Raleigh Convention Center with appearances from bands such as Soul Asylum, Chuck Berry, and Arrested Development. This excites who exactly? Not that I don’t adore Chuck Berry but shouldn’t these things be about fresh and exciting music?

Well, if you’re in Raleigh this weekend and looking for great music at an all-day (free) outdoor festival then you’re in luck, just steer clear of that main stage. For the good shit, head over to the first annual Cherry Bounce Festival that is taking place in conjunction with Raleigh Wide Open at the intersection of Fayetteville and Hargett streets. The lineup beats the other two stages by a landslide.

Friday, September 5
12:00 - Big Mama E & The Cool
1:30 - The Solos Unit
3:00 - Lonnie Walker
4:15 - Dawn Chorus (MP3: “I’m Cured!”)
5:30 - The Bleeding Hearts (MP3: “Status Symbol”)
6:30 - Dex Romweber Duo
8:00 - Annuals (MP3: “Sore”)

Saturday, September 5
12:15 - The Moaners
1:30 - Red Collar
2:45 - Brother Reade
4:00 - The T’s
5:15 - Freebase 808
7:00 - The Urban Sophisticates
8:00 - Islands (MP3: “The Arm”)

The Cherry Bounce Alternative Music Festival is named in honor of a cocktail that very well may be the reason there is a Raleigh. Cherry Bounce is a mash of cherries, sugar and whiskey or brandy. It became legendary in 1792 when a commission of nine men appointed by the General Assembly went in search of a site to serve as North Carolina’s permanent capital. Col. Joel Lane, a Revolutionary War veteran and gregarious tavern and inn keeper, had the men staying at his inn and managed to convince the officials that his parcel of 1,000 acres was the perfect location for the state capital. Many claimed that the commissioners were influenced by Col. Lane’s libation, the Cherry Bounce, which he liberally shared and of which they had become quite fond.