To the guitar, banjo, and autoharp they add harmonious voices and an assortment of unusual folk instruments including the flute, clarinet, doumbec, whistles, spoons, and ukulele.

"We are," as one member of the group put it, "the alternative to bluegrass in our region."

The "Butternuts" perform regularly at the Campbell Folk School and the Union County Courthouse and can be heard in concerts throughout north Georgia and western North Carolina.

Butternut Creek and Friends performs for fun and gives the money it earns from concerts away. The fees for concerts, festivals, and parties pay for the recordings and the proceeds from the recordings go to charities.

Through CD sales, Butternut Creek has supported many local organizations such such as Wilderness Scouts, the S.A.F.E. shelter for battered women, Habitat for Humanity, the Georgia Mountain Arboretum, and the Union County Courthouse Restoration Project. It raised money for Hurricane Katrina victims and and supported projects to protect the environment at home and in places as far away as Vermont and Guyana.

Butternut Creek and Friends is, in short, a group that tries to give back all that it receives from the mountain community that is its home, a place where, as one song puts it, "the blossoms are a-bloomin' and music fills the air."

You can see more photos of the group and learn about their recordings by clicking on the items below. If you would like for Butternut Creek and Friends to play for your local venue or for a private party, contact them at ivylog@alltel.net.

(Logo by Georgia artist Dale Cochran).