The music of Sassafras Bluegrass Band will be featured during New River Community College’s Fiddle, Banjo and Dance Club Jamboree on Sat., Feb. 12, 2022.
The music will begin at 6 p.m. in 117 Edwards Hall at NRCC in Dublin. NRCC requires all individuals to wear masks indoors, and social distancing protocols will be observed.
Sassafras Bluegrass Band is based in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The group is a bluegrass band that pays homage to the Bill Monroe, and the Flatt & Scruggs era but also enjoys pushing the edge of progressive Newgrass music as well.
Their repertoire includes a range of musical styles including old time, country, folk, western swing, and originals. Sassafras Bluegrass Band members have performed at a long list of festivals and venues including Merlefest, the Walnut Valley Festival, the Riverhawk Music Festival, Songs of the Mountain, King Pup Syndicated Radio, the Red White and Bluegrass Festival, the Albino Skunk Festival, the Plum Hollow Festival, the Chomp & Stomp Festival, the Mean Fiddler, the Bean Blossom Bluegrass Festival, the Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, the High Mountain Bluegrass Festival, Pickin’ on the Plains, the Rogersville Bluegrass Festival, the Outer Banks Bluegrass Festival, and the Wickenburg Bluegrass Festival.
They have shared the stage or studio with Doc Watson, Jack Lawrence, Charlie Waller, Josh Graves, John Cowan, Jim Lauderdale, Ronnie Bowman, Tony Rice, Russell Moore, Jim Buchanan, Allison Krauss, Tim O’Brien, Mark O’Connor, Laurie Lewis, and Tony Furtado.
Members of the group are Wes Tuttle on mandolin, fiddle and vocals; Billy Gee on upright bass and vocals; Chris Bryant on banjo and vocals; and Randy Gambill on guitar and vocals.
Corporate sponsors of the jamborees include Anderson Audiology, Dublin; August Jewelers & Boutique, Inc., Radford; Castle Rock Insurance Agency, Pearisburg; Estes Auto & Truck Parts Inc., Pilot; First Community Bank, Pulaski; Food City; Gregory Seeding and Landscaping Company, Pulaski; Martin’s Pharmacy, Pulaski; Pepsi Cola Bottling Co., Dublin; the Pulaski Patriot, Pulaski; SERVPRO, Montgomery & Pulaski Counties; and Southern Furniture Warehouse, Radford.
The doors open at 5 p.m. for the show. Admission is free; however, donations will be accepted to help offset the travel expenses for the musicians. The jamborees are typically held the second Saturday of each month through April at NRCC, a Crooked Road affiliated venue.
For more information about the NRCC Fiddle, Banjo, and Dance Club, contact Tim Jones at (540) 674-3625 or visit www.nr.edu/fiddle.