Mountain Home Music returns for 2009 season

Local music. Local and regional musicians. A back porch. An old barn. A good shade tree. Real. Tasteful. Authentic.  

The places to gather, the shades and traditions of Appalachian music are wide and varied. But for 16 years, the concert series Mountain Home Music has helped to bring together many of the purveyor’s of this region’s rich musical heritage.

To date, Mountain Home Music has provided a stage for three National Folk-life Award winners, seven North Carolina Folk Heritage Award winners, three members of the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, and more than 1000 local and regional performers. Local folks and visitors to the area have wanted to watch and listen. Select concerts have been broadcast over local and public radio and regional television. A new season of Mountain Home Music opens on Saturday, May 23. 

About the new season, Joe Shannon, Mountain Home Music founder and host, said, “In putting together our schedule each year, I try to bring in some new faces to blend with our old friends.”

One show will be dedicated to young performers—and their “old” teachers. Steve Lewis and Scott Freeman will showcase some of their young banjo pickers, fiddlers, mandolin players, guitar players and singers.

New faces will include banjo player Eric Ellis, a recent inductee into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, and Josh Goforth, a multi-instrumentalist featured in the movie, The Song Catcher.  

Other individuals and/or bands who have only been on MHM once or twice include Skeeter and the Skidmarks (a reunion concert); Mike Craver, Jim Watson and Bill Hicks, former members of The Red Clay Ramblers with Joe Newberry; The Harris Brothers, The Amantha Hill Bluegrass Band; and Laura Boosinger. Last, but certainly not least, Mountain Home Music regulars David Johnson, Steve Lewis, Scott Freeman, The Dixie Dawn Band, Bluegrass and Brass, Strictly Clean and Decent, Little Windows and the Forget-Me-Nots will lend their sizable talents to the 2009 edition of Mountain Home Music.

All but one concert (July 26) will be at the  Blowing Rock School Auditorium. The starting time is 8 p.m.

Tickets are $12.50 in advance and $15 at the door. Tickets for college and high school students are $10 (at the door only). Tickets may be purchased at Mast Store locations, Rydell Music Center, Pandora’s Mailbox in Blowing Rock, Fred’s Mercantile on Beech Mountain, and Blue Moon Guitars in West Jefferson. Tickets may also be purchased online at www.mountainhomemusic.com. The purpose of Mountain Home Music is to honor the music and musicians of the Appalachian region. It is affiliated with the Blue Ridge Music Trails, a project of the North Carolina Arts Council.

For more information, visit the Mountain Home Music Web site or call (828) 964-3392.

Summer Schedule

Saturday, May 2
Old-time Fiddle and Banjo: Skeeter and the SkidmarksBlowing Rock School Auditorium
Fourteen years ago Skeeter and the Skidmarks astonished the MHM audience with their instrumental mastery and fine singing. Soon after that, life took them in different directions and to different parts of the country. Pulled together by their friendships and their unique sound, for one concert only, Skeeter and the Skidmarks will reunite for a special return to MHM. The Skidmarks include Scott Freeman, Willard Gayheart, Edwin Lacy, and Sandy Grover.

Sunday, May 31
Mike Craver, Bill Hicks, and Jim Watson of the original Red Clay Ramblers, with Joe Newberry
Blowing Rock School Auditorium
Bill Hicks and Jim Watson, along with Tommy Thompson founded the Red Clay Ramblers in the early 1970s. Mike Craver and Jack Herrick joined the band within a few years.  For the next decade the Ramblers toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada, Europe and Africa, appearing frequently on the Prairie Home Companion, acting and playing in two Off-Broadway shows and releasing nine albums on the Flying Fish and Sugar Hill labels. Co-founder and banjo player Tommy Thompson passed away in early 2003, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s. Bill Hicks, Jim Watson, and Mike Craver have continued to play music together since leaving the Red Clay Ramblers, and are often joined by Joe Newberry on banjo and vocals.

Saturday, June 6
Bluegrass and Celtic: Amantha Mill & the Forget-Me-NotsBlowing Rock School Auditorium
Amantha Mill is a well-known local bluegrass band with many years of fine musicianship under their collective belts. They feature Dobo and banjo player, Randy Pasley; singer and bass player, Becca Eggers-Gryder; guitarist Billly Helms and fiddler John Cockman.  Cockman also performs with his well-known family band, The Cockman Family. MHM’s favorite young fiddlers, Ledah Finck, Maura Shawn Scanlin, and Willa Finck—the Forget-Me-Nots – plus David Finck, will also be on hand.

Saturday, June 13
Ballads, Banjo and Old-time Fiddle with Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth
Blowing Rock School Auditorium
Laura Boosinger has been a central figure in North Carolina’s traditional music scene for many years. She’s a singer, dancer, and a fine old-time banjo player. Recently, she has teamed up with the talented multi-instrumentalist Josh Goforth. Goforth has appeared at Lincoln Center and at many festivals and concerts around the world. He appeared in the film, The Song Catcher, as Fiddlin’ Will, and he contributed several fiddle pieces to the soundtrack. In the years 2000 and 2003, he was named Fiddler of the Festival at the nationally acclaimed Fiddler’s Grove competition.

Saturday, June 20
Hall of Fame Hoedown
Blowing Rock School Auditorium
Along with the Carter Family, Doc Watson, Dolly Parton, and others, MHM regular David Johnson was an initial inductee into the Blue Ride Music Hall of Fame. This year, 2009, Johnson’s cousin, Eric Ellis, was also an inductee. Ellis is a master of the 5-string banjo.  For this concert only, David Johnson and Eric Ellis will take the MHM stage, along with  Dave Haney, Billy Gee and David Wiseman.

Saturday, June 27
Bluegrass, Blues and the Blarney Stone Strictly Clean and Decent, Harris Brothers
The always unpredictable and delightful Strictly Clean and Decent Band has been a part of MHM for 16 years. They are sometimes a bluegrass band, sometimes a Broadway show tune band, sometimes blues, and sometimes Celtic. But they are always delightful and entertaining.Joining Strictly Clean and Decent will be the fabulous country and blues duo, the Harris Brothers. Although well-known throughout the region, two years ago they made their first MHM appearance—and the audience quickly appreciated their sophisticated and unique sound.

Saturday, July 4
Bluegrass and Brass
Blowing Rock School Auditorium
Bluegrass and Brass is the Mountain Home Bluegrass Boys and the Mountain Home Brass Quintet. The Bluegrass Boys include Steve Lewis, Scott Freeman and David Johnson; the Brass Quintet is led by Harold McKinney from the ASU Hayes School of Music. This annual patriotic concert blends New Orleans style Dixieland with the best of Blue Ridge Mountain Bluegrass. Always included is a special salute to veterans; as service anthems are played, veterans are invited to stand and be recognized. Saturday, July 18
The Dixie Dawn Band
Blowing Rock School Auditorium
The Dixie Dawn Band is a staple of MHM’s summer concert series.  Each year, this country/bluegrass/rock and roll band creates a special thematic concert just for MHM.   Previous themes have included the early years of the Grand Ole Opry, famous brother groups, rock-a-billy hits, and country comedy. This year’s theme is Home. Dixie Dawn features David Johnson, Darrel Bryant, Kevin Rash, Billy Smith, Ronnie Black, and Julie Griffin. For many years, Dixie Dawn was the opening band at MerleFest.

Sunday, July 26
Summer Sunshine: Little Windows
Holy Cross Church, Valle Crucis
Valle Crucis, the Valley of the Cross, is a long-time focal point of mountain life and culture. This will be MHM first concert in this storied community. Featured will be the rich and beautiful music of Little Windows, Mark Weems and Julee Glaub. Weems and Glaub are international purveyors of Appalachian music; they reach deep into the soil of mountain life with old ballads, hymns, and instrumentals on guitar, banjo and fiddle.     Saturday, Aug. 8
Keepers of the Flame
Blowing Rock School Auditorium
Keepers of the Flame is MHM’s inaugural concert dedicated to young, traditional musicians. Scott Freeman and Steve Lewis have been inspiring and teaching young mountain musicians for many years.  For this concert, teachers and students will share the stage; they will also share the inherent inspiration found in the timeless melodies of traditional mountain music.
 
Sunday, Sept. 6
Salute to Those Who Labor
Location TBA
Through story and song, MHM annually salutes those who helped to build our community: farmers, factory workers, homemakers, artisans, entrepreneurs, railroaders, coal miners, truck drivers, and many others.  Led by Joe Shannon and the MHM Bluegrass Boys, this celebration caps off the summer season and is perennially one of MHM’s most popular shows.
  

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