Stories, Songs and Blues at This Week at Concerts at the Jones House

Michael Reno Harrell and the King Bees Play the Jones House Friday

Award-winning songwriter and storyteller, Michael Reno Harrell, and the High Country’s premier blues band, The King Bees, will take to the Jones House porch Friday, continuing the 2015 Summer Concerts series.

The concert begins at 5 p.m. with Harrell, who last performed at the Jones House in 2013.

“Michael Reno Harrell is one heck of an entertainer,” says Concerts organizer, Mark Freed.  “He writes songs that will stay with you long after he is through singing them, and he is one of the region’s best storytellers.”

Harrell has been a featured storyteller at the National Storytelling Festival, and performed on stages at MerleFest and Walnut Valley Festival. His recordings have drawn the attention of critics and fans of Americana, Folk, and Songwriting circles. Over the past two decades, Harrell has put out more than a dozen albums of original material and recorded with a who’s who of the Americana scene, including Jerry Douglas, Stewart Duncan, Byron House, Pat Flynn, Sam Bush, David Grier, Buddy Melton, David Holt, Jack Lawrence, and most of the roots musicians from the area around Burke, Caldwell, and McDowell counties.

“People will want to be sure and get to the Jones House early to hear Michael Reno Harrell’s top-notch set,” Freed says.

After Harrell performs, the King Bees Trio will buzz to the porch, bringing their own blend of rhythm and blues. Known as the premier blues band in the High Country, The King Bees have been performing across the country and world since 1987.  With nearly three decades together, guitarist Rob Baskerville and bass player Penny Zamagni have collaborated with many of the blues legends from the southeast, including Jerry McCain, Charlie Bristol, Neal Pattman, Thomas “Guitar” Gable, “Chicago” Bob Nelson and Bo Diddley.

They have also produced and promoted the New River Bluesfest for the past decade and several local and regional blues festivals before that.  “Rob and Penny live and breath the blues,” Freed adds.  “From country blues to Chicago blues; from harp-inspired blues to piano boogie-woogie; from Texas through New Orleans, to the east coast, these guys have played it all.”

Concerts at the Jones House take place every Friday, starting at 5 p.m., from the front porch of the downtown Boone community center.  All of the Summer Concerts at the Jones House performances are free and open to the public.  Patrons are encouraged to bring their own chair or blanket to sit in the Jones House front lawn, under the shade of the gigantic maple trees.  Concerts take place rain or shine, with the inside Jones House main gallery being used for inclement weather.

The 2015 Summer Concerts at the Jones House series is sponsored by the Downtown Boone Development Association, Mast General Store, Footsloggers, MPrints, Stickboy Bread Co., and Melanies.

For more information about the concert series, including a complete schedule, please visit www. joneshouse.org or call 828-268-6280.