Dean Trimble on acoustic guitar playing Classic Country and Soft Rock music from the 70’s and 80’s.
Kat Mills
Friday 1:00 PM - 1:40 PM
Kat Mills is a singer-songwriter, wife, mother, and activist based in Blacksburg and known throughout the region for her down-to-earth style and powerful voice. With a vintage Martin guitar, bell bottoms, and soulful original songs, Kat Mills reminds you of another era--but her work is for the here and now. She has four studio albums, has been a regular at Steppin Out and Floyd Fest, and has shared stages with Pete Seeger, Dar Williams and Sarah Lee Guthrie. Join Kat for a relaxing, inspiring set—and be ready
to sing along!
American Roots
Friday 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM
American Roots is a father and son (Fred & Jon Benfield) guitar and harmony vocals duo that has been performing in the region for about 25 years. Their performances may include Appalachian blues and ballads, delta and piedmont blues, trad-country, swing, trad-jazz, hot fiddle tunes, and "folkgrass" (folk tunes played at bluegrass tempo).
Ball & Chain
Friday 3:30 PM - 4:30 PM
Local Favorite Ball & Chain is the wife/husband duo Jon & Lucinda Piro. Original americana with an edge. Passion, fun, and sass pervade Jon’s and Lucinda’s blend of rockin’ roots, blues, R&B, alternative. A boy from the Bronx, a girl from the Virginia mountains. A captivating blend of musical tension and reconciliation. Years ago Jon put an ad in the Village Voice for a front person. Lucinda answered. The band eventually broke up, but Jon and Lucinda kept together, married, raised a couple of kiddoes, and never stopped creating music together. Ball & Chain is a triumph of creative collaboration and fierce commitment. They’ve played locally and toured throughout the U.S. Known for their outstanding vocals and unique harmonies that stroke your soul. And if you don’t have a soul, then you’ll simply enjoy some damn fine music.
Jon: vocals, lead guitar
Lucinda: vocals, rhythm guitar, mandolin, bass, hand percussion, harmonica
https://ballnchainmusic.com/
ballandchainmusic@gmail.com
facebook.com/BallnChainMusic
Ash Devine & Co.
Friday 5:00 PM - 6:00 PM
The award-winning and versatile Appalachian-folk-fusion singer-songwriter, teacher, and arts program designer Ash Devine is based the Blue Ridge Mountains of Asheville, North Carolina and Blacksburg, VA and has been referred to as one of the last ‘true folk troubadours’. Devine is known for her unique finger-style ukulele and guitar capabilities, and for her participation in activism through music, education, and the arts. In addition to producing several albums of original music, Ash has performed and studied along side Nobel peace prize nominee Patch Adams M.D., Smithsonian folk ways award winner Sheila Kay Adams, Grammy award nominee David Holt, and a number of other renowned folklorists, musicians, and social activists. Her versatile Appalachian folk revival-fusion sound is bursting with stylistic variety, relatable story, and historical facts. Her music is infleunced in style by Traditional Appalachian, Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, Jean Richie, Pete Seeger, Woody Guthrie, Maybelle Carter, Leslie Riddle, Ani Difranco, Kate Wolfe, Bob Dylan, and reggae/world music influences such as the Wailers, Jimmy Cliff, and west African traditional music.
Clover Hollow
Friday 6:45 PM - 7:45 PM
Seated in southern Appalachia, Laura Beth and Clover Hollow embody the authentic roots music that surround them while producing a signature sound that is original, sharp and refreshing - blues-rock, bluegrass, old time, and old-school-country all meld together into the soul of their music.
Laura Beth and Clover Hollow members have an immediate and unique chemistry that is reflected in how their talents groove together. It’s easy to hear in their successful debut cd, The Mill Sessions - recorded live in an old grain mill in southwest VA. Laura Beth’s songwriting is authentic and smooth and her vocals will cut straight through to your heart. Together, these top-notch musicians transport you to whisky weeping heartbreak to quiet introspection to rhythm stomping anthems of revelry.
Inspired and skillful leads are offered up by Chris Printz (mandolin), Chris Burgoyne (guitar), and Joe Abercrombie (banjo and dobro), while John Munsell (string bass) holds up the groove. Laura Beth sings lead, plays rhythm guitar and writes the tunes that are now staples far beyond their hometown of Blacksburg, VA.
You can stream or download Clover Hollow tunes from your favorite digital music platform.
Johanna Vaughan is a Blacksburg-based musician and songwriter. Her style has a foundation based on simplicity through guitar and voice, creating an intimate space for the audience and artist to have. Her airy and almost ethereal voice combined with easy-going guitar allows for an emotion-filled experience. Originally from Toronto, she has produced and performed for over a decade, creating soundscapes textured like water and wind.
Cocobolo, a Southwest Virginia based music duo, tailors its show to any stage with clear vocals, original, story based lyrics, intricate guitar leads and weaving rhythms that combine into something truly unique. This inspired pair brings to you an irresistible mix of acoustic tunes that are soulful and gritty. From the well known music hub of Floyd County, Virginia, comes Singer/Songwriter Stella Trudel (vocals, guitar) and Bob Dillard (guitar, vocals) for an astonishing blend of imagination, years of late night writing, thousands of practice hours, and a shared love of sound that solidly adds up to creativity at it’s best. You’ll be glad you stopped to listen!
Virginia Hollow is a mixture of Americana, Bluegrass, Country, Indie, and Rock. A singer-songwriter band that performs songs written by lead singer Carrie Hinkley, along with an occasional handpicked cover or two.
Carrie Hinkley: Vocals & Acoustic Guitar
Alan Graf: Acoustic & Electric Guitar, Banjo, Mandolin
Sue Winchester: Upright Bass & Harmony Vocals
We play Bluegrass from across the tracks.
Born and raised deep in the black diamond hills of southwestern Virginia, K.T. Vandyke is a unique and gripping song-smith, who wields folk songs and prose that weave a curious and unique life story. His songs tell the story of growing up in the coalfields of Buchanan County, Virginia and the trials and victories of those who came before. A collector of song and story alike, Vandyke parallels his own songs and delivery to that of Appalachian greats such as Merle Travis, Doc Watson, Ola Belle Reed, Tim O’Brien and Tony Rice. A student of traditional Appalachian folk music, Vandyke presents a captivating contemporary narrative through his banter and songwriting. On July 26 he will be releasing his new single “Texas (Walking on Ashes)” which was cut at Classic Recording in Bristol, Virginia and produced by renowned cellist Dave Eggar and Phil Faconti.
Currently stationed in Bristol, Virginia, he has been performing in the greater Appalachian region and neighboring metropolitan areas for more than a decade. A seasoned performer and multi-instrumentalist, Vandyke can be found performing as a solo songwriter or as one-half of the country swing duo Virginia West. Throughout the last several years he has been affiliated with Johnson City indie-rock acts Pocket Sand and Floyd Strange.
Amidst his musical tenure he has performed throughout the U.S. and extensively throughout the mid-east Atlantic states. He has performed as a featured opener for Jason Isbell (Telluride Bluegrass Festival), Pokey LaFarge (Thursday Jams Abingdon, Virginia), Blackberry Smoke (Buchanan County Fair), Town Mountain, (Abingdon Summer Concert series), Larry Keel and Natural Bridge (Catawba Music Festival), Sam Lewis (Thursday Jams), Devon Allman Band, as well as performing at Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion 2015, 2019, 2020.
The sound of LP Kelly comes broadly from the early days of American roots music: when bluesmen sang from front porches on hot afternoons; when swing bands played dances in speakeasies late into the night; when troubadours were tradesmen and not celebrities. From his base of operations in the Appalachian Mountain town of Blacksburg, VA, Kelly has worked tirelessly to encourage a renaissance in music that has a history and a place – not a watered-down Americana that could exist anywhere on the Internet, nor a rigid recreation of the past, but original music that demands the listener dig deeper to find its roots in geography and time. It’s original music that still sounds familiar. A couple of guitars, a banjo or two, a suitcase of harmonicas, and a whole lot of guts.
A veteran of other recording bands (The Jugbusters, The Don’t Tell Darlings), LP Kelly (formerly Old Man Kelly) released his first solo album, Songs, Stories, Shanties, and Shenanigans in 2013 and his second album, Off My Lawn, in 2016. The start of 2021 brings Love Songs For Loners, a new collection of ten original songs. In the intervening time, LP Kelly has made hundreds of public appearances at bars, festivals, swing dances, square dances, radio shows, house concerts, and on any other stage run by folks who understand that American music has both a past and a future, and that being there matters.
August 5th and 6th 2022
8/5-6/2022
