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MHM Presents “Old-time Fiddle, Banjo and Mandolin” Featuring Joe Newberry and Mike Compton June 23

Mike Compton

June 20, 2012. This week’s Mountain Home Music concert, “Old-time Fiddle, Banjo and Mandolin,” on Saturday, June 23 will feature Joe Newberry and Mike Compton. “While their names may not be familiar, their work is,” said Joe Shannon, founder and host of Mountain Home Music.

Joe Newberry frequently appears on Garrison Keeler’s A Prairie Home Companion as a member of Big Medicine, a North Carolina based old-time string band. Mike Compton played for many years with John Hartford, and he is on the soundtracks for the movies O Brother Where Art Thou, Cold Mountain, and Songcatcher. For his work, Mike Compton has also won two Grammy Awards.

Joe Newberry is a Missouri native and North Carolina transplant who has played music most of his life. In the band Big Medicine, Joe Newberry plays banjo, fiddle, he sings, and contributes original music. About Big Medicine, Garrison Keeler said, “That’s how string band music is supposed to sound… absolutely effortless. They’re just a great band – I love this band.” 

Mandolinist Mike Compton was born in 1956 in Meridian, Mississippi, hometown of “The Singing Brakeman,” Jimmie Rodgers. Mike Compton was exposed to music at an early age and received his first mandolin at the age of fifteen. As a young man, he played in the Nashville Bluegrass Band (1985-1989); soon after this stint, he started playing with John Hartford, and he continued this relationship until Hartford’s death in 2001. In addition to his performances with Joe Newberry, Mike Compton tours with Elvis Costello and he works with famed record producer, T-Bone Burnett. 

Also featured on “Old-time Fiddle, Banjo, and Mandolin,” will be Mountain Home Music regulars Scott and Dori Freeman. Scott Freeman is a member of Skeeter and the Skidmarks and The Mountain Home Bluegrass Boys. Dori Freeman is a singer and songwriter.

About Dori Freeman’s debut CD, Porchlight, John Saroyan from “Jim’s Roots and Blues” said, “The sweet clarity of her voice exceeds the beauty of her Henderson OM-18 [guitar]. No small feat.”

The concert, Old-time Fiddle, Banjo, and Mandolin, will take place at the Blowing Rock School Auditorium in downtown Blowing Rock. Starting time is 8. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. Student tickets are $10 and a child’s ticket is $5.

Tickets may be purchased at the Mast Store (Boone and Valle Crucis), Fred’s Mercantile on Beech Mountain, Kudzu Music (formerly Rydell’s) in Boone, and at Pandora’s Mailbox and the Dulcimer Shop, both in the Martin House on Main Street, downtown Blowing Rock.

Tickets may also be purchased online though the Mountain Home Music website: www.mountainhomemusic.com. For more information, go to the website or call 828-964-3392.

The purpose of Mountain Home Music is to honor the music and the musicians of the Appalachian region.

Mountain Home Music is affiliated with the Blue Ridge Music Trails, a project of the North Carolina Arts Council.