Roan Mountain Hilltoppers play Jones House
The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers will perform at Friday’s Concert at the Jones House.
Photos submitted
The town of Boone presents Concerts at the Jones House on
Friday, June 22, with The New River Boys and The Roan Mountain Hilltoppers.
The Roan Mountain
Hilltoppers are a Southern Appalachian traditional mountain music string band, having performed at
venues, such as the American Folklife Festival at the Smithsonian, Country Music Hall of Fame in
Nashville, Tenn., and the 1982 World’s Fair in Knoxville, Tenn. The have won many ribbons, honorary
awards and acknowledgements throughout their long history.
The Birchfield family of Carter,
Tenn., learned old-time mountain tunes and ballads from their father and uncles who played as part
of the local mountain culture. Joe and Creed were born in the early 1900s and raised on Roan
Mountain in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Joe’s son, Bill, carries on the tradition
with his wife, Janice, as the Roan Mountain Hilltoppers. When Joe died, Bill switched from guitar to
fiddle, and Janice continues to play washtub bass, with newer members in other instruments. Boone
native Josh Hayes will play banjo with the band on Friday.
The New River Boys formed in an
Appalachian State University dormitory stairwell in 2009, and they have brought their blend of
traditional and innovative string band music to the High Country ever since. The group blends
guitar, cello and mandolin, combining influences from traditional mountain music, to contemporary
groups, such as the Avett Brothers, to classical music and original songs.
Concerts at
the Jones House take place in downtown Boone at 604 W. King St. every Friday from June through
September. The free concert starts at 5 p.m., and patrons are encouraged to bring a chair or
blanket to sit in the lawn.
The 2012 Concert series is sponsored by MPrints, Stick Boy
Bread Company and Melanie’s, Footsloggers, Mast General Store and the Downtown Boone Development
Association.
For a complete schedule, visit http://www.boone-nc.org or call (828) 262-4576
for more information. The Jones House Community Center is located at 604 W. King St. in downtown
Boone.
