Summer Concert Series
Lonesome River Band & The Wildmans
Since its formation over 36 years ago, the award-winning Lonesome River Band continues its reputation as one of the most respected names in Bluegrass music. Whether performing on the famous stage of the Grand Ole Opry or headlining major concert events & festivals, their loyal fans continue to support one of the most loved and most influential acts of our time.
Amythyst Kiah & Her Chest of Glass and Wild Ponies
Saturday, May 26, 7PM
$10
Amythyst Kiah & Her Chest of Glass
A professed Southern gothic songster, Amethyst Kiah’s commanding stage presence is matched by her raw and powerful vocals—a deeply moving, hypnotic sound that stirs echoes of a distant and restless past. A graduate of East Tennessee State University, she studied old-time music and music performance, and it proved to be a pivotal period in her life as she transformed from a long-time closet musician into a well-rounded, captivating performer. Whether she is performing solo with banjo and acoustic guitar or a full band (Her Chest of Glass), Kiah’s toolbox is augmented by her scholarship of African-American roots music. Provocative and coolly fierce, her ability to cross the boundaries of blues and old-time through reinterpretation is groundbreaking.
Wild Ponies
Although they’re based in Nashville, Wild Ponies has always looked to Southwest Virginia—where bandmates Doug and Telisha Williams were born and raised—for inspiration. There, in mountain towns such as Galax, old-time American music continues to thrive, supported by a community of fiddlers, flat-pickers, and fans. Wild Ponies pays tribute to that powerful music and rugged landscape with their stripped-back album, Galax, which connects the Williams’ Nashville favorites (Fats Kaplin, Will Kimbrough, Neilson Hubbard, and Audrey Spillman) and revered old-time players from Galax (Snake Smith, Kyle Dean Smith, and Kilby Spencer). Recorded in the shed behind Doug’s old family farm in Appalachia, the project highlights Wild Ponies musical and geographic roots.
Sierra Hull & ShadowGrass
Saturday, June 23, 7PM
$20
Sierra Hull
Sierra Hull’s musical journey began at eight years old when she received a mandolin from her grandmother. Over the years, she branched out to guitar and vocals and found a mentor in Alison Krauss. Her path has included a deal with Rounder Records, touring with her band, Highway 111, developing her own songwriting perspective, and collaborating on albums by Rhonda Vincent, Mac Wiseman, and Brandon Heath. Hull’s third solo album, Weighted Mind, produced by Béla Fleck and featuring guest appearances from Alison Krauss, Ethan Jodziewicz, Abigail Washburn, and Rhiannon Giddens, was nominated for a Grammy Award as well as Album of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA). She has been named Mandolin Player of the Year twice by IBMA.
ShadowGrass
While blazing their own trail, the young members of ShadowGrass hold a deep reverence for the elder bluegrass legends who paved the way. Fast picking and fresh arrangements have earned the band numerous awards in regional competitions. With a professionalism beyond their years, the group has taken the stage at The Lincoln Theatre, the Historic Earle and Rex theaters, the National Folk Festival, MerleFest, HoustonFest, the Richmond Folk Festival, Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America, and IBMA. The band, comprised of Presley Barker (guitar), Luke Morris (mandolin), Clay Russell (banjo), and Kyser George (bass), was chosen as a featured youth act for the IBMA World of Bluegrass event in 2016.
Che Apalache & Cabin Creek Boys
Saturday, August 4th @ 7 PM
$20.00
Western Swing & Tin Pan Alley Traditions /
Focus on the Fiddle
Presented by
Che Apalache
Che Apalache is an International bluegrass and old-time mountain music quartet based in Buenos Aires, Argentinia. The group is led by North Carolina native, frequent Galax Fiddle Convention attendee, and mountain fiddler Joe Troop. In Argentina, the word “che” is a term of endearment used to replace someone’s name in casual conversation. In American English there are similar words like “man,” “brother,” “sis,” or “homey.” If I wanted to ask you for a favor, I might say “Jon, man, could I ask you for something?” In Argentina that “Jon, man” would be “Che Jon.” Down here, “che” is used constantly, and is therefore iconically Argentine. “Apalache” means Appalachian, and thus our band name could be translated something like “my Appalachian homeboy.”
Che Apalache is:
Joe Troop (fiddle & lead vocals), Andrés Barjau Mateu (banjo and vocals), Franco Martino (guitar and vocals), Martin Bobrik (mandolin and vocals)
Cabin Creek Boys
The Cabin Creek Boys play old-time hillbilly music from the mountains of southwest Virginia and northwest North Carolina, performing at area fiddlers’ conventions, festivals, square dances, and other community events. The Cabin Creek Boys have fun entertaining audiences with their style of traditional music that includes old-time hoedown instrumentals, bluegrass songs, two-step numbers and waltzes, and love to make people happy with their music.
The Cabin Creek Boys are:
Led by multi-instrumentalist husband and wife duo Chris and Erika Testerman, the band also includes Jackson Cunningham (guitar), Trish Kilby Fore (banjo), and Jerry Steinberg (bass).