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Singer, Songwriter and Author Rosanne Cash to Headline Concert at the Blue Ridge Music Center

May 24, 2013. The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, in partnership with the Blue Ridge Parkway, is pleased to announce that celebrated singer, songwriter and author Rosanne Cash, along with guitarist John Leventhal, will headline a concert at the Blue Ridge Music Center, located at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, on Friday evening, June 14, 2013 at 7:00 PM. The concert will also feature beloved Blue Ridge master guitarist and luthier Wayne Henderson and some of his musical friends. A pre-concert benefit and reception will be held before the concert at 5:00 PM for a limited number of participants, with the proceeds benefitting the Blue Ridge Music Center.

For over three decades Rosanne Cash has been one of the most compelling figures in popular music, with a remarkable body of work noted for its emotional acuity, rich and resonant imagery, and unsparing honesty. These special qualities, which enable her to establish a unique intimacy with her audiences, also inform her recent, long-awaited memoir. 

imagesThe eldest daughter of country music icon Johnny Cash and stepdaughter of June Carter Cash of the legendary Carter Family, Rosanne’s musical and family legacy is rooted in the very beginnings of American country music with its deep cultural and historical connections to Southwest Virginia. Her own thoughtful, genre-blurring approach, which encompasses country, rock, roots and pop influences, has garnered her a Grammy, twelve Grammy nominations and eleven No. 1 singles. On her 2009 album The List, Cash recorded twelve songs from the list of “100 essential country songs” that her father compiled for her, and instructed her to learn, when she was 18 and about to join his road show. The List received two Grammy nominations and won the Americana Music Association Awards’ 2010 Album of the Year.

A gifted writer, Rosanne has authored several books, including her critically-acclaimed memoir Composed.  Rosanne’s prose and essays have appeared in the New York Times, The Oxford-American, New York Magazine, Newsweek, Rolling Stone, Martha Stewart Living and various other publications.

Rosanne’s upcoming visit to the Blue Ridge coincides with her current project to create album of songs about Southern people, places and themes with her longtime life partner and musical collaborator, John Leventhal.  “The Blue Ridge is such a musically inspiring and powerful place,” reflected Cash. “American music really had important beginnings in this region. But it’s also the unbroken nature of this legacy, and the vibrancy of Blue Ridge music today, that makes it very special.”  

The unassuming Wayne Henderson is one of the Blue Ridge’s most celebrated guitarists and luthiers. Wayne’s playing transforms fiddle and banjo pieces and even the occasional jazz standard into stunning guitar solos. His instruments are coveted all over the world, with a waiting list for even the most famous. Eric Clapton waited seven years for a Henderson guitar because, as Wayne reasoned, “Well, he’s already got plenty of nice ones to play.” In 1995, Wayne received a National Endowment for the Arts’ National Heritage Fellowship, the nation’s greatest honor for those who practice traditional arts. He has performed throughout the United States and the world and has taken first place 13 times in the guitar category of the Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention.

The pre-concert benefit and reception will feature Rosanne Cash, John Leventhal and Wayne Henderson sharing personal stories of their craft and their lives from 5pm to 5:30pm, followed by a wine reception and private tour of the Roots of American Music Museum. Participants will have reserved VIP seating for the concert and the option to reserve a boxed dinner. Only 100 spaces are available for a donation of $100 per person, and 10 backstage passes will be available for an additional $50 donation. All donations are tax deductible. “We are so fortunate to have such well-respected and talented musicians supporting the Music Center by participating in this event,” says Carolyn Ward, CEO of the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. “The proceeds will be used to support the summer concert series, ensuring that the unique and rich musical tradition of the region can be enjoyed and passed on to future generations.”

The Blue Ridge Music Center is a highlight of the 469-mile Blue Ridge Parkway and a major venue on both the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina and Virginia’s The Crooked Road. Its programming is organized and funded by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation, the primary fundraising partner for the Parkway. The Center is additionally supported by the National Council for the Traditional Arts, Eastern National, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Virginia Folklife Program of the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities, the Virginia Commission for the Arts, and a host of foundations, businesses and individual supporters.

Event details and ticket information:

Friday, June 14, 2013

WHAT: Rosanne Cash & John Leventhal / Wayne Henderson and Friends concert

WHERE: Blue Ridge Music Center, Milepost 213, on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Galax, Virginia. 

TIME: Concert time: 7:00 p.m. Seating opens at 5:30 p.m. 

COST: Children 12 and under are free. General Admission – $20.

For tickets, visit www.blueridgemusiccenter.org or phone: (276) 236-5309. Beginning April 25th, tickets will also be available at the Galax Visitor Center, Barr’s Fiddle Shop, and at the gate on day of show. Bring lawn chairs, friends and the whole family. Outdoor clothing is recommended. Picnics are welcome. Smokehouse BBQ will be available for purchase during the concert. Pets and alcohol are not permitted in the amphitheater area, but pets are welcome on the trails and outside the Visitor Center.

Friday, June 14, 2013 –

WHAT: Pre-Concert Benefit & Reception

WHERE: Blue Ridge Music Center, Milepost 213, on the Blue Ridge Parkway near Galax, Virginia. 

TIME: 5:00 p.m. 

COST: $100 per person

Advance reservations required, please call the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation (866) 308-2773 ext 100.

About the Blue Ridge Music Center

The Blue Ridge Music Center celebrates the music and musicians of the Blue Ridge. Established by the U.S. Congress in 1985, the site includes an outdoor amphitheater and indoor interpretive center used to highlight an important strand of American musical culture, which is still alive and thriving in the region. The site is operated through a partnership between the National Park Service and the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. In the summer, its beautiful outdoor amphitheater comes alive through a vibrant and diverse concert series featuring artists like Cash and Leventhal, The Kruger Brothers, The Primitive Quartet, and John Dee Holeman. Many of these concerts include activities for the whole family such as flatfoot dance lessons and instrument petting zoos. The Music Center also offers scenic trails for the novice and seasoned hiker, educational programs and the interactive Roots of American Music museum. The center and museum are open 10:00 am-5:00 pm daily May-October. Admission to Visitor’s Center and the Roots of American Music museum is free. Mid-day Mountain Music is offered free every day in the Blue Ridge Music Center breezeway from 12-4 pm.

About the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina

The Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership and North Carolina Arts Council have partnered to launch the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina, an initiative designed to promote the rich traditional music heritage in 29 counties in Western North Carolina. 

The springboard for the initiative a new guidebook, Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina, published by UNC Press.  The book is divided into six regions, each with its distinctive traditional music heritage, and the Blue Ridge Music Trails of NC follows this regional approach.

Musicians, venues, festivals, communities, tourism partners and arts councils in each region are working together to develop a strong marketing effort to enhance the music experience for both residents and visitors.  A map of the entire region will guide people to the places where they can hear and perhaps participate in the music of the North Carolina mountains and foothills.  A website is under development that will allow expanded promotion of many more opportunities than could be included in the guidebook.  For more information, contact Dale Bartlett, Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina Coordinator, BRNHA.dale@gmail.com, 828-708-7907.

Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina is available at www.blueridgeheritage.com, in Parkway gift shops, area Arts Councils, and local bookstores.