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Blowing Rock Free Monday Night Concerts Begin July 11 with Amy Marie Young

If you are in the High Country on a Monday night looking for something to do with the whole family, the town of Blowing Rock offers the Monday Night Concert Series (MNCS).  In a quaint gazebo surrounded by a pond, bring your lawn chair or blankets and enjoy a free evening of music.  The concert is best described as a cabaret blend of musical theatre, jazz, country and contemporary favorites.  The concert begins at 7 p.m. in the Broyhill Park (Clark Street) and the alternate weather location is the American Legion building on Park Avenue.

Amy Marie Young
Amy Marie Young
 
The MNCS is based off of the former Farm House Inn and Restaurant that was popular in Blowing Rock for over 50 years. The Farm House hired college-age singing wait staff that performed while you dined and also offered full staged shows at the end of the evening.  Many Farm House alumni have gone on to win Tony Awards, sing at opera houses all over the world, or be featured in television or movies.  And as is tradition for the MNCS, several Farm House alumni will be featured in the summer concerts.
 
July 11 marks the first concert in the series and features the show originator, Amy Marie Young.  Young began the concert series while a graduate student at ASU 17 years ago.  She worked at the Farm House during its last summer of operation in 1997 and after its close she desired to keep the Farm House tradition alive. She developed the Monday Night Concert Series in a way to provide quality variety show entertainment in the style of the Farm House for the visitors and residents of the High Country.  Young has gone on to live and perform in the New York area and Buenos Aires, Argentina, and currently lives and teaches music in the Charlotte area.  She is in Blowing Rock every summer where she be found directing the Shirley Blackwell Memorial College Choir at Blowing Rock Methodist Church each Sunday.
 
Also featured in the July 11 concert are Amy Walls Woodall and Steve Sensenig.  Woodall starting singing with the MNCS in 2000 and is an ASU alumni.  She will be singing a variety of jazz and musical theatre favorites.  On piano this season is Steve Sensenig, who recently wrote arrangements and performed with Chloe Agnew of the Celtic Women.  Sensenig is a well known music director at the Barter Theatre in Abington.
For more information you can go to www.amymarieproductions.com or call (828) 295-5222.