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September 11, 2008
CD Reviews: Tazewell Duo Releases ‘Jewel Ridge Coal’
Tazewell singer Jeni Hankins pays tribute to the coal mining town of Jewell Ridge, Va., with an irresistable CD called “Jewell Ridge Coal.”
Norton Festival Salutes Legacy of Musician Dock Boggs
Dock Boggs was a graveyard singer. He sang with a voice as if from beyond the grave – raw and otherworldly.
Short Takes: Monthly Contra Dance at Bristol Ballet Sept. 12
A glimpse at weekend entertainment events.
September 06, 2008
A Cultural Exchange
Hungarian Choir To Perform
Beth McCoy traveled to Hungary in 2006 to learn.
The artistic director of the Mountain Empire Children’s Choral Academy returned home with an invitation for the Highlands Youth Ensemble to compete in the prestigious 20th International Chamber Choir competition in Hungary.
“When they told us about the competition we could enter,” McCoy said, “they asked if it could be a partnership, that we could go there and they could come here.”
So a 14-member contingent of the Highlands Youth Ensemble traveled to Hungary in May 2007. They entered but did not win the competition.
September 03, 2008
Short Takes: What’s on Stage This Weekend?
A glimpse at weekend entertainment.
The Tams coming to NPAC Sept. 6
One of America’s all-time favorite recording acts, the legendary TAMS are coming to the Niswonger Performing Arts Center on Saturday, Sept. 6. The
Chris Higbee Project at Steele Creek Park Sept 6th at 7PM
Chris Higbee, fiddle player and PNH founder has started a new act, The Chris Higbee Project and they will be performing at Steele Creek on Saturday, September 6th at 7PM.
Billy Jonas: September 11th at Hands On!
On Thursday, September 11th, Hands On! will host Billy Jonas for two musical performances at 10 am and 1pm.
August 29, 2008
ESTU Pride Week Strikes Up The Blue Grass Band
ETSU alumni Julie Short and Chris McCartt preview the upcoming Pride Week concert on News Channel 11 at noon.
August 27, 2008
Gaither Homecoming to Stop in Johnson City
Time was when Southern gospel music thrived regionally, though not nationally and certainly not internationally.
Times have changed.
GrahamFest
Event To Feature Ghost Walk Tours, Music, Much More
GRAHAMS FORGE, Va. – It’s the music – all kinds of music – that sets the stage for the magic of GrahamFest.
This newly-born festival, nestled on the fields of a Wythe County farm, grew from a gathering of friends a few years ago that simply liked to jam with musician and real estate developer Josiah Cephas “J.C.” Weaver.
A part-time resident of Dunedin, Fla., Weaver once sought a big-time recording career. He was going to be a country star – maybe a rock star, too. He wrote such songs as “Salute the Boys of Vietnam” and “America, God’s People Love You.”
Labor Day Fun
Variety Of Festivals To Be Held Over The Weekend
If you’re looking for a party on Labor Day weekend, you’re in luck across the Mountain Empire.
Residents of Coeburn are getting ready to have fun on the arched bridges spanning the banks of Little Tom’s Creek. There, the annual Guest River Rally runs today through Sept. 1.
Festivals, celebrations and concerts are also getting under way from Breaks Interstate Park to the hills of Hillsville.
In Smyth County, meanwhile, one of the region’s longest-running festivals takes place this weekend in Saltville.
Choir from Bristol, England Coming to Twin City
The Paramount Center in Bristol will host a special concert on Sept. 4 at 7:30 p.m. featuring the Bristol (England) Male Voice Choir.
Showcasing a variety of music drawn from around the world, the choir’s repertoire includes operatic choruses, sacred arrangements, spirituals and songs from stage and screen.
Rita Coolidge Brings ‘Balance’ to ‘Jazz at the Culp’ Aug. 29
Think 1970s. Blues, country, rock, pop and even gospel intertwined in the styles of such acts as the Eagles and Leon Russell.
Rita Coolidge thrived amid the mix.
August 21, 2008
Nature Watch: Clymene Moth’s Unique Pattern
We’ve seen them before: cream-colored moths with dark outlines and the shape of what we thought was a dagger in the center of the folded wings. The underwings are a yellowish orange with a dark spot, and when the wings are completely open, the effect of the pattern is lost.
Barter’s ‘Sweeney Todd:’ ‘Better than Broadway’s’
“I saw Sweeny Todd on Broadway and this production is much, much better,” enthused our visiting friend who joined us at Barter Theatre on the afternoon of Aug. 17.
Folk Arts Festival Shares Appalachian Ways, More
Tradition matters. Yet if left untended, even the most cherished of traditions can whither and die as time passes by.
Enter the Appalachian Folk Arts Festival. Scheduled for Aug. 23 at Southwest Virginia Museum in Big Stone Gap, Va., the festival will feature a number of demonstrations of long-practiced Appalachian traditions such as basket making, quilting and beekeeping.
Outside the Oval: Race Fans’ Guide to Sampling Region’s Heritage - Music
Welcome, race fans. Come along for a look at the region’s other calling card, music.
Entertainment does not pause while NASCAR’s rockets cool their jets between races. Try music.
Bristol gifted the world with what has become known as the Bristol Sessions, 1927 recording sessions that spawned the start of the seminal careers of Jimmie Rodgers and Hiltons, Va.’s Carter Family. Blues legend Brownie McGhee grew up in Kingsport, Tenn. There’s much more, but you get the idea.
Now, get the music.
August 14, 2008
Electro-Music 2008 Offers Seminars, Music and More
The Electro-Music Festival 2008, featuring electronic music of all varieties performed continuously on two alternating stages, comes to the Tri-Cities Aug. 14-16.
Singer Tracy Lawrence Has Earned His Stripes
Time marches on. Nearly 20 years have marched on since Tracy Lawrence hit number one with his first single, “Sticks and Stones” in 1991. Several major record labels have come and gone. Hits came and hits went. Personal stability, it’s his. Kids, he has two. So when Lawrence opens the Appalachian Fair in Gray, Tenn., on Aug. 18 bear in mind that life as he knew it in ’91 sure is different than life as he knows it now.
Jypsi: A Sly Band of Syblings
Country act Jypsi has one album. They are young, ages 17 to 27, and signed to big-time label Arista Nashville Records.
Short Takes: Glimpse of Entertainment Around the Region
Short Takes features harpist Greg Buchanan performing a benefit concert for the Children’s Advocacy Center of Bristol/Washington, Co., Va.; concerts this week on State Street in Bristol, VA/TN; and Marty Raybon at the Blue Ridge Music Center in Galax, Va.
August 13, 2008
Appalachian Fair Musical Lineup
The 2008 Appalachian Fair musical lineup includes: (top left to right) Tracy Lawrence, Josh Gracin, Jake Owen, (bottom left to right) Heidi Newfield, Chris Young and Jypsi
Cadillac Sky Coming to Paramount Center for the Arts Sept. 9
Cadillac Sky Coming to Paramount Center for the Arts Sept. 9.
New Record ‘Gravity’s Our Enemy’ due out 8-19 on Skaggs Family Records
August 09, 2008
Tazewell County Fair To Feature Music, Food, More
TAZEWELL, Va. – From livestock shows and fishing tournaments to bluegrass music and carnival rides, you’ll find plenty to celebrate with the Tazewell County Fair on tap this week.
Kicking off on Aug. 10, the weeklong event includes food booths, a hunter education course, horse shows and a car and truck show. You can also catch a racing competition – using lawn mowers and go-karts – on Aug. 10 at 6 p.m.
The draft horse show starts at 1 p.m. Aug. 11. You can also stop by the “Catch and Win Fishing Tank” for a competition at 4 p.m., then witness the “Tazewell Tae Kwon Do Dawg Pound” on Aug. 11 at 6 p.m.
August 07, 2008
elecTriCity Calendar
Region offers a variety of entertainment events.
Short Takes: Local Entertainment Highlights
ETSU-Umoja Festival brings storyteller Diane Ferlatte back to Johnson City.
Wallflower Music Not For Shocked
There’s much more to Michelle Shocked that a shocking story. Singer songwriter in Kingsport Aug. 7.
Carlene Carter Back and ‘Stronger’
Singer Coming to ‘Mountain Stage’ in Bristol
To hell and back. Five years ago, Carlene Carter journeyed deep into the black when one family member after another died. She lost her mother, June Carter Cash, her stepfather Johnny Cash, her half-sister, two aunts and her longtime boyfriend Howie Epstein within an eight-month period.
August 05, 2008
Coaltrain/Cowboy Troy at Capone’s
Fans in Johnson City, TN can catch the country rapper playing with a train of a different sort as Nashville country-rock band Coaltrain plays host to the Nashville star at 10 p.m. Saturday, August 9th at Capone’s.
