Ever dream of having your own music festival?…For one Raleigh man that dream is a reality.

Benton Weese will be celebrating his 29th birthday this Thursday, and will be doing it with his own music festival of sorts, “Weesefest,” held at The Pour House Music Hall in downtown Raleigh. The show features five pretty popular bands as well as T-shirts and posters adorned with a photo of the guest of honor .

This year marks the second year the show has been held at The Pour House and the fourth year for Weesefest. After making the event one of The Pour House’s biggest nights last year, this year several bands actually asked him for the opportunity to play the event, one driving from New Jersey in order to make an appearance.

Weese had the opportunity to meet all the bands performing Thursday evening through his job as a doorman for the venue. “They’re all my friend’s bands” Weese said. “Shifter is my favorite

Our special correspondent, Durham bassist Brian Preston, made the journey to the Bonnaroo music festival in Manchester, Tennessee a couple of weeks ago.

D: Sounds like you had a great time Brian. Tell us, what were your favorite bands?

B: Well the thing I learned about Bonnaroo is that there is so much going on all the time you really only see a small fraction of the action. Out of the bands I saw my favorites were Stephen Marley, Umphreys McGhee, Metallica, Zappa plays Zappa, and Grupo Fantasmo. Pearl Jam was pretty good too.

D: Excellent! How long is the drive to Manchester? At least we're not talking Manchester, England!

B: From Durham NC to Manchester TN is a good 8 hrs 30 mins. But alas, it takes longer for stops and to enjoy the beautiful Smokey Mountains as you head into Tennessee.

FYI, From Durham England to Manchester, England is only 2 hrs 10 mins (131 miles!)

D: Bonnaroo is a true multimedia event. Did

There's a lot of great shows going on in the Triangle this weekend. Keller Williams is playing at Koka Booth in Cary tonight, The Blue Bayou Club is hosting the Triangle Blues Society Blues Challenege all weekend, and Saturday Downtown Live is in Moore Square with Carbon Leaf and Blind Melon.

FRIDAY:

The Suburban Sweethearts
Slim’s Downtown Distillery- 227 S Wilmington St, Raleigh
(919)833-6557
10pm

Triangle Blues Society Blues Challenege
Blue Bayou Club – 106 S Churton St, Hillsborough
(919)732-2555
8:30

Keller Williams
Koka Booth Ampitheater-8003 Regency Parkway
(919)462-2052
7pm
$30

SATURDAY:

Carbon Leaf, Blind Melon, Colourslide, Bill West & the Sunshine Kids
Moore Square Park
2-11pm
Free

Greg Humphreys
Carolina Brewery-120 Lowes Dr, Pittsboro
(919)545-2330

ZZ Top and Brooks and Dunn are coming to Raleigh along with Rodney Atkins Saturday September 6th. Tickets for the concert, which will take pace at the Time Warner Cable Music Pavilion, go on sale this Saturday June 28th at 10am at the Hardee’s Thickburger Box Office, livenation.com, Ticketmaster outlets, and by phone at 919-834-4000.

Raleigh's Sunfold is the alter-ego of the band Annuals (who are playing TONIGHT at the Carrboro Arts Center).

While Annuals' compositions generally spring from the keyboard of Adam Baker, Sunfold is the work of guitarist Kenny Florence.

"Toy Tugboats," due for release mid-July, features a wide range of guitar-based tunes, showcasing Florence's rock solid chops and various musical styles, ranging from progressive rock to jazz, and a bit o' country. It's more laid back than Annuals' acclaimed "Be He Me" album, and way more jazzy. If you are a fan of jazz guitar and progressive rock, "Toy Tugboats" may be the thing for you. In a word: arpeggios!

If you catch Annuals this evening in Carrboro, you may hear a few Sunfold pieces in the mix, as they finish up their latest U.S. tour. You will be hard pressed to find a more talented group of musicians.