The Biscuit Eaters to Headline Festival Benefiting American Renaissance School

Statesville, NC (August 27^th, 2025) — American Renaissance School is proud to announce the headliner for Downtown Harmonies 2025: The Biscuit Eaters, a nationally recognized bluegrass family band.

The festival will take place Saturday, September 20, 2025, from 12:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m., behind the ARS Gym & Activity Center on Tradd Street. Coinciding with Statesville’s Fall Art Crawl, Downtown Harmonies promises a full afternoon of live music, local flavor, and family fun—all in support of ARS’s K–8 educational programs and capital campaign initiatives.

In addition to this year’s headliner, the festival will feature a Kids Zone, artisan vendors, and food trucks, making it an event for the whole community. The remainder of the lineup will be announced soon.

Tickets:
Adults: $10 in advance / $12 at the door
Kids: FREE

Buy Tickets HERE

About the Headliners

• The Biscuit Eaters– This family of five young pickers (ages 7–16) has been lighting up stages across the Southeast since 2022. Known for their traditional harmonies, heartfelt performances, and toe-tapping energy, they’ve performed at MerleFest, Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour, the Earl Scruggs Music Festival, and more.

“We are thrilled to welcome The Biscuit Eatersto our stage this year,” said Jim Duffey, Executive Director of American Renaissance School. “I’m most looking forward to seeing families and neighbors come together to celebrate amazing talent, enjoy great food, and connect as a community.”

Special Thanks to Our Sponsors

• Creative Partner: KKPR Marketing & Public Relations, Inc.
• Friends of the Festival: Jenkins Cleaners, Emerge Consulting Group, Charter Success Partners, and Alarm South

ARS is still seeking sponsors, vendors, and volunteers to join this year’s event. Businesses and community members are encouraged to get involved in bringing this celebration to life.

For tickets, sponsorship opportunities, or volunteer sign-ups, email downtownharmonies@arsnc.org.

Annual Music Festival Supporting American Renaissance School

Set for Saturday, September 20^th

The stage is set once again for Downtown Harmonies, the signature music festival celebrating live music, local flavor, and community spirit. The festival benefits American Renaissance School’s (ARS) K–8 educational programming and capital campaign initiatives, including the continued development of the American Renaissance Arts and Science Center.

Hosted behind the ARS Gym & Activity Center on Tradd Street, this year’s festival promises an even bigger lineup of regional and local musicians, food trucks, artisan vendors, and an expanded Kids Zone.

Originally launched as the 3B Music Festival, the event was rebranded in 2023 as Downtown Harmonies to better reflect the broad and diverse community ARS serves. The refreshed name and vision made an immediate impact—drawing families, friends, and music lovers of all ages to a vibrant day of fun and fundraising.

This year’s festival will benefit ARS’s K–8 educational programming and capital campaign initiatives, including the continued development of the American Renaissance Arts and Science Center.

“We are thrilled to bring Downtown Harmonies back to life in the heart of our downtown,” said Jim Duffey, Executive Director of American Renaissance School. “This festival not only brings joy to our community—it directly supports the mission and future of our school. We’re excited to keep growing this event and the positive impact it brings.”

Save the Date!

🎶 Downtown Harmonies 2025

📍 Behind the ARS Gym & Activity Center, 205 S. Tradd Street

📅 Saturday, September 20th, 2025

⏰ 12p-5p

ARS is now actively seeking sponsors, volunteers, and community partners to help make this year’s event even more impactful. From helping with event logistics to supporting through in-kind donations or sponsorships, there are many ways to get involved.

“We’re incredibly grateful to last year’s sponsors for their support,” Duffey added. “Thanks to them, we delivered a fantastic experience that energized our school community and strengthened our downtown connection.”

To learn more about sponsorship opportunities or to sign up as a volunteer, please contact downtownharmonies@arsnc.org.

Stay tuned—more details, including artist announcements and vendor lineups, will be released soon!

• Fall Sports Sign-Ups for ARS students
• A Uniform Clothes Closet for gently used school attire

Uniform Policy
Please ensure that your child is following our Dress Code Policy. Many students change upon arriving at school and/ or arriving out of uniform. Students must wear an ARS jacket once inside the school building. In addition, sneakers only are required. Boots, Crocs, slides, and other shoes are prohibited as they are safety concerns.

If a student receive 3 violations by Thursday, families will receive a ClassTag message notifying parents that the student that violated the dress code will NOT be allowed to wear free dress. This information will also be shared with the students. Students will have to be in full school uniform on Friday.

Gryphon Academy
Gryphon Academy begins on Saturday, April 26th, from 9 to 11:45 AM. Classroom teachers sent out invitation-only support for students last month. For more information or questions about Gryphon Academy, don’t hesitate to contact tai.mcmiller@arsnc.org.

MAP Testing
We will have MAP testing on Monday and Tuesday of this week. Times are listed below. Please ensure that you reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher if they have appointments etc.
5-6th: 8AM
4th: 9:30AM
7-8th: 12PM

Encore Reminders:
Encore times can impact your ability sign your child out of school. Please reach out to your child’s homeroom teacher at least two days before you sign your child out early so that we can better prepare for this change in transition. Due to safety reasons, we cannot allow parents to go to recess or our Art’s Building to sign your child out early. To prevent any delays, please send a reminder to your child’s teacher and let our front desk receptionist know!

Attention 4th Grade Families: Keeping with this, please be sure that your child arrives to school on time so that they do not miss encore. With closing ceremonies approaching fast, students are practicing for their performances. Please have your child to school by 7:45AM so that they do not miss their encore classes.

Nursing Needs:
We are completely out of Clorox wipes and sponges (for ice packs). If you can support us with some donations to finish the year strong, that would be great!
Thank you for all that you do to support our school! So many of you have helped with our backpack program and closing ceremonies. We appreciate all that you do to support our school!