The Lowdown

by Jared Bentley
GoTriCities Network

The Twilight Alive concert series has made quite an impact in the past two years, and has built a reputation for good music, quality entertainment, and revitalization of a long-gone buzz in downtown Kingsport. This year shows no signs of slowing up, with a tremendous lineup that highlights the best of New Orleans, a country legend, a rising soulful voice of Christian music, one of the most celebrated female songwriters of the last quarter century, and some of the finest Americana, roots, and blues artists performing today.

Bluegrass on Broad will bring us some amazing artists from throughout our region as well, and allows visitors to downtown Kingport two nights of some of the finest entertainment this area will see. How could anyone ask for anything more?

Twilight Alive shows start at 7 p.m. on Thursday evenings, with a local band serving as the opening act. Bluegrass on Broad shows kick off at the same time on Fridays. There is no permanent seating of any sort, unless you count the pavement, so if you want to sit, bring a chair or something of the like. Concert-goers are also asked to bring a non-perishable food item, which will be collected and given to a local food bank.

This year's lineup looks like this:

May 9 - The Fall Creek Band: Led by 14-year-old Savannah Vaughn, this bluegrass band from Northeast Tennessee has been making waves locally and regionally. Backed by her father Ron, and veteran players Audie Ratliff and Janice McCombs, young Ms. Vaughn and her band have a bright future ahead of them in the bluegrass world.

May 16 - Appalachian Strings featuring Balsam Range: Based in Haywood County, North Carolina, Balsam Range consists of five men native to this region “where the Smokies meet the Blue Ridge.” Bluegrass says a lot of what this band is about, but equally important are the aspects of Gospel and Country Music. All the fellows in the band grew up in the rich musical heritage of the Appalachian South, surrounded by culture and heritage steeped in traditions of The Grand Ole Opry…as well as the important influences of the Scotch-Irish settlers of the Southern Mountains, English ballads, Western songs…and tunes written by the band members themselves.

May 23 - Adam Larkey and Mountain Time: At the ripe old age of 6, Adam decided he wanted to play the fiddle. He began taking lessons from Scott Gould at the School of Music in Kingsport, TN. His dad, being a bluegrass musician himself, then started letting Adam play a few songs on stage with his band and from there he took off. Adam, born and raised in Abingdon and Bristol Virginia, had a pretty normal childhood until the day his dad brought home an old fiddle to be repaired. He showed an instant interest in the old instrument. Since then Adam has appeared on WCYB’s Family Focus, CMT, BCMA’s Pickin Porch, and the Carter Family Fold, not to mention many other bluegrass featured radio broadcasts. Adam has been honored to be a featured performer in Nashville along side accomplished artists such as The Little River Band, Kim Karnes and Penny Gilley. Now at 10 years old he plays old time and bluegrass fiddle music as someone decades his senior. He is influenced most by Bobby Hicks and of course Hunter Berry of Rhonda Vincent and the Rage, but being 10 he still loves to play basketball, baseball, playstation and has become somewhat of a WW2 historian. Adam is a 5th grader and resides in East Tennessee with his Mom, Dad and little sister, Sarah Grace. Adam and the band are honored and grateful for the opportunity to play for your event.

May 29 - Cowboy Mouth: For more than 15 years, the members of Cowboy Mouth have embraced, embodied, preached and shouted at the top of their lungs the joys of their hometown of New Orleans, sharing a slice of Mardi Gras heaven with fans around the world on 11 recordings and at their legendary live shows, which to date have been witnessed by more than 8 million and captured best by Cake magazine when it noted: "...on a bad night they’ll tear the roof off the joint and on a good night they’ll save your soul." Do not miss this show!!

May 30 - Breaking Tradition: Breaking Tradition is a bluegrass band who makes their home in Bristol & Bluff City, Tennessee. They play traditional bluegrass music, and have performed throughout the region at festivals and events. The band is made up of talented, accomplished musicians, and always satisfies with their smooth arrangements and stellar musicianship.

June 5 - Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen: Jon Cleary is a triple threat with a salty-sweet voice, masterful piano skills, and a knack for coupling infectious grooves with melodic hooks and sharp lyrics. He balances a career performing with his band The Absolute Monster Gentlemen and Bonnie Raitt, recording with both groups, and composing songs for various artists. His live shows are an explosive funk party mixing old school soul with the rhythms of New Orleans.

June 6 - Highway 11: Highway 11 is a dynamic new bluegrass band. But while the band is newly formed, its members are not new to the bluegrass scene. Frankie Elliott (lead and tenor vocals, bass) hails from a musical family. He began singing as a boy and was playing bass by age 13. He performed with his father's band, Albert Elliott and the Blueridge Partners, among others, and was privileged to play with Marty Stewart at The Carter Fold.
Other members are: Mark Marshall (tenor vocals, banjo), who began playing guitar at age 8 and banjo at 13. Mark and Frankie, both originally from Big Stone Gap, Va. , now live in Mt. Carmel , Tenn. Johnny Greer (bartione vocals, mandolin) began his musical career as a rock-n-roll drummer at the age of 15, but discovered the mandolin at the ripe old age of 33. He has enjoyed some recent success with the release of The Johnny Greer Project (Lonesome Feelin) and John Malayter (baritone vocals, guitar), a New Jersey transplant who has played this music for years. While still in Jersey , he was a part of the bluegrass band Ground Speed, named bluegrass band of the year. He began playing guitar at the age of 13.

June 12 - Dirty Dozen Brass Band: The Dirty Dozen Brass Band impresses listeners with its bracing, innovative blend of traditional New Orleans sounds and modern jazz sensibilities. The ensemble has recorded with artists from Dizzy Gillespie (a hero and inspiration) to Elvis Costello, taken on the music of jazz inventor Jelly Roll Morton for the album Jelly and reinterpreted the hymns and parade songs of the Crescent City second-line bands for 2004s Funeral For A Friend (following the death of co-founding member Tuba Fats). They've mixed intriguing approaches to traditional and familiar material, but in a context emphasizing challenging original music composed by the Dozen members themselves. In the course, the band resurrected, revitalized and put distinctly personal stamps on what was a dying tradition of New Orleans brass bands when the group formed in the late 70s, inspiring a full-on revival thats flourished with several new generations of young brass bands each bringing their own twists to the form.

June 13 - Midnight Ramblers: The Ramblers got their start by Austin playing on 106.3 WNVA's Local Talent Live Show a few months back - and he's been pickin' his way around Southwest Virginia ever since. Austin is the lead singer for the band and has a remarkable voice. Cherise, with a personal interest in the band, had informally been part of the group since its earliest stages and began playing the stand up bass at the end of November 2005. Since her involvement, Cherise has proven to be a tremendous asset as her musical talents have extraordinarily grown. In April 2006, the band reorganized and invited the exceptionally talented Abram Mullins to play the banjo. Abe grew up spending a lot of time acquiring his musical talent at the locally famed Dungannon Train Depot where good ole’ mountain music is played every Saturday night. Abe has been playing the banjo, mandolin, guitar and stand up bass since he was 12 years old. In May 2006, Marcus Johnson with his “Red Hot” guitar picking was also invited to play with The Midnight Ramblers. He grew up in Castlewood, Virginia and has been involved with gospel and bluegrass music for several years. Marcus comes from a musically talented family and has been playing the guitar since he was a young boy. The rest of the story is history.

June 19 - Hacienda Brothers: Western Soul at its finest, the Hacienda Brothers embody all that is good and true in Americana music. Currently coping with the recent death of their singer and leader, Chris Gaffney, the Brothers are touring in support of their latest CD, "What's Wrong With Right?", and using the shows to celebrate his life and spirit. Come out and support them as they do, and catch a great concert in the process.

June 20 - Dry Valley Grass:

June 26 - Carrie Rodriguez: The emergence of fiddler Carrie Rodriguez as a stunning singer and instrumentalist caps an already long musical journey for a young woman in her 20s. Rodriguez, a native of Austin, Texas, began playing violin at the age of five. By age ten, she had already performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City with the Texas Suzuki Tour Group. Her first steps away from classical music were in her early teens when she began accompanying her father, noted Texas singer-songwriter David Rodriguez, in local clubs.
In 1996, Rodriguez left Texas to study classical violin at Oberlin Conservatory. She lasted about six months before realizing Oberlins concentration on the classicsand a career playing in a symphony orchestrawould be too narrow for her adventurous musical vision. Choosing fiddle over violin, she soon transferred to the Berklee College of Music in Boston. There, she studied bluegrass, old-time, swing, jazz, and everything in between.

June 27 - Papa Joe Smiddy & The Reedy Creek Band featuring the Steep Canyon Rangers: Papa Joe Smiddy is a top-notch banjo player, but he didn't earn a living at it until his retirement as the first chancellor of the University of Virginia's College at Wise. "Joseph C. Smiddy ...is a renaissance man and a mountain legend. As comfortable in the rotunda in Charlottesville as he is at the Carter Fold in Hiltons. "Papa Joe" is at once a scholar, educator, politician, orator, storyteller, and top-notch claw-hammer banjo picker."
The band includes, on clawhammer banjo & vocals: Papa Joe Smiddy, on guitar and vocals: Joe F. Smiddy, on fiddle: Steve Edwards, on homemade mandolin and vocals: David Edwards, and on bass and vocals: Igeary Pearcy.

The Steep Canyon Rangers have carved out a special spot in the world of bluegrass music, creating a sound that looks forward and backwards at the same time. First formed in the stairwells and kitchens of Chapel Hill, NC, the Rangers arrive from varied musical backgrounds. On stage and in the studio, Woody Platt, Mike Guggino, Charles Humphrey, Nicky Sanders, and Graham Sharp have perfected their ensemble approach using fierce dynamics and seamless harmonies. The Rangers base their sound around a stunning catalogue of original songs, drawing on the sounds of early bluegrass, honky tonk, and blues.
In 2006 the International Bluegrass Music Association voted Steep Canyon Rangers the Emerging Artist of the Year. The past year also saw the title track ”One Dime at a Time” rise to 1 on Bluegrass Unlimited’s National Bluegrass Survey. In October the Grand Ole Opry welcomed the Rangers for a debut performance at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. On the heels of their recent success comes a third Rebel release ”Lovin’ Pretty Women” produced by bluegrass heavyweight Ronnie Bowman and engineered by guitarist Wyatt Rice, affirming the band’s arrival at the highest circle of acoustic music.

July 24 - Marty Stuart: Already cemented as a country music legend, Marty Stuart is on fire creatively. He has recorded the four best albums of his career with his band, the Fabulous Superlatives, and has put on some of the best shows of his career. But he will be the first to tell you that his current achievements would never have been possible if he hadn’t walked every single mile of the highway that got him here. And he never would have made it if not for the mentors who showed the way and the partners who walked beside him. That list of mentors and partners includes some of the biggest names in music history, players such as Bill Monroe, Johnny Cash, Flatt and Scruggs, Steve Earle, B.B. King, The Staples Singers, and countless others.
You do not want to miss Marty Stuart in downtown Kingsport!!

July 25 - Nina Ketron and Just Friends featuring Kenny and Amanda Smith:

July 31 - Delta Moon : Tom Gray and Mark Johnson first met in an Atlanta music store. Tom tried to sell Mark a Dobro guitar out of the trunk of his car, the girl with Mark started whispering, “Let’s get out of here.” Mark didn’t buy the guitar, but he and Tom exchanged phone numbers. Soon the two were getting together regularly, Tom playing lap steel and Mark on bottleneck slide guitar. At first, neither gave a thought to the idea of forming a double slide guitar band. Then Mark saw Ry Cooder and David Lindley perform together at the New Orleans Jazz Festival. “It was like a light came on over my head,” Mark said. “I thought, that’s what Tom and I do.” The two, along with singer Gina Leigh and a rotating cast of drummers and bassists, formed Delta Moon. Their idea was to weave the two slide guitars into one big sound, in the tradition of great two-guitar bands like the Rolling Stones, the Allman Brothers, and early Fleetwood Mac.Playing clubs and festivals around Atlanta and the South, the band quickly gathered a wall full of local “best” awards. After Delta Moon won the International Blues Challenge in Memphis in 2003, the band widened its travel to include the US, Canada, and Europe.

August 1 - Rough Edges: Rough Edges Band make their home in east Tennessee—an area rich in bluegrass, old time, and folk music heritage. The band was formed in 2006 by Travis Sutton (bass) and Chip McLain (guitar) who were lucky enough to solicit the help of Jeff Webb (banjo) and Clint Hurd (mandolin). The REB lineup brings to the stage bluegrass with a contemporary edge, tight harmony, an entertaining show, and a true love of the music they perform. REB want to effectively establish themselves as “grass with an edge.” Hopefully the band’s followers can cross all musical boundaries. They appeal to traditional bluegrass fans as well as non-traditional ones. The most avid country music lovers can enjoy their music and the younger generation, especially college students, can also enjoy their style. Their “grass with an edge” has been shaped into a skillfully executed, articulate musical presentation that will hopefully move your spirit with their high-energy sound and intense shows.

August 7 - Michelle Shocked w/the Lee Boys: Shocked is a traveler and a troubadour; a “picker-poet,” as they say in Texas. As a young feminist, she left Texas to travel, Kerouac-style, a musical vagabond caught up in Reagan-era grassroots politics. Her musical career was ignited by a bootleg recording made around a Kerrville Folk Festival campfire on a Sony Walkman. Released in England as The Texas Campfire Tapes without Shocked’s authority, its success abroad enticed Mercury Records to offer the newcomer a recording contract.
For Mercury, Shocked recorded a trilogy of albums that stand as a captivating primer on American music. Short Sharp Shocked’s spirited folk-rock progressed into Captain Swing’s energetic jump blues, expanding to Arkansas Traveler’s travelogue of minstrel-era country. While songs like “Anchorage,” “Come a Long Way” and “On the Greener Side” achieved popular success, her stylistic iconoclasm frustrated Mercury, particularly since she retained ownership of her masters. Shocked spent several years battling the label before finally “liberating” herself, citing the 13th Amendment.
In January of this year, Shocked’s entire catalog was released exclusively on iTunes. A month later she released (in digital form only) a Mardi Gras single, “Hardcore Hornography,” and wowed a jaded industry audience at the North American Folk Alliance Conference before heading to Austin for SXSW, Nashville for Tin Pan South and Los Angeles for ASCAP Expo. Her new album, "ToHeavenYouRide" spotlights Shocked where she’s always shone brightest—live onstage, delivering for an audience. The album captures her at her most soulful—in the original spiritual sense of the term.

August 8 - Pleasant Hill Band:

August 14 - Mike Farris: Farris is a founding member of the Screaming Cheetah Wheelies, a band that made its name on great, epic live shows and catchy jam tunes that filled the CD players and cassette decks of many college students throughout the 1990's. He has since found his calling, and his own voice, in the realm of contemporary Christian music, where he has injected his immense soulful sound with a new album, "Salvation in Lights".
"Sometimes you have to go through hell to reach heaven, & watching Mike Farris perform songs off "Salvation In Lights" with a full band, I'd have to think someone earned his wings. Fantastic Show bordering on a religious experience."
--Larry Timko, WIKX

August 15 - Appalachian Trail: Appalachian Trail is a collaboration of seasoned singers, musicians, and songwriters who have played locally and abroad. Their sound is progressive with a salute to traditional bluegrass. These folks are regulars at the Carter Fold in Hiltons, VA, as well as many other local venues, and boast a twenty year history of contributions to other bands and recorded music.  Tommy and Vickie Austin, Tim Laughlin, Matthew Cruby and Allen Hughes team up to form quite a quintet - a show that you don't want to miss.

August 21 - Homemade Jamz Blues Band: International Blues Challenge 2nd Place Winners, 2007 (Band Category), Bay Area Blues Society's West Coast Hall of Fame "Blues New Artist of the Year 2008", NorthernBlues Music Recording Artist, 2007. Homemade Jamz’ Blues Band consist of 3 young siblings, the youngest blues band to sign with a major record label (NorthernBlues Music). Ryan Perry 15 yrs old/lead guitar & vocal, Kyle Perry 13 yrs old/bass player and Taya Perry 9 yrs old/drummer.
They have been performing at Several Festivals across country, Charity and Community Events, and several restaurants/bars (clubs) including the famous Ground Zero Blues Club, Clarksdale, MS., Club Ebony, Indianola, MS., Club Superior, Beale St., Memphis, WC Handy Blues Festival, Florence, AL., Chicago Blues Festival, The Harvest Jazz & Blues Festival, Canada, The Legendary Rhythm & Blues Cruise, Oct 07, just to name a few.
They have been featured several times on local TV Morning Shows and many articles were written about the band by several local news papers as well as blues magazines & through out the internet. Susan Spencer from CBS Sunday Morning News accompanied the young band at the WC Handy Festival in July 07, and aired the short story on the young band nation wide on Dec 2, 07. Homemade Jamz’ Blues Band is the 3rd Annual MS Delta Blues Society of Indianola Blues Challenge Winners, 2006, and the youngest (total age) blues band to ever entered the International Blues Challenge & became 2nd Place Winners of the 23rd International Blues Challenge, 2007 (band category). They competed against 93 adult bands from all over the world. Homemade Jamz’ will continue contributing to keeping the blues alive.

August 22 - Tennessee Skyline: The musicians that make up Tennessee Skyline are some of the most-talented and best-known musicians in the music-rich area of eastern Tennessee. They have excelled in many musical endeavors, both individually and as a unit. Their most-recent CD, The Train Don’t Come Around Here Anymore, is a master work of their combined talents.

August 28 - Webb Wilder: Who is Webb Wilder? An iconic A-list roots rock musician, a B-movie film star, a man with a Credo to live by, a former DJ on XM Radio and an Electrifying artist. He mixes British invasion rock, Hank Williams country, Elvis soul, Screaming Jay Hawkins theatrics and Dick Dale surf punk (with a bit of rockabilly thrown in) who Rolling Stone says "flat out rocks." Lots more info at www.webbwilder.com, and see his movies at www.webbwilderfilms.com.

August 29 - ETSU Bluegrass Band: The bluegrass program at East Tennessee State University has produce an immense amount of talent over the years, and draws fine young musicians from around the globe each and every year. The Pride Band performs throughout the year at events and festivals, and has built a reputation as a major highlight wherever they might play. They close out the Bluegrass on Broad schedule again this year, and plan to do so in grand fashion.

That's quite a lineup for any city, and any music series, so if you happen to be in or near Kingsport, mark your calendar and make a date to see some of your favorites acts. You will not be disappointed!!