July 21, 2014. Visitors to the High Country and the local Mountain Home Music regulars are in for an extraordinary evening of Irish and Scottish harp tunes on Saturday, July 26, as musical guests William Jackson and Grainne Hambly combine their talents not only on harp, but concertina, tin whistle and bouzouki as well. Music begins at 7:30 p.m. at St Luke’s Episcopal Church on Council Street in Boone.
The concert is billed as Two Sides of Celtic. The two have received rave reviews of their current tour all over the US.
“Their tune selections were outstanding and their arrangements exquisite; couple that with the history and humor and I felt it was an unbeatable night of music,” wrote Sorrel Devine of the Irish Club in Rhode Island.
A lifelong County Mayo resident, Grainne won the senior All-Ireland titles on harp and concertina in addition of other prestigious competitions. She is known for her ability to capture the fast reels and jigs of traditional Irish dance music. In addition to this she renders the slow airs and laments with “unsurpassed expressive quality.”
William Jackson of Glasgow has been at the forefront of Scottish traditional music for more than 35 years. Besides being one of the leading harpers and multi instrumentalists, he has gained an international reputation as a composer. His “Land of Light” won the international competition in 1990 as the new song for Scotland. He has composed for BBC and Scottish television, and film soundtracks. He was a founding member of the band Ossian which became one of Scotland’s best loved bands. He appeared on Mountain Home Music last season with singer Nuala Kennedy and was received with great enthusiasm by our local audience who appreciated both his superb music and his lively wit.
Julee Weems of Little Windows will be the host for this concert. Julee is a longtime friend of Mountain Home Music and an exquisite singer of both Irish and Appalachian traditional music. She will lead sing-alongs and share stories of her “second home” Dublin where she lived for seven years studying Irish culture and song. Julee is coordinator of Song Week for the Swannanoa gathering in Black Mountain. She and her husband Mark are based in the triad area where they teach and perform traditional music.
Tickets are $20 in advance and $ 22 at the door. Student tickets are $11.00. Children 12 and under are free. Prices include the new NC state tax. Advance tickets may be purchased online though the Mountain Home Music website: www.mountainhomemusic.com
Tickets may also be purchased at the Mast Store (Boone and Valle Crucis), Fred’s Mercantile on Beech Mountain, and at Pandora’s Mailbox and the Dulcimer Shop, both in the Martin House on Main Street, downtown Blowing Rock. For more information, you may go to the website or call Rodney Sutton, host at 828-964-3392.
Joe Shannon’s Mountain Home Music participates in the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina, a function of the Blue Ridge National Heritage Area. Find other musical experiences in the area on www.blueridgemusicnc.com.
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