1000 x 90

2017 Mountain Home Music Concert Series Kicks Off Memorial Weekend Concert May 28

Cane Mountain Road

Twenty-four years and counting – that is how many seasons Joe Shannon’s Mountain Home Music has been a staple of the concert scene in the High Country.

In celebration of this legacy, JSMHM is pleased to announce its 2017 Indoor Concert Series. Joe Shannon, the beloved founder of Mountain Home Music, died of cancer in the spring of 2014, leaving behind a strong foundation of presenting entertaining concerts of both regional and nationally known performers.

JSMHM continues to honor Shannon’s vision with a diverse line-up of top quality shows featuring such local favorites as National Heritage Award recipient Wayne Henderson, The Jeff Little Trio and Trevor McKenzie. Nationally known artists such as April Verch and Joe Newberry will be retuning to JSMHM on July 29th following a few years absence. The Green Grass Cloggers will dance their way across the stage to the music of Strictly Strings at the August 19th concert.

Rodney Sutton, JSMHM director, stated – “After 23 years, there are some annual shows that have strong support from our audiences and we try and include these concerts every year. We will kick off our Indoor Summer Concert Series with our Memorial Weekend Sunday show on May 28th, as Cane Mill Road joins the Mountain Home Bluegrass Boys to honor those who have died in service while defending our nation’s freedom. The “Boys” – David Johnson, Steve Lewis, Scott Freeman and Josh Scott – will also share the stage with the King Street Brass Band led by Harold McKinney, for the annual Fourth of July Grass and Brass Celebration. Our final national holiday show will feature Dixie Dawn paying tribute to the working men and women of America on the Saturday of Labor Day Weekend”, Sutton added.

JSMHM will be welcoming a number of acts making their first ever appearance on the MHM stage. Bill and the Belles are a quartet of graduates from the East Tennessee State University’s Old-time, Bluegrass and Country Music program with striking three-part harmonies and masterful instrumentation. Irish musicians, Finn Magill and David Curley, will grace the stage for the JSMHM annual Celtic Christmas Concert on the last Saturday in November. Joining Magill and Curly will by Julee and Mark Weems of Little Windows. Young bluegrass musicians, ShadowGrass will make their début in a show with perennial favorites Strictly Clean and Decent on October 7th.

Building on the success of JSMHM’s first matinee concerts last year, three more of these unique “Pay as you Exit” shows have been added to this season’s concerts. Though these concerts are advertised as “free”, there is a suggested $10 donation. They feature Strictly Strings on Thursday, July 13th, Clay Lunsford and Mathew Weaver on Tuesday, August 29th, and the Southern Highlanders on Tuesday, October 3rd.

All of the JSMHM shows scheduled for the 2017 Indoor Concert Series are presented at comfortable, climate-controlled venues, including the Harvest House Performing Arts Venue in Boone, the Blowing Rock School Auditorium and the Blowing Rock American Legion Hall in Blowing Rock. “We are proud of the indoor venues with consistent top-notch professional sound that we can offer to our audiences in the High Country. The summer weather here in the mountains can be unpredictable, but folks know that our shows go on rain or shine,” says Sutton.

Joe Shannon’s Mountain Home Music is a small 501-c-3 non-profit educational organization that honors the music, singing, storytelling and dance of the Appalachian Region. JSMHM ticket sales cover only a portion of the production cost of this concert series. The balance is underwritten by grants, membership fees, donations and sponsorships. More information on how to become a member of JSMHM and how you may honor a family member or other special loved one with a concert sponsorship can be found on the JSMHM website under the Sponsors heading. Details on all of the concerts and performers can also be found at mountainhomemusic.org.