Punch Brothers Open An Appalachian Summer Festival’s 42nd Season on June 27
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Office of Arts Engagement &
Appalachian State University
PO Box 32045
Boone, NC 28608-2045
Phone: 828-262-2931
Email:
Punch Brothers Open An Appalachian Summer Festival’s
42nd Season on June 27
The Grammy-winning progressive string band brings music from its forthcoming album
“The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers” and fan favorites from across its catalog. Tickets on sale now.
BOONE, NC — Grammy-winning progressive string band Punch Brothers opens the 42nd season of An Appalachian Summer Festival, Appalachian State University’s annual multi-disciplinary summer arts celebration, with a performance at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts on Saturday, June 27 at 7:30pm. Tickets range from $25-$70, and limited seats remain.
Punch Brothers, formed by mandolinist Chris Thile in 2006, is known for pushing the boundaries of acoustic music. In addition to Thile, the band currently comprises guitarist Chris Eldridge, bassist Paul Kowert, banjoist Noam Pikelny, and violinist Brittany Haas. Punch Brothers has garnered critical acclaim, including a Grammy for Best Folk Album for All Ashore (2018). The Washington Post applauded them for taking “bluegrass to its next evolutionary stage, drawing equal inspiration from the brain and the heart.”
Over the past two decades, Punch Brothers has become a pioneer in modern string music, with albums like Antifogmatic (2010), Who’s Feeling Young Now (2012), and The Phosphorescent Blues (2015) showcasing the group’s genre-defying sound. Rolling Stone praised their work as “wild virtuosity used for more than just virtuosity,” cementing their reputation as trailblazers in contemporary acoustic music. The band’s most recent album, Hell on Church Street (2021), is a reimagining of, and homage to, the late bluegrass great Tony Rice’s landmark solo album Church Street Blues.
Most recently, Punch Brothers have been focused on the band’s musical variety show, The Energy Curfew Music Hour. Season One is available on all podcast platforms, with season two exclusively out on Audible. Season 1 was nominated for a Webby Award in the Podcast: Features, Experimental & Innovation category; it also won Most Innovative Audio Experience, Best Live Podcast Recording, and Best Sound Design in the Listener’s Choice category of the 2025 Signal Awards.
The Unsung Adventures of Punch Brothers, the seventh album from the Grammy-winning band — and its first comprising all instrumental tunes as well as its first with fiddle player Brittany Haas, who joined the quintet in 2023 — is due July 24, 2026, on Nonesuch Records. The album features eight new original compositions by Punch Brothers as well as three traditional songs they arranged.
This year’s An Appalachian Summer Festival takes place June 27-August 1, 2026 at multiple venues on the campus of App State and features an outstanding spate of music, dance, theatre, film, and visual arts programming. Headlining musicians include Gladys Knight, Straight No Chaser Beach Bash, Darren Criss, Rick Springfield, and The Jayhawks, plus an extraordinary lineup of classical, dance and theatre, including Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, The Other Mozart, Merz Trio, WindSync, Calidore String Quartet, Aaron Diehl, and more. Information and tickets available at AppSummer.org.
Tickets
Prices are structured for multiple artistic tastes and budgets, with several free events and various discounts for children, students, and App State faculty/staff. Tickets are available in person at the Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts Box Office (733 Rivers St), online at AppSummer.org, or by phone at 828-262-4046.
About An Appalachian Summer Festival
Presented by Appalachian State University’s Office of Arts Engagement and Cultural Resources, this annual celebration of the performing and visual arts is held every summer in venues across the university campus, and features a diverse mix of music, dance, theatre, visual arts, and film programming. An Appalachian Summer Festival began in 1984 as a chamber music series and retains strong roots in classical music, combined with a variety of other programming geared to varied artistic tastes, preferences, and price points. The festival has become one of the region’s leading arts events, attracting more than 27,000 visitors to the High Country each summer. Southern Living Magazine called App Summer “a cultural hotspot [and] one of America’s biggest summer arts celebrations.”
Corporate Sponsors
Bonnie and Jamie Schaefer, Christine Petti, Neil and Nancy Schaffel, App State Campus Store, Broyhill Family Foundation, Catsman Foundation, Mast General Store, Appalachian Home Care LLC, The Art Cellar Gallery, Dianne Davant & Associates, Explore Boone, Goodnight Brothers, Highstreet Insurance Partners, SkyBest Communications, Banner Elk TDA, Creekside Electronics, Grandview Events & Catering, Peabody’s Wine & Beer Merchants, Premier Sotheby’s International Realty, Rosemyr Corporation, Courtyard by Marriott, Graystone Lodge, Hampton Inn & Suites, and Holiday Inn Express-Boone
Media Sponsors
WBTV, WCYB, PBS North Carolina, Our State Magazine, The Mountain Times, Watauga Democrat, WNC Magazine, The Assembly, Creative Loafing Charlotte, Yes! Weekly, Winston-Salem Journal, Greensboro News & Record, WZJS 100.7 and WATA 96.5, WHKY 1290AM and 102.3FM, WDAV 89.9FM, WFDD 88.5FM, WASU 90.5FM, and WKSK The Farm
Restaurant Sponsors
Coyote Kitchen, The Local, Lost Province, LP on Main, and Pepper’s
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