By Bryson Lyons | brysonlyonsmedia@gmail.com

Music is a language that ties us all together, and it’s always been easy to find speakers of that language in Sanford.

In terms of local live music, Sanford has in the last several years been having something of a city-wide renaissance. From Carolina Indie Fest to the city’s Summer Concert Series and one-off events at smaller venues like Wild Dogs, Camelback and the Smoke & Barrel, opportunities to hear music live have manifested locally in recent years, and there are a number of active bands who have been formed here and call Lee County home.

The main force behind one of those bands – Sanford’s Hemlock Theory – has been working hard to ride that wave. Billy O’Brien, the band’s singer and guitarist, has stayed busy for the last several months planning HemlockFest, a two day event featuring 14 live bands at the Mann Center for the Arts, which is set for August 29 and 30.

(Before we go any further, I have to provide a disclaimer and some candor. I’m a musician. Further, I’m a musician involved with this festival through not only my role in Hemlock Theory, but also my band Solar Illusion. Even further, I’m roommates with Billy. It’s not hard to set up an interview when you share a living room with someone.)

2026 will mark HemlockFest’s third year, bringing bands from as far away as Charlotte to the Mann Center. The event has grown since beginning in 2024 with just seven bands over one day. Although O’Brien has always held HemlockFest at the Mann Center, this year should sound better than ever with the venue’s upgraded sound system available. In years past, we had to bring in loads and loads of our own speakers.

“We now have more speakers to simultaneously provide better sound to the band onstage,” O’Brien, the frontman of local alt rock band Hemlock Theory and HemlockFest’s organizer, told me.

O’Brien began HemlockFest primarily out of a passion to bring smaller bands from around North Carolina to the Sanford music scene and make it a part of the region’s live show network. Performing from a very young age at Temple Theatre, his love for music and being on stage has given him connections in North Carolina’s underground music scene.

“I played a show at The Night Rider (in Raleigh) with Sunshine’s Moonlight and it was such an enjoyable experience that I wished Sanford had the same thing,” he told me when I asked why he started HemlockFest, referencing a now-closed downtown Raleigh music venue where many of the bands on the bill cut their teeth.

Community is a big part of HemlockFest. Most of the bands know one another already, either through playing shows together in the past or even sharing members. But that focus on community extends beyond the network of area musicians. For the second year, HemlockFest has teamed up with Musicians For Overdose Prevention, an organization that provides free Naloxone nasal spray to music venues around central North Carolina in an effort to stop opioid overdoses. MFOP will have Naloxone available at the door when guests arrive.

HemlockFest emphasizes community connection in other ways as well. An assortment of local vendors will be on hand selling wares at the event, and there’s a raffle both days.

HemlockFest runs from 2 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, August 29 and Sunday, August 30. Tickets – available at the event’s door – are $10 per day or $15 for both days. The full HemlockFest schedule is below.


Saturday, August 29

2 p.m. Lydia Saint George – blending sounds like contemporary folk, goth rock and modern blues
3 p.m. When the Rain Gathers – Greensboro-based hardcore

4 p.m. Modern Moxie – Charlotte-based indie/alternative

5 p.m. ColorMeKrazy! – electronic pop punk from Raleigh

6 p.m. LaureNicole – singer/songwriter from Raleigh fronting a gritty rocknroll band

7 p.m. ETHRIS – Fayetteville band playing metal, punk and shoegaze music

8 p.m. Hemlock Theory – Sanford alternative rocknroll


Sunday, August 30

2 p.m. Luci in the Sunshine – Southern Pines-based acoustic rock

3 p.m. DominicKash – Sanford-based rapper, singer and songwriter

4 p.m. Grace Lucia – acoustic rock artist from Raleigh

5 p.m. hors – Southern Pines-based indie pop band

6 p.m. Everending – post emo rock band from Greensboro

7 p.m. Scarlet Tantrum – artist from Carthage blending yesterday’s pop with today’s rock

8 p.m. Solar Illusion – Sanford-based pop rock band