The Jones House Indoor Concert Series continues on Tuesday, March 26 with Irish-Appalachian band Claudine & the Lads. The band is led by Claudine Langille, a mandolin and tenor banjo player best known for her work with the band Touchstone and collaborations with Triona NiDhomhnail. Langille is known for her prowess on her instruments, her powerful song writing, and her singing voice. She currently performs with the Vermont based band Gypsy Reel. Langille maintains a musical connection with the traditional music of the maritime provinces of Canada, especially Nova Scotia, home of her father.
Performing with Langille are “the lads” Fiddlin’ Al McCanless, Colin Shoemaker, and Bob Vasile. McCanless is known as one of the most versatile fiddler players in the North Carolina music scene, adept at old-time, bluegrass, and Irish music. A founding member of the New Deal String Band, McCanless often plays with friend and vocalist Leroy Savage. McCanless spent years as the fiddle player for the Bluegrass Experience, which won the World Championship Bluegrass prize at the Union Grove Old Time Fiddlers Convention in 1972. MCanless has recorded with The Red Clay Ramblers, Celtic Jam, Contentment Is Wealth, Mike Cross, and Alice Gerrard. He currently plays with Hindsight, The Merry Gadflies, and Stellar Bluegrass with Savage, Tony Williamson, and Tommy Goldsmith.
Colin Shoemaker took up fife as a child to accompany his father at Revolutionary War reenactments. He developed a passion for all varieties of Celtic music and became an expert whistle and flute player. His repertoire spans everything from medieval to modern Celtic music. He is a master at combining incredible speed with flawless execution and is quickly rising to the top tier of whistle and flute players on the Celtic music scene.
Bob Vasile is a guitarist and virtuoso bouzouki player, steeped in traditional Irish music, in addition to being a composer of his own music rooted in tradition. Vasile is known for his work with the Pratie Heads, a duet with Jane Peppler. The duo were hailed in Dirty Linen as creating “some of the best Celtic, English, and early American folk music available in recorded form.” Vasile has won the famed Wayne Henderson Guitar Championship. He is a regular instructor at the Augusta Heritage Center. He also performs his band Acoustic AttaTude and has toured with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones.
Tickets for the concerts are $20 each, with $10 student seats available. Advanced reservations are recommended, since the concert space is limited to the first 40 RSVPs – although open seats will be available for purchase at the door on the day of the concert.
The event is being produced by the Town of Boone’s Cultural Resources Department and is sponsored by Black and Global Roots Concerts, The Town of Boone, Appalachian State University, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
The concert takes place in the Jones House in downtown Boone, located at 604 W. King St. To make a reservation for the concert, please contact Mark Freed at mark.freed@townofboone.netor call 828.268.6280. To find out more information about the Jones House Cultural and Community Center and the indoor concert series at the Jones House, please visit www.joneshouse.org
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