musicreporterblog

Musings on folk, Americana, country, bluegrass and newgrass


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Shooter Jennings and Waymore Outlaws bring spirit of Waylon to The Rives Theatre on Thursday, June 9

Shooter Jennings with Waymore’s Outlaws (Waylon Jennings original recording and touring band) and Billy Don Burns are coming to The Rives Theatre in uptown Martinsville, Virgnina, at 9 p.m. on Thursday, June 9.

Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 and $40 at the door. Sorry, season passes not accepted. Buy tickets here. Continue reading


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Travis Book and Sara Siskind open for Mary Chapin Carpenter on June 8 at Carolina Theatre

You may recognize Winston-Salem native and singer-songwriter Sarah Siskind from the ABC hit “Nashville” and her equally talented husband Travis Book of The Infamous Stringdusters. The duo are working on an album to be released later this year as Sunliner, which has performed at Rooster Walk and Red Wing Roots festivals, among others. Sunliner debuted with a new drummer, the venerable Jeff Sipe, at White Squirrel Festival in Brevard in May.

Book and Siskind, who performed at The Rives Theatre on Valentine’s Day 2015 (did I mentioned they are married?) , are opening for the incomparable Mary Chapin Carpenter at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, June 8, at the historic Carolina Theatre in downtown Greensboro, North Carolina. Carpenter is touring in support of her new full-length album, “The Things That We Are Made Of,” which was released in May to critical acclaim.

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HoustonFest 2016 is set for June 10-11 in Galax, Virginia

HoustonFest is an annual bluegrass and old-time music festival, celebrating song and service, which is held at Felts Park, 601 South Main St., in Galax, Virginia, on the second weekend in June.  HoustonFest 2016 is set for Friday, June 10, through Saturday, June 11.

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Will Overman Band brings back Southern Fried Rock with self-titled debut album release

Southern fried rock. For me, KTel defined it in a 1980 album with songs from The Marshall Tucker Band and Blackfoot, among many others.

I still have the vinyl, which I nearly wore out.

Will Overman and his band, with the exception of uber-talented drummer Chris Helms — think Sebastian Bach in the Gilmore Girls’ Hep Alien band — weren’t born until a few decades after my KTel find.

The debut album by Will Overman Band, released June 4, is the epitome of that Southern fried rock. The kind of music I played incessantly on the first stereo turntable I bought with my first paycheck — hard-earned during the long, hot summer of ’79 picking berries on an experimental farm in Washington state.

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2016 Charlie Poole Music Festival set for June 10-11

The 2016 Charlie Poole Music Festival will be held June 10-11 at Governor Morehead Park, 422 Church St., in Eden, North Carolina. Governor Morehead Park is located on the site of the first textile mill in the region, built in 1839 by John Motley Morehead. The park is owned and operated by the Eden Preservation Society.

See the full schedule below. Weekend passes are $25. Learn more here.

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Town Mountain to headline first Bailey Blues and Bluegrass Festival on Friday, June 3, in downtown Winston-Salem

The first Bailey Blues and Bluegrass Festival, a music event that’s blue down to its roots, is set from 6-10 p.m. Friday, June 3, at Bailey Park in downtown Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The free event is sponsored by Wake Forest Innovation Quarter and the Blue Ridge Music Center and is open to the public.

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Make music a part of your Memorial Day Weekend 2016

There are numerous live music festivals and venues throughout North Carolina, Virginia and beyond on tap to help you celebrate the official kick off of summer over the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend. Following are a few highlights. If I’ve missed one, let me know! Continue reading


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Red Wing Roots Music Festival has released a limited number of single-day tickets for July 8-10 event

Red Wing Roots Music Festival has released a limited number of Single Day tickets for the fourth annual music festival at Natural Chimneys Park in Mount Solon, Virginia, on July 8-10, 2016. 

Festival organizers along with hosts, The Steel Wheels, have done an excellent job of pulling together another outstanding line up of regionally and nationally-acclaimed musicians for this three-day festival in the beautiful Shenandoah Valley.
Please visit http://www.redwingroots.com/2016-line-up/ to learn more about the full line up and festival schedule.


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The Honeycutters poised to catch on with fourth studio album release

The Honeycutters may just be the best rock, country roots band out there that you aren’t listening to. That should change with this weekend’s release of the group’s fourth studio album, “On the Ropes,” on Organic Records.

MerleFest fans may remember frontwoman and principal songwriter Amanda Anne Platt from her stint as a finalist in the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest in 2011.

The native of the New York village Hastings on the Hudson moved to Asheville, North Carolina, in January 2007 with the intention of literally making music – in the form of becoming a guitar builder – rather than writing and performing songs. Instead, she found a community  of like-minded musicians and the music, well, it just stuck. Like, uhm, honey.

And we’re all better for it. But don’t take my word for it. Listen for yourself.

Find out if the band is coming to a town near you here.

 

 

 


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Gears and Guitars kicks off with free concert in Winston-Salem on Saturday, May 21

I’m going to give Phuzz Phest founder Philip Pledger a shout out for this one because I think his success has shown the powers that be in Winston-Salem that music festivals can be successful in this city.

This weekend marks the kickoff of a new music festival, “Gears and Guitars,” being held in conjunction with the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic. The festival features The Band Perry, jam band O.A.R., Gin Blossoms, Better Than Ezra and Sister Hazel, among others.

Saturday’s show, Drivin’ N’ Cryin’, a Southern rock band from Atlanta that had a gold record in 1991 with “Fly Me Courageous,” will perform a free show at 7 p.m. Saturday on Trade Street between Sixth and Seventh.

Read more about the festival in the Winston-Salem Journal here and get out and enjoy some shows and support live music in the Camel City!