Final Picking in the Park brings live music to downtown Ellerbe

ELLERBE – Downtown Ellerbe bid farewell to the final Picking in the Park, a free community concert series that brought live music and food trucks to town, with a performance by The Luke Vuncannon Band.

Luke Vuncannon, lead singer and guitarist, shared his motivation for starting the series.

“I decided several months ago that there was nothing happening in my town — this is where I was born and raised, nothing musically happened here, so I wanted to do something,” he said. “In Rockingham you have places like Axe to Grind, Norton’s, Hudson Brothers and I thought it would be something good for the people here in Ellerbe.”

The events, which were free to the public, drew attendees who brought lawn chairs to enjoy the music and food trucks, such as La Suerte taco truck and Perfectly Imperfect Treats.

“Ellerbe is a pretty quiet town, so to have some live music to listen to on a Thursday night has been a treat. I really looked forward to these concerts,” said attendee Phillip Garrett.

The Luke Vuncannon Band performs primarily old-school music from the 1960s and 1970s.

“We like old music. Anything past the 1980s, we don’t really do. So, all classic, old music,” Vuncannon said.

Picking in the Park began on Sept. 19, when Vuncannon performed with his other band, The Axe Handlers. The current band lineup is mostly friends and family from Ellerbe, including Vuncannon’s aunt, who taught him to play the acoustic guitar.

“Steve Berry is the guy that plays acoustic guitar and he’s a lifelong friend here from Ellerbe,” Vuncannon said. “The guy playing the bass is Matthew Nance, he’s from the Denton area. We’ve been playing together in music for a long time. The guy on the drums is Dean Caulder, he’s from here in Ellerbe. So pretty much everybody, except from the bass player is from Ellerbe.”

“Because it’s a small town, word travels around ‘hey you play music?’ next thing you know, we got a group,” he added.

The band has no upcoming outdoor performances with colder weather approaching, but Vuncannon encouraged fans to stay tuned for possible winter shows.

“Tell everybody to stay tuned, I will try to have something coming for the winter months,” he said.

Fans can follow his Facebook page, Luke Vuncannon Music, for updates.