Fans of progressive bluegrass music and Americana music are in for a treat this month, as banjo master Danny Barnes, guitarist Grant Gordy, and mandolin player Joe K. Walsh come to the Jones House on Tuesday, May 14, for afternoon workshops and an evening concert.
The Barnes, Gordy, and Walsh trio combines some of the best players in the bluegrass, old-time, and folk music circuit. These three veteran artists will bring their top-notch musicianship to the Jones House for a special, un-amplified, indoor concert featuring some of Barnes’ most endearing original songs and tunes from the folk repertoire.
“We approach every tune with an open attitude every day,” Walsh says. “There’s a sort of tacit undiscussed flexibility that we all honor when we play together.”
The trio is anchored by banjo player and singer-songwriter Danny Barnes, who is best known as the frontman of the Bad Livers and his collaborations with Dave Matthews and Bill Frisell. Barnes was the recipient of the coveted Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo and Bluegrass in 2015, and mandolin virtuoso Sam Bush has called him “The Great American Un-Sung Hero.”
Gordy and Walsh come from a more jazz and swing-influenced background, having first bonded over their mutual obsession with learning David Grisman solos. For Walsh, hearing some of the early Grisman records was his first impetus to learn the mandolin. Growing up in Illinois, and later Minnesota, Walsh established himself as the co-founder of progressive bluegrass band Joe Kills Sorrow and a long-time member of The Gibson Brothers. Walsh is now a faculty member at The Berklee College of Music, where he frequently collaborates with Darol Anger and others.
Gordy grew up in Colorado and now makes New York City his home. Gordy spent six years in the David Grisman Quintet, and he released a self-titled solo album in 2010 to critical acclaim. Gordy has been featured on NPR’s Morning Edition, Tiny Desk Concerts, and All Things Considered. He has been showcased in articles in The Fretboard Journal, Acoustic Guitar Magazine, and Flatpicking Guitar Magazine. His playing as been described as “containing kaleidoscopic excellence, startling emotion, and personal revelation.”
The trio will be conducting workshops, starting at 4:00 p.m., for guitar, mandolin, and banjo.
The workshops are free, but advanced reservation is requested. The evening concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Mazie Jones Gallery of the Jones House. Tickets for the evening concert are $20. Concert seats are limited to 40, so advanced reservation is highly encouraged. To make reservations for the workshop or concert, please email Mark Freed at mark.freed@townofboone.net or call the Jones House at 828.268.6280.
All events take place at the Jones House Cultural and Community Center in downtown Boone at 604 W. King St. For more information, visit www.joneshouse.org
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