The music of The Country Boys and Strictly Strings will be featured during New River Community College’s Fiddle, Banjo and Dance Club Jamboree on Saturday. Music will begin at 6 p.m. in 117 Edwards Hall at NRCC in Dublin.
The Country Boys have been playing traditional bluegrass and bluegrass gospel music throughout North Carolina and Virginia for over 40 years. The band originally formed in the late 1960s, with several lineup changes throughout the years.
The present band is made up of Donald Clifton, Johnny Joyce, Tim Bowman, Billy Hawks, Kevin Easter and Doug Joyce. The band cites the Country Gentleman and the Osborne Brothers as some of their musical influences.
Strictly Strings is an Appalachian old-time band from Boone, North Carolina. The band started out as a class in the Junior Appalachian Musicians Program. The band has been together for three years and has performed at festivals, private shows, contra dances and radio shows.
The band released their first album in December and has won several Fiddler’s Convention awards. Current band members include Cecil Gurganus, guitar/vocals; Kathleen Burnett, fiddle/vocals; Anissa Burnett, bass/fiddle/vocals; Willow Dillon, banjo/fiddle/cello/vocals; and Caleb Coatney, mandolin/banjo/guitar.
The doors open at 5 p.m. for the show. There is no charge for admission; however, donations will be accepted to help pay travel expenses for the musicians. The jamborees are held the second Saturday of each month through April at NRCC, a Crooked Road affiliated venue.
More information about the NRCC Fiddle, Banjo, and Dance Club is available from Roger Adkins at 674-3600, ext. 4307, and online at http://www.nr.edu/fiddle.
— Submitted by Kelly Kaiser