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Blue Ridge Music Center Announces Lineup for its 2014 Summer Concert Series, Beginning Saturday, May 31

May 29, 2014. The Blue Ridge Music Center is located at the heart of one of the most musical places on earth, the Blue Ridge Mountains. Each summer, concerts are held in its outdoor amphitheater at the center, which seats 2,000 people and lies at the base of Fisher Peak along the Blue Ridge Parkway at milepost 213 on the North Carolina-Virginia state line.

Recently, The Blue Ridge Music Center has announced its lineup for the 2014 Summer Concert Series.

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Courtesy of Blue Ridge Music Center

Bands performing for the Series include Grammy Award Winners The Carolina Chocolate Drops and The Steep Canyon Rangers, Jens Kruger, 2013 Steve Martin Excellence in Banjo & Bluegrass Award Winner, and The Kruger Brothersbluegrass notables Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice, The James King Band and Wyatt Rice, luthier and music maker Wayne Henderson and Piedmont bluesmen Dom Flemons and Boo Hanks.

Guest hosts include Paul Brown from NPR’s Morning Edition and Kinney Rorrer of WVTF-89.1 FM.

A ton of amazingly talented local and regional old-time, bluegrass and country blues artists will also perform, including Stevie Barr & The MastertonesBig Country BluegrassThe Slate Mountain Ramblers, The Elkville String BandThe Wolfe Brothers String Band, The New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters, and Mountain Park String Band plus a few younger, up-and-coming acts from North Carolina and Virginia, including Red June of Asheville, Chatham County Line of Raleigh, Kripplekrunk feat. Rex McGee of Stokes County, The Buckstankle Boys of Round Peak, The New Spring Valley Boys of Grayson County, Va, Jus’ Cauz Bluegrass Band of Danville, Hard Cider of Grayson County, Va, Kitty Amaral & The Stray Cats of Galax, Va, The Black Twig Pickers of Blacksburg, Va and The Indian Run Stringband of Blacksburg, Va.

Blue Ridge Music Center Summer Concerts will begin on Saturday, May 31 with Bluegrass and Old Time Mountain Music performed by Chatham County Line and The Buckstankle Boys, continuing through October 11 concert, featuring The Steep Canyon Rangers and The New Spring Valley Boys.

Shows are generally scheduled on Saturday evenings from 7 to 9 p.m., with a few exceptions: a Friday show on June 20, the night before Wayne Henderson’s Festival at Grayson Highlands State Park, and a Sunday evening show on Aug. 3 that ties into the arrival of folks for the Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention the week of Aug. 4 through Aug. 9. Also, the final four fall shows of the season on Sept. 20 and 27 and Oct. 4 and 11 will begin at 4 p.m.

For evening concerts, patrons are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs and are welcome to bring their own picnic baskets, but alcohol is prohibited.

The Galax Smokehouse will be present on concert nights, serving their Texas-sized portions of Memphis-style barbeque plus incredible sides.

Advance tickets can be purchased online at The Blue Ridge Music Center website, through Brown Paper Tickets, by calling or visiting the Blue Ridge Music Center or the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation office in Winston-Salem or at Barr’s Fiddle Shop in Galax, Va. Ticket prices range from $7 to $20, depending on the show.

Blue Ridge Music Center 2014 Season ticket passes are available by contacting the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation office at  866-308-2773 ext. 213. Season Passes are $100, a $118 discount off the full season ticket value of $218.

The Blue Ridge Music Center also hosts several other attractions throughout the summer.

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The Roots American Music Exhibition. Courtesy of Blue Ridge Music Center.

Experience regional traditional music each day of the week with local musicians performing on the breezeway of the visitors center for Mid-Day Mountain Music from noon to 4 p.m. each day for free.

Come see The Roots American Music Exhibition, a free, state-of-the-art, interactive and entertaining exhibition that highlights the historical significance of the region’s music. Trace the history of Blue Ridge Mountain music through local artists back to its creation generations ago by persons from Europe and West Africa and see its continued influence on many forms of folk, rock and popular music made across America today.

The Blue Ridge Music Center is operated by The National Park Service, and the Music Center’s programming is coordinated through a partnership with The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.

Visit the www.BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org to purchase advance tickets or for more detailed information about the season schedule, including bios, images, web links and videos of the performers.