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Mountain Home Music Announces 2014 Summer Concert Schedule, First Season Without Joe Shannon at Helm

April 15, 2014. Mountain Home Music recently announced its 2014 summer concert schedule that begins on May 25 for “A Memorial Day Salute” with David Johnson and The Studio Band. Through the summer months, MHM offers a diverse swath of music – Celtic, Klezmer,  gospel, bluegrass and brass, ‘60s folk revival and, of course, old-time, mountain music.  

The upcoming season will be the first without MHM founder Joe Shannon at the helm. Shannon started the music series 20 years ago to showcase talented, local musicians and the music of the region. He recently stepped down as executive director because of an ongoing battle with cancer. Karen James is the interim executive director.

Below is the 2014 summer concert series schedule with the venues to be determined at a later date. For more information or to confirm venue leading up to concert, click to: www.mountainhomemusic.com.


MHM 2014 Summer Concert Series

  Sunday, May 25, 2014   

       A Memorial Day Salute with David Johnson and The Studio Band.  David Johnson was among the first group of musicians inducted into the Blue Ridge Hall of Fame, a select group that includes Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Lester Flatt, Dolly Parton, David Holt & Andy Griffith and many others. David and the other members of the Studio Band make music in recording studios for world famous artists. Along with David (multi-instrumentalist), Tracy Davis (bass), Danny Crawford (piano), Richard Putnam (piano), and Rick Murry (drums) will provide an unforgettable evening of music, as they have for many years at MHM. 

  Saturday, May 31   

        The Fire and The Passion of Scotland by the North Sea Gas Band  (Ronnie MacDonald, Grant Simpson and Dave Gilfillan) who played at a MHM house concert last year. NSG is one of Scotland’s most popular folk bands with great vocals and tremendous three-part harmonies. Guitars, mandolin, fiddle, bouzouki, whistles, bodhrans, banjo and good humor are all part of the entertainment. They have received gold and silver disc awards from the Scottish Music Industry Association and regularly sell out shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In public voting  in the U. S. Celtic Radio, NSG has won Song of the Year Awards, and their album “The Fire and The Passion of Scotland” was ranked first as the Celtic Radio USA album of the year.  

  Saturday, June 7  

        Around the World Triple Header: Danza de los Viejitos – Dance of the Little Old Men will open the evening. The dance appears to mock how Spaniards aged and became decrepit. The choreography is improvisational and represents man’s eternal fight against death as the old men dance vigorously to scare off the spirits of death, demonstrating that they are still strong and capable of executing intricate foot stomping.  

The Sheets Family Band is an old-time string band featuring Randy Sheets (banjo), Kelly Sheets Snider (fiddle) and Deborah Jean Sheets (guitar). Their old-time mountain style takes inspiration from the music of the Appalachian Mountains and beyond. Members of the band have represented our region at the National Folk Festival, the Library of Congress, the Kennedy Center and numerous festivals in the Appalachian region.  

The Bandana Klezmer Band includes Andy John (cello & harmonica), Michael Hunt (tsimbl [yiddish hammer dulcimer] and poyk [bass drum with cimbal]), Meg Peterson (accordion & vocals), Naomi Dalglish (fiddle & vocals), Rob Levin (guitar), and Marc Rudow (fiddle and vocals).  Their Eastern European Jewish celebration music is played at weddings and other happy events. It is based in the Jewish tradition but is also influenced by other Eastern European musical traditions. It is an expression of both the joy and sorrow of the Jewish experience. 

  Saturday, June 14 

       Gospel with Elements of Country, Rhythm & Blues, and Soul:  The Junaluska Gospel Choir is famous throughout the N.C. High Country for its passionate and uplifting performances in the Motown and old-time gospel traditions from the historic Boone Mennonite Brethren Church.  The choir features singers who come from multiple generations of gospel singing tradition. They will sing songs from their recently released first album, Rough Side of the Mountain, including “Working on a Building,” “I’m Going to Praise Him Anyway,” and “It’s Gon’ Be Nice”. The choir was featured at Melissa Reaves’ last two sold-out holiday shows in Boone. 

  Saturday, June 21  

       An Americana Evening with Robin and Linda Williams who perform “a robust blend of bluegrass, folk, old-time and acoustic country that combines “wryly observant lyrics with a wide-ranging melodies.” Their stirring concerts have earned them a huge body of fans over the years. As gifted songwriters, Robin and Linda have earned an even rarer honor, the devotion and deep respect of their musical peers. The list of artists who have adopted their original songs include some of the greats of country music, names like Emmylou Harris, Tom T. Hall, George Hamilton IV, Tim and Mollie O’Brien, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Kathy Mattea and The Seldom Scene.

  Saturday, June 28     

 

        Piano Man of the Blue Ridge – Jeff Little, a MHM favorite, is a bluegrass, blues, honky-tonk, jazz, and rock-in-roll piano player. There aren’t many. Former National Banjo Champion Steve Lewis (guitar, banjo) and Josh Scott (bass) will join in.  Jeff frequently appeared with Doc Watson and is a regular at MerleFest. He has been featured on National Public Radio and has taken his exciting piano style around the world on U.S. government goodwill tours, performing in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bahrain, Oman, France, and Tanzania. Other performances include The Smithsonian Institution, The National Folk Festival, and The National Council for the Traditional Arts “American Piano Masters.”

  Friday, July 4   

        Bluegrass & Brass features the Mountain Home Music Boys and the King Street Brass. This is the 15th year that MHM has celebrated the 4th of July with B & B, a unique blend of instruments and music created and fostered only by Joe Shannon. The bluegrass is provided by David Johnson, Steve Lewis, Scott Freeman and Josh Scott, while current and former ASU faculty members from the ASU Hayes School of Music deliver their style of music on brass instruments. 

[youtube] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eqvFJzkEcs[/youtube]

  Saturday, July 12      

       Old Time Fiddle & Dance featuring Rodney Sutton who is a nationally known traditional dancer, caller, musician, storyteller, dance teacher and festival producer.  Sutton is part of the Road Team Reunion group who have danced in recent years at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Philadelphia Folk Festival, the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF), the Appalachian Stringband Music Festival, and MerleFest. Sutton is also a co-founder of the Fiddle Puppets, now known as Footworks, a traditionally based dance team that has toured around the world. Rodney prides himself on his ability to teach anyone how to clog, so bring your dancing shoes! See: http://www.folkstreams.net/film,121

 Saturday, July 26    Picture:  Attached or emailed separately

        Two Sides of Celtic – The Masters of the Celtic Harp Billy Jackson & Grainne Hambly, two of the foremost harpers of Ireland and Scotland combine their extraordinary talents on harp as well as concertina, tinwhistle and bouzouki, They have been performing all over the country and dazzling audiences with their artistry. William Jackson of Glasgow has performed Scottish traditional music for more than 35 years as one of the leading harpers and multi-instrumentalists in Scotland. Gráinne Hambly has garnered an ever-growing following of devoted harp enthusiasts while crossing over and capturing the Irish music fan with the taste for the fast, driving reels and jigs of traditional music. She has elevated the stature of the harp right up there with the fiddles and pipes in the realm of dynamic dance music. “Their tune selections were outstanding and their arrangements exquisite; couple that with the history and the humor, it was an unbeatable night of music.” –Sorrel Devine, Irish Ceilidhe Club

Saturday, Aug. 9    

        The Day the Outlaws Came to Town, subtitled Songs From the Fringes of Country and Bluegrass Music with David Johnson, Darrel Bryant, Billy C. Smith, Ronnie Black, Kevin Rash and special guest Sloan Montana Bryant. They will include songs of the country “outlaws” of the 70s through the 90s such as Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, David Allen Coe, Kris Kristofferson and others. In addition, there are songs that took early country and old-time sounds in a new direction and were considered by many to be an “outlaw” or “outsider” approach to the beloved Carter Family and Jimmy Rodgers songs and sounds of the late 1920s and 30s. Some of these performers that broke the mold included Bill Monroe, Ernest Tubb and Johnny Cash. 

Saturday, Aug. 16  

        Bluegrass Attack: The 23 String Band features Chris Shouse (guitar), Curtis Wilson (banjo), Dave Howard (mandolin), Scott Moore (fiddle) and T. Martin Stam (bass).  They play fun, fuel-injected, original Americana that dangerously weaves across the lanes of modern acoustic music — windows down, accelerator to the floor, on a joyride into the unknown with one eye on the vintage sounds in the rearview mirror. It’s a bluegrass attack fueled by high-octane rock-n-roll energy and triple-distilled oldtimey roots. Your feet hurt from dancing; your face hurts from grinning. Get ready: you’re riding shotgun!

 Saturday, Aug. 23   

        SC Broadcasters:  The South Carolina Broadcasters include Ivy Sheppard (fiddle & banjo), Sarah Osbourne (banjo & guitar), and David Sheppard (guitar). They are not just another group dipping into the deep pool of traditional music in hopes of being trendy. Hailing from Charleston, S.C., but with roots in the Mt. Airy region, each provide vocals to create distinctive harmonies; it sounds as if every member has just stepped from a dusty old 78 RPM platter, ready to sing again. With many similarities to the early Carter Family, the Broadcasters dig deep into traditional gospel numbers and old-time tunes that originated from the mountains of the Carolinas and Virginia. 

Sunday, Aug. 31   

        The 60s Folk Music Revival with Laurelyn Dosset and guests will honor Pete Seeger and other musicians of that era. Composer/songwriter/ storyteller Laurelyn Dossett’s songs tend to reflect the stories of the region, both traditional and contemporary. One of the most sought-after voices in creative collaborations, she co-founded Polecat Creek with singing partner Kari Sickenberger, teamed up with Preston Lane to write musical mountain dramas with Appalachian Roots, is a frequent performer at MerleFest, and has been a guest on Prairie Home Companion. Laurelyn & guests played at MHM last year on Labor Day Weekend and literally “blew the audience away!”