The afternoon program, hosted by the Cumberland Trail State Park, will showcase a reunion after 40 years of the Pinnacle Mountain Boys in the persons of Charlie Collins, Larry McNeely, Buster Turner, and Don Gulley. It will also revive - by featuring fiddlers related to or old fiddlers who actually competed - the LaFollette Fiddler's Contest and Convention which took place from about 1906 until the beginning of WWII. The contest judged and awarded both individual fiddlers and string bands. Also featured will be Earl T. Bridgeman from Tennessee's Sequatchie Valley, the last living blues legend, whose father was also a legendary black fiddler.
The Louie Bluie Stage's evening program will feature a return of Hokum's Heroes (including members of Armstrong's band), Ann Rabson (member of Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women), Hector Qirko Band, Lonetones, Sparky and Rhonda Rucker (blues and harmonica players from Morristown); Wallace Coleman (international harmonica performer), Knoxville's Nancy Brennan Strange, and former LaFollette native, composer and singer Maggie Longmire.
Inside the Park Pavilion, the Community Stage will feature a variety of Campbell County musicians and groups who play roots music, and in an adjoining room - another new addition to the festival this year - a juried art exhibit showcasing art by regional artists.
Music Performances
Hokum's Heroes | (MP3)
Hokum's Heroes is a revolving-door aggregate of Boston-based musicians united by their passion for the music of Howard Armstrong. They perform early 20th Century pop music, twining together the roots of early jazz, Vaudeville, hokum, string band, jug band, gospel and blues. Looming largest is the influence of euphoric rag-tinged string bands like R.Crumb's Cheap Suit Serenaders and the legendary black string band Martin, Bogan and Armstrong. Hokum's Heroes band members have played at venues as diverse as Lincoln Center, Boston Folk Festival, Montreal Jazz Festival, Country Music Hall of Fame, and the New York City Blues Festival.
Maggie Longmire | (MP3)
Folk singer, blues rocker, song writer Maggie Longmire is one of East Tennessee's finest artists. Voted by the Knoxville Metro Pulse readers as Best Local Musician, her "honey-sweet" yet powerful alto voice spans blues and country styles. Some say her voice is fuller and more resonant today than it was a quarter-century ago when, known as the "Lily of LaFollette", Longmire ruled the nights in East Tennessee back rooms and concert halls. Her evoking lyrics and haunting melodies are drawn from her roots and often recall a history of the region.
Sparky & Rhonda Rucker | (MP3)
Internationally acclaimed James "Sparky" Rucker is a leading folklorist, historian, musician, storyteller, and author. He has been singing songs and telling stories from the American tradition for over 40 years. Sparky accompanies himself on guitar, banjo, and spoons, and has released over 11 recordings. Rhonda Rucker practiced medicine for five years before becoming a full-time performer. She began taking piano lessons from a ragtime player when she was four years old. In addition to piano, Rhonda adds sweet-sounding vocal harmonies, a mean, gutsy blues harmonica, old-time banjo, and rhythmic bones to their music. She began performing with Sparky in 1989.
Tennessee Sheiks | (MP3)
The music of the Knoxville-based Tennessee Sheiks is best described as acoustic swing: jazz standards played (and sung) in the style of the great Gypsy guitarist Django Rinehardt, as well as original tunes and an occasional Appalachian ballad. Don Cassell brilliantly executes the mandolin and dobro. A master of rhythm guitar, tenor banjo and percussion, Morgan Simmons keeps things going with his solid rhythmic presentation. Lead guitar player Don Wood, a true disciple of Django Rinehardt, creatively delivers exciting interpretations. Allen Smith, bassist, is known for his work in jazz bands in Knoxville. Nancy Brennan Strange joyfully delivers the vocals in this very interesting, entertaining band.
Theatrical Performances
Carpet Bag Theater | (MP3)
The Carpetbag Theatre, Inc. (CBT) is a professional, multigenerational ensemble company dedicated to the production of new works. For over thirty-five years, Carpetbag Theatre has been a pioneer in addressing issues and dreams of persons who have been historically silenced by some form of oppression. They have effortlessly taken on the burden of giving voice to those who should be prominent in the American lexicon but are seldom, if ever, heard.
Carpetbag Theatre will perform an excerpt of their new musical play at the Festival, BETWEEN A BALLAD AND A BLUES paying homage to African-American-Appalachian renaissance man, Howard “Louie Bluie” Armstrong, one of the most famous string-band musicians in the history of American music. BETWEEN A BALLAD AND A BLUES, written by acclaimed playwright, Linda Parris-Bailey, this moving musical soliloquy spans the career of Armstrong for seven decades, beginning during the roaring 20’s all the way through until his death in 2003. From humble beginnings in the hills of East Tennessee, playing a homemade fiddle with his siblings, to his noted collaborations with fellow traveling musicians, Carl Martin and Ted Bogan, Howard Armstrong toured extensively around the world sharing string band music and planting the seeds for other American music forms including Country, Bluegrass, and the Blues.
Cast members include Marquez Rhyne, Bert Tanner, and Seed Lynn Heathcock (pictured at left), as well as Linda Upton Hill, Allie Pryor and Lyigia Simmons. The playwright is Carpetbag's executive/artistic director Linda Parris-Bailey, and the play is directed by Steven Kent.
Brought to you by the:
Campbell Culture Coalition
and these sponsors:
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Campbell County |
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City of Caryville |
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Campbell County Commission |
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Cumberland Trail State Park |
St. Mary's Medical Center |
East Tennessee Foundation |
Pyro Shows
The Willows at Twin Cove
Hampton Inn / Comfort Inn
Ayers Realty & Auction
Sharp Communications
Jubilee Community Arts
Twice the Ice
E.E. Hill & Sons