By Larry Hypes
Contributing Writer
BLACKSBURG – “Every note feels like an intricate conversation happening right in front of you” is how bluegrass music has been described.
Appalachian music, carried from British, Irish and African traditions, is the melodic blanket covering the unique area including Montgomery County and beyond.
In a dynamic concert setting tomorrow, Thursday, Nov. 20 at 7 p.m. at the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, all and more will be presented in the Keepers of Appalachian Music Traditions event. Opening is the Junior Sisk Band. Featuring Sisk on guitar and vocals, along with Jonathan Dillon (mandolin), Tony Mabe (banjo) Curt Love (bass), and uniquely talented Heather Berry-Mabe (vocals/guitar), the group is credited by various organizations as “taking bluegrass to a new level every time they take the stage or record a new album.”
Appalachian Road Show, is the highly-acclaimed ensemble featuring Grammy-winning fiddler Jim VanCleve, Grammy-nominated banjo picker Barry Abernathy, talented vocalist and mandolin player Darrell Webb – who has recorded with Dolly Parton and Rhonda Vincent – rounded out with dynamic guitar player Zeb Snyder, whose steel string skills race across the musical spectrum.
Abernathy says Appalachian Road Shows songs “confront topics such as logging, coal mining, trains, a sweetheart that took off, etc.”
“There’s something universal in the music and its themes,” he said. “There’s something for everyone.”
Rising talents Berkley Stewart and Hollace Oakes will also be performing.
The event is coordinated by award-winning music virtuoso and area native Jack Hinshelwood, a dynamic fiddler and guitarist (among the instruments he plays), this singer-songwriter is the former executive director of The Crooked Road musical heritage association, a noted recording artist and supporter of many local civic and community projects. Hinshelwood most recently performed at Blacksburg’s Lyric Theatre with Ted Olson and Mac Traynham in a tribute concert for Vernon Dalhart, the first star of country music.
Noted graphic artist, music teacher, fiddler/guitarist and old-time dancer Gina Dilg, who works closely with the local Junior Appalachian Music program (MJAM) will showcase her traditional dancing skills during the program, as well. An ensemble of youthful MJAM musicians will also be performing in the Performing Arts Center lobby prior to the main concert.
The show is set for 7 – 9 p.m. and general admission tickets are $30 per person, $15 for high school or college students and $10 for children under 12. Funded in part by grants from Norfolk Southern Corporation and the Virginia Commission for the Arts, as well as several local patrons, the performance will benefit the many local community programs and activities sponsored by the Montgomery Museum of Art and History.
