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It’s an Old-time Friday at the Jones House with Steve Kruger and Doug Sharkey, The Crooked Road Ramblers

 

The Crooked Road Ramblers

July 31, 2012. The Town of Boone is proud to continue the 2012 Concerts at the Jones House with a free evening concert of old-time mountain music on Friday, August 3, starting at 5 p.m. with Steve Kruger and Doug Sharkey, The Crooked Road Ramblers and The Sheets Family. 

Multi-instrumetalists Steve Kruger and Doug Sharkey will start the concert at 5 p.m. Kruger and Sharkey both attended Appalachian State University and were regular participants in the local and regional old-time music scene. Kruger is an award-winning folksong singer and fiddler, and Sharkey is a veteran Junior Appalachian Musicians instructor from both Watauga and Buncombe counties. The two will play fiddle, guitar, and banjo, presenting traditional tunes and songs from the southern mountains.

“Steve is one of my favorite fiddlers,” said concert organizer Mark Freed. “He really puts his soul into his playing and singing.”

The Crooked Road Ramblers are a driving old-time string band, featuring master fiddler, Kilby Spencer. Another multi-instrumentalist, Spencer grew up in the Whitetop area of Virginia, surrounded by traditional musicians, including both his parents and sister. Spencer is one of the most knowledgeable players and music collectors of traditional old-time fiddlers, and he leads the band with his driving fiddle playing. The band is rounded out by powerhouse guitar player, John Perry, singer and bass player, Karen Carr, rhythm guitar player, Donald Hill, and banjo player Trevor McKenzie.

“The Crooked Road Ramblers are one of the premier regional old-time string bands,” Freed said. “These guys will make you want to get out of your seat and dance.” 

Keeping with the old-time string band traditions, The Sheets Family will finish the evening, with a set starting at 7:30, after a First Friday Exhibit reception in the Jones House at 6:30. The Sheets Family are veterans of the Concerts on the Lawn and bring a two-generation family band, excelling in tight harmony singing and a repertoire of early country music and original songs. Audience members can expect to hear songs of the Carter Family and Blue Sky Boys performed with old-time fiddle, banjo, and guitar accompaniment with Randy, Deborah Jean, and Kelly Sheets.

“The tight harmony singing of mother-daughter and husband-wife duets will send chills up your spine,” Freed said. “The Sheets Family know traditional country and old-time music, and they play it right.”

Concerts at the Jones House take place in downtown Boone at 604 W. King St. every Friday from June through September. The free concert starts at 5 p.m., and patrons are encouraged to bring a chair or blanket to sit in the lawn. The 2012 Concert series is sponsored by MPrints, Stickboy Bread/Melanie’s, Footsloggers, Mast General Store and the Downtown Boone Development Association. For a complete schedule, visit www.boone-nc.org or call 828-262-4576 for more information.