It’s a sunny afternoon in downtown Bryson City. The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad is pulling into town with numerous locals and visitors alike spilling off the train. A stone’s throw from the tracks is Bryson City Brewing, its co-owner Stan Temple gazing happily at the scene unfolding before him. 

The 21st annual Whole Bloomin’ Thing Festival will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, May 11, in the Historic Frog Level District of Waynesville. 

Within the greater Upstate New York live music scene, there’s a vast landscape of ebbs and flows — peaks and valleys of sonic textures, weaving effortlessly from rock to soul, funk to folk and back again. 

On a recent mid-May morning, Kevin Sandefur spent five hours spreading gravel in the parking lot of the brand new BearWaters Brewing location on South Main Street in Waynesville. 

Growing up in Detroit, Michigan, Greg Wasik saw firsthand that trademark sense of community at neighborhood taverns around the Motor City.

Grabbing the last empty picnic table behind Frog Level Brewing in Waynesville one recent afternoon, Frank Bonomo gazed along the nearby Richland Creek, only to shift his attention to the buzz of people, conversation, and live music swirling around the vast patio area.

It’s early Thursday afternoon, and the two-story taproom of Mountain Layers Brewing in downtown Bryson City is buzzing. 

Andrews 

• Hoppy Trout Brewing Company 828.835.2111 • www.hoppytroutbrewing.com

• Snowbird Mountains Brewery 678.419.3035 • www.snowbirdmountainsbrewery.com  

Bryson City 

• Mountain Layers Brewing 828.538.0115 • www.mtnlayersbeer.com 

• Nantahala Brewing 828.488.2337 • www.nantahalabrewing.com 

Canton 

• BearWaters Brewing 828.246.0602 • www.bwbrewing.com 

Cashiers 

• Whiteside Brewing 828.743.6000 • www.whitesidebrewing.com

Cherokee 

• Native Brews Tap & Grill 828.497.2739 • www.native-brews.com 

Dillsboro 

• Innovation Brewing 828.586.9678 • www.innovation-brewing.com 

Franklin 

• Currahee Brewing 828.634.0078 • www.curraheebrew.com 

• Lazy Hiker Brewing 828.342.5133 • www.lazyhikerbrewing.com 

Hayesville 

• Hayesville Brewing 828.835.6010 

• Nocturnal Brewing 828.305.7337 • www.nocturnalbrewing.com 

Highlands 

• Satulah Mountain Brewing 

828.482.9794 • www.satulahmountainbrewing.com

Maggie Valley 

• BearWaters Brewing (Outpost) 828.944.0009 • bearwatersbrewing.com 

Murphy 

• Valley River Brewery 828.837.2337 • www.valleyriverbreweries.com 

Sapphire 

• Sapphire Valley Brewing 828.743.0220 • www.sapphirebrewingcompany.com 

Sylva 

• Balsam Falls Brewing 828.631.1987 • www.fb.com/balsamfallsbrewing 

• Innovation Brewing 828.586.9678 • www.innovation-brewing.com

• Lazy Hiker Brewing 828.349.2337 • www.lazyhikerbrewing.com 

• Nantahala Brewing (Outpost) 828.641.9797 • www.nantahalabrewing.com 

Waynesville 

• 7 Clans Brewing 828.454.5664 • www.7clansbrewing.com 

• Boojum Brewing 828.944.0888 • www.boojumbrewing.com 

• Frog Level Brewing 828.454.5664 • www.froglevelbrewing.com 

It’s early Thursday afternoon, and though the Memorial Day Weekend summer kickoff is still a couple weeks away, the two-story taproom of Mountain Layers Brewing in downtown Bryson City is buzzing with locals and visitors alike. 

Sitting at a picnic table on the banks of the Pigeon River in downtown Canton, Kevin Sandefur turns around and points to the high-water line on the side of the BearWaters Brewing building.