Musicians jam at the farm

Jordan Lake Music Festival ends today

APEX -- When George Faget bought a neglected 19th-century farmhouse on 20 acres near Jordan Lake about five years ago, he planned to make it a working farm.

But Faget, who owns two Specs eyeglasses stores in Durham, changed his mind after the recent droughts.

"I decided to raise talent," Faget (pronounced fuh-zhay) quipped. "That requires little water."

That's the long-story-short genesis of the first Jordan Lake Arts & Music Festival, which got under way Saturday and continues from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. today on Faget's property, now known as Jordan Lake Farm, in northeastern Chatham County.

The main attraction is nearly 20 music acts that span a broad spectrum -- including country, rock, blues, bluegrass and reggae. In addition, local environmental groups have set up tents to promote efforts to clean up Jordan Lake, which is a half-mile away.

The Saturday morning crowd was sparse but upbeat.

Anne Moore, 45, of Pittsboro said despite the "fairly expensive" tickets, she was drawn by the prospect of seeing the TROSA Band, a group she really enjoys, as well as sampling some other bands.

"I don't stay up, really, with new music," she said. "I'm hoping I hear something I like." Tickets were $25 in advance, $30 the day of the event.

Genevieve Guibert, 27, of Carrboro biked to the festival from Chapel Hill with her mother, Judy Guibert, and members of the Carolina Tarwheels cycling group.

"It kind of reminds me of the Eno Festival a little bit," she said.

Faget, 54, founded the nonprofit group that is sponsoring the Jordan Lake Music festival and estimates he lent it more than $40,000 to finance the festival. And, of course, he donated the venue -- which he has been sprucing up, with the help of friends, over the past five years.

"People say, how come you don't get overwhelmed?" he said. "Because I don't step back from it. I just stay focused on the little project I'm working at."

The goal is to make the music festival a semi-annual event.

"I enjoy seeing music played and played well," said Faget. "I like being in the audience ... and I see all the smiley faces around the audience. I decided I have a nice, flat, comfortable, easy-walking area here on the farm. This will lend itself really well for this type of entertainment."

The festival sold a few hundred tickets in advance, but Faget and Germane James, the festival's coordinator, said they had no expectations of what attendance will be this weekend.

"In life, all I can do is work at it, and the results are the results," said Faget, who has a bushy moustache. "For me to be guessing, it's almost wasted energy."

Faget was all energy Saturday morning, directing traffic in the parking area, setting up traffic cones along the highway and putting up signs on the five stages.

After nailing a sign on the "Back Porch Stage" -- literally the back porch of the farmhouse -- he stepped back and appraised his handiwork.

"It's official," he said as he hastily made the sign of the cross, then flashed a grin.

One stage is the Fire Truck Stage. It's a restored pumper that Faget originally bought thinking he could use it to water his fields during dry spells.