The historic Rives Theatre in uptown Martinsville, Virginia, will kick off its annual fundraiser “Live at the Rives Theatre Concert Series” 2016 season with Love Canon on Saturday, Jan. 30. Fans of Rooster Walk Music and Arts Festival and FloydFest won’t want to miss this show to get a preview of one of the acts that will be featured at FloydFest 16 and hopefully at Rooster Walk 8.
Doors open at 7 p.m. with dinner and Wood’s set beginning at 7:30 p.m. Love Canon is set to hit the stage at 9 p.m.
From the Rives website: “From the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Charlottesville’s Love Canon resides in full bloom. Led by guitarist Jesse Harper and banjo wiz Adam Larrabee, the virtuoso group of string musicians become one on stage — the super 80s bluegrass hits machine, Love Canon; with, Darrell Muller on bass, Andy Thacker on mandolin and Jay Starling on resonator guitar. Think Rocky IV, Kenny Loggins, Cyndi Lauper, Toto, ZZ Top, Aha and Dire Straits played with banjo, bass, mandolin, dobro, fiddle and high lonesome vocals. It’ll make you laugh, it’ll make you dance, it’ll ‘blind you with science!'”
Watch Love Canon take on Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer” here:
“This is always one of the best parties of the year,” the website states. “For $125, you get a 2016 Live at the Rives Season Pass, good for at least six series shows in 2016, plus you get free entry into the Love Canon show, which comes with catered dinner and open bar (beer/wine/liquor). We’ll also have an opening set from local musician Chris Wood.”
A $50 ticket option includes Love Canon show with dinner and open bar (but no season pass). Both tickets can be purchased online brownpapertickets.com.
Arts at the Rives Theatre (ART) is a community nonprofit dedicated to preserving the historic Rives Theatre by offering high-quality musical, educational and artistic programming. This volunteer-run organization has been devoted to transforming the Rives Theatre from a movie house into a live-music venue and a community space for arts and education for the past six years.
Shane Pinkston joined the ART board about three years ago and is now president. “I’ve always been a huge music lover and watching it evolve has been amazing.”
The Rives Theatre was formed in 1932 as a playhouse, then later enjoyed more than seven decades of success as a first-run movie house. The movie theatre was been transformed into a live music venue. There is a stage in front of the screen, room for 50+ on the dance floor and roughly 200 permanent seats.
The Rives saw its first back to back sold-out shows in December — Josh Shilling and Left Hip Pocket and Yarn’s New Year’s Eve show, according to Johnny Buck, ART board member and co-founder of Rooster Walk.
Pinkston says Martinville’s growing music scene is a direct result of the Rives growing popularity.
He credits the spike in interest, in part, with recent physical improvements made to the theatre.
ART was officially formed in 2010 when the Friends of the Rives Theatre merged with the Artisan Cafe.
To learn more about the Rives, visit www.facebook.com/rivestheater or write rivestheater@gmail.com or call 276-403-0872.
musicreporterblog 
January 30, 2016 at 4:24 am
Reblogged this on musicreporterblog and commented:
Updated with local musician Chris Wood opening for Love Canon.