Free Summer Concerts in Bristol
Free Summer Concerts in Wise, VA
Call for Community Curators!
Bristol TN/VA (April 17, 2013) – Do you have an interest in Bristol’s history? Knowledgeable about our music heritage? Passionate about Bristol’s community? The Birthplace of Country Music® invites you to become a Community Curator for the upcoming Birthplace of Country Music® Museum! Slated to open in August 2014, the BCMM will tell the story of Bristol as the Birthplace of Country Music®.To fully tell that story, BCMM needs your input. A team of scholars has been working on museum exhibits for several months—these folks include historians, professors,editors, filmmakers, and museum experts. This team also wants to make sure that the community’s voices are heard,and invites community participation in these exhibit projects for those who want to be involved.
The first Community Curators meeting will take place on Thursday, April 18, 2013, at 5:00 p.m. in the BCM office located at 416 State Street Suite A in Bristol, Tenn. The meeting will kick off the first of several Third Thursday meetings about the museum.
For more information, please call BCM Marketing/Communications Associate Sarah Tollie at 423-573-1927 or e-mail curator@birthplaceofcountrymusic.org.
Fundraiser for BCM Educational Programming
Click here to purchase tickets online.Saturday, April 6th Blue Stocking Club of Bristol will host a fundraiser for Birthplace of Country Music Museum music programming. The event will take place at The Paramount Center for the Arts in Historic Downtown Bristol, TN/VA. Virtuosic banjoist Bela Fleck is joined in matrimony and music by clawhammer chaunteuse Abigail Washburn, both will headline the momentous concert. Mountain Stage New Song Contest winner and singer/songwriter/film composer Amber Rubarth Trio featuring Dave Eggar will also perform. Tickets are $35, on sale now.
About the Artists...
With more than a dozen Grammy Awards under his belt-and more nominations in more categories than any other musician-Bela Fleck is without question the most celebrated and technically proficient banjo player in the world. Fleck's groundbreaking, experimental techniques and diverse collaborations with other artists have earned him legendary status.
Declared "a modern classic" by the Boston Globe and a "daring, definite talent" by The Wall Street Journal, Abigail Washburn is a respected solo talent known also for her work with the all female roots band Uncle Earl. It was her interest in Chinese culture that helped inspire Sparrow Quartet, her side project with husband Bela Fleck, renowned violinist Casey Driessen and innovative cellist Ben Sollee.
Produced by Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Norah Jones, Kings of Leon), Amber Rubarth's fifth album, A Common Case of Disappearing, debuted at number 13 on iTunes' songwriter chart and features duets with Jason Reeves and Jason Mraz. Acoustic Guitar Magazine raves, "She has developed a unique gift of knocking down walls with songs so strong they sound like classics from another era."
About Blue Stocking Club:
The Blue Stocking Club of Bristol, founded in 1920, is our region's oldest women's community service organization benefiting approximately 35 agencies annually. 100% of fundraising profit is given back to the community. Birthplace of County Music Museum, a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, will use proceeds from the fundraiser to implement music programs for for children and visitors of all ages. Now under construction, Birthplace of Country Music Museum is slated to open August 2014.
Mountain Stage Makes Its Mark on Bristol
Written by Sarah TollieBristol is simply meant for music.
That's a sentiment I feel every day in my line of work — but at certain times, it's one that's amplified. Rhythm & Roots. Border Bash. House concerts.
Last Sunday night, I added Mountain Stage to that list.
Sponsored by the Birthplace of Country Music, West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Mountain Stage makes its way to Bristol twice a year and airs on National Public Radio (NPR) each week.
Sunday's line-up nearly spoke for itself: Texas swing vets Asleep at the Wheel, bluegrass greats Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, Irish instrumental group Lunasa, singer-songwriter Kate Campbell, and Brooklyn-based old-time group, The Downhill Strugglers.
Before the show, I had the chance to speak with Kevin Crawford from Lunasa and Larry Keel from Larry Keel & Natural Bridge. Their excitement about being in Bristol — and their willingness to share their stories about our city — furthered that feeling of Bristol being meant for music. Crawford, despite growing up "across the pond," connected with our area's music from birth. He cited much of the music from the Bristol Sessions, including Jimmie Rodgers and The Carter Family, as majorly shaping him as a musician. Keel echoed much of Crawford's words — despite growing up in Clintwood, Va., many, many miles from the U.K.
The show itself took that idea to a larger level. The Downhill Strugglers opened the show, and even played a J.P. Nester tune — "Train on the Island" — which was recorded during the 1927 Bristol Sessions. Larry Keel & Natural Bridge also paid homage to the area, weaving references to Virginia throughout their set.
It also made me think about the performance possibilities for the museum — possibilities that will be realized in less than two years. In addition to Mountain Stage, what other events or artists might you like to see in Bristol, and specifically, at the museum?
While you ponder, please visit mountainstage.org for more music. Our show will air in May. And, don't forget to visit us on our Facebook and Twitter pages.
Happy Friday, all!
Sarah
BCM Presents: Mountain Stage March 10th
Bristol, TN/VA- Birthplace of Country Music welcomed Mountain Stage with Larry Groce Executive Producer Adam Harris to their office to reveal who would be performing at the upcoming road show in Bristol on Sunday, March 10 at the Paramount Center for the Arts. Click here to watch press conference on YouTube.Asleep at the Wheel, Lunasa, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge, The Down Hill Strugglers, and Kate Campbell are slated to perform.
Tickets to Mountain Stage are $35. For $75, patrons can reserve a seat at Mountain Stage and also take part in a pre-show reception, for which there are a limited number of 100 tickets. For reservations visit TheParamountCenter.com or call the box office at 423-274-8920.
Birthplace of Country Music has hosted West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Mountain Stage with Larry Groce radio show in the region twice annually since 2006. West Virginia Public Broadcasting is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).
Mountain Stage with Larry Groce can be heard locally on WETS 89.5 FM and WETS-HD-1 Saturdays 2:00 am-4:00 am and 8:00 pm-10:00 pm. Mountain Stage can also be heard on WETS-HD-2 Sundays 9:00 am-10:00 am, Mondays 11:00 am-noon, and Saturdays 2:00 pm- 4:00 pm.
Asleep at the Wheel is the famed western- swing, boogie, and roots-music outfit that is, amazingly, still on the upswing. That's saying something too, considering the group's been around for nearly 40 years, turning out more than 25 albums while playing an unrelenting schedule of one-nighters that would make a vaudevillian dizzy. When you see Asleep at the Wheel perform, you're seeing something very special — a band that's not only been entertaining audiences with its own genre-busting music for four decades, but also a group that's never been afraid to try something new — including a reinvention, inspired by the past, that rolls joyously toward a long and shining future.
Named for an ancient Celtic harvest festival in honor of the Irish god Lugh, patron of the arts, Lunasa is a gathering of some of the top musical talents in Ireland. Its members have helped form the backbone of some of the greatest Irish groups of our time, including The Waterboys, The Sharon Shannon Band, Donal Lunny's Coolfin, Moving Clous and "Riverdance." Called an "Irish music dream team" (Folk Roots) and "the new Celtic royalty" (Boston Herald), Lunasa has performed across Europe, Japan and Australia, including the Montreux Jazz Festival, London's Guinness Fleadh, the Hollywood Bowl and the Chicago Celtic Festival. The Irish Voice calls Lunasa "The hottest Irish acoustic group on the planet."
Larry Keel is described by some reviewers as the most powerful, innovative and all-out exhilarating acoustic flatpicking guitarist performing today. Keel has absorbed the best lessons from his bluegrass family upbringing, both sides deeply steeped in the rich mountain music culture and heritage of Southwest Virginia. From there, he has always integrated that solid musical approach to flat-picking the guitar and composing original music. He's earned the highest respect and billing among the top acoustic musicians from past and present: Tony Rice, Chris Thile, Vassar Clements, Sam Bush, Del McCoury, John Hartford and Bill Monroe to name a few.
The Down Hill Strugglers is a Brooklyn, N.Y.-based string band bringing old-time music to a new generation. The band plays a wide variety of old-time songs, fiddle tunes and ballads at every performance. Inspired by the fusion of Scots-Irish and African music in Appalachia, the Western states and the Deep South from the earliest colonial times through the Second World War, The Down Hill Strugglers' music mixes the old-time feeling and freewheelin’ energy of American folk music. It's an approach that makes the band's music unstoppable, and its shows, unforgettable.
Kate Campbell
Since making her recording debut in 1995 singer/songwriter Kate Campbell has put together a body of work matched only (perhaps) by Emmylou Harris in consistency and Lucinda Williams in terms of pure, wrenching, honest self-examination and self-revelation. While doing so, she has managed to include the likes of Guy Clark, Emmylou Harris, John Prine, Nanci Griffith, Maura O'Connell, Buddy Miller and the heart of the Muscle Shoals classic soul and R&B hit-making machine as both admirers and collaborators in her distinctly literate musical vision. Her endearing, clear-water vocal delivery, eloquent gift for storytelling (which has drawn repeated comparisons to such bastions of the Southern writing tradition as Flannery O'Connor, Eudora Welty and William Faulkner), and easy command of a full-range of American music styles have combined to earn Campbell recognition as a formidable talent by critics, musicians and a discerning public.
BCM Mountain Stage Press Conference
Bristol, TN/VA — Mountain Stage with Larry Groce Executive Producer Adam Harris will announce the line-up for the travelling radio show's next Bristol event at a press conference on Wednesday, January 23, 2013 at 11:30am at the Birthplace of Country Music/Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion office located at 416 State Street, Suite A, Bristol, TN. Mountain Stage with Larry Groce will tape the show live from The Paramount Center for the Arts, 518 State Street, Bristol, TN, on Sunday, March 10, 2013 at 7:00pm. Doors will open at 6:30pm.
Birthplace of Country Music has hosted West Virginia Public Broadcasting's Mountain Stage with Larry Groce radio show in the region twice annually for nearly a decade. West Virginia Public Broadcasting is a member station of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR).
Mountain Stage with Larry Groce can be heard locally on WETS 89.5 FM and WETS-HD-1 Saturdays 2:00am-4:00am and 8:00pm-10:00pm. Mountain Stage can also be heard on WETS-HD-2 Sundays 9:00am-10:00am, Mondays 11:00am-noon, and Saturdays 2:00pm-4:00pm.
BCM Fundraiser: Bela Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Amber Rubarth
Saturday, April 6th Blue Stocking Club of Bristol will host a fundraiser for Birthplace of Country Music Museum music programming. The event will take place at The Paramount Center for the Arts in Historic Downtown Bristol, TN/VA. Virtuosic banjoist Bela Fleck is joined in matrimony and music by clawhammer chaunteuse Abigail Washburn, both will headline the momentous concert. Mountain Stage New Song Contest winner and singer/songwriter/film composer Amber Rubarth will also perform.Blue Stocking Club is asking generous community supporters to become "Honky Tonk Heroes" by giving $1,000 for the cause, earning them Producer status with program recognition, four tickets to the concert with preferred seating, and an invitation to a pre-concert gala to be held at the Bristol Train Station. Donations should be made online at www.bluestockingclub.org, checks can be mailed to Blue Stocking Club, P.O. Box 1022, Bristol, TN 37621.
Tickets to the concert have yet to go on sale, more details will be released as they become available.
About the Artists...
With more than a dozen Grammy Awards under his belt-and more nominations in more categories than any other musician-Bela Fleck is without question the most celebrated and technically proficient banjo player in the world. Fleck's groundbreaking, experimental techniques and diverse collaborations with other artists have earned him legendary status.
Declared "a modern classic" by the Boston Globe and a "daring, definite talent" by The Wall Street Journal, Abigail Washburn is a respected solo talent known also for her work with the all female roots band Uncle Earl. It was her interest in Chinese culture that helped inspire Sparrow Quartet, her side project with husband Bela Fleck, renowned violinist Casey Driessen and innovative cellist Ben Sollee.
Produced by Jacquire King (Tom Waits, Norah Jones, Kings of Leon), Amber Rubarth's fifth album, A Common Case of Disappearing, debuted at number 13 on iTunes' songwriter chart and features duets with Jason Reeves and Jason Mraz. Acoustic Guitar Magazine raves, "She has developed a unique gift of knocking down walls with songs so strong they sound like classics from another era."
About the Organization...
The Blue Stocking Club of Bristol, founded in 1920, is our region's oldest women's community service organization benefiting approximately 35 agencies annually. 100% of fundraising profit is given back to the community. Birthplace of County Music Museum, a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, will use proceeds from the fundraiser to implement music programs for for children and visitors of all ages. Now under construction, Birthplace of Country Music Museum is slated to open August 2014.
Making the Museum, Part II: Meet the Team
Written by Sarah TollieLast week, I wrote about the Goodpasture Motors Building – the future site of the Birthplace of Country Music® Museum. This week, it’s only fitting that I introduce you to the team charged with making the museum as vibrant as the very history it’s housing.
Without question, the museum’s team includes you, your family, and your friends – anyone interested in and devoted to Bristol and its legacy as the Birthplace of Country Music®. It includes the countless hours and tireless efforts of our past and present directors, board members, and volunteers. The museum has not, and will never be, a one-person effort.
The team that I’ve come to know over the past six months – the one I’m giving you a glimpse into today and next week – includes several important pieces: studioMUSarx, our architecture and exhibit designers, based in Philadelphia, Pa.; Hillmann & Carr, our media production team, based in Washington, D.C.; Peyton Boyd Architect, our local architecture firm; Burwil, our local construction firm; and our content research team, a group of local scholars and professionals tasked with telling Bristol’s story.
Today, I’m introducing the not-so-local parts of our team. They may be based beyond Tennessee and Virginia, but their commitment to and interest in Bristol makes them an instrumental part of our community.
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