Art & Music on the Farm 2019 Musician Performance and Workshop Schedule ON THE MAIN STAGE
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Sheryl Warner and the Southside Homewreckers “Dynamic, expressive and soulfully powerful” - that’s how national publications describe Sheryl Warner. Add the lyrical harmonica lines of Rick Manson and the propulsive guitar of Gregg Kimball, and you have a powerful trio delivering straight-ahead blues, ragtime and roots music.
12:15 - 1:15 p.m. Jim Lloyd and Mac Traynham Jim Lloyd is a barber, musician, and storyteller, who lives in Rural Retreat, Virginia. Jim Lloyd is a multi-instrumentalist best known for his banjo and guitar work. Much like Doc Watson, his mountain upbringing provided a much more eclectic background that just the traditional music they mastered, including the pop and jazz they heard on radio and records. Jim’s musical roots extend back through at least four generations of fiddlers, guitar players, dancers and singers from the mountains of Virginia and West Virginia. His uncle Buddy Pennington played banjo with Bill Monroe & the Bluegrass Boys in 1958 and 1959. Mac is a highly respected old time musician known primarily for his rhythmic clawhammer banjo style. He plays guitar, harmonica, and fiddle in order to keep alive the older sound of mountain music prevalent in the Blue Ridge Mountains before the advent of modern technology. Old songs and “ancient” tunes are Mac’s specialty. A skilled carpenter, Mac builds high-quality open back banjos, cabinets and furniture when he isn’t playing music or farming.
1:30 - 2:30 p.m. Larnell Starkey and the Spiritual Seven Gospel Singers A returning highlight of the Art & Music on the Farm musical line-up, this gospel group from Wirtz, Virginia has been singing for over 40 years. Their music, a zestful blend of traditional gospel with a twist of contemporary, showcases the group's amazing vocal harmonies from the high flying falsettos of the first tenor, to the deep rich sounds of the low bass. This ensemble has performed for and been loved by people of different races, creeds and origins. Known as the "Gospel Temptations," this award-winning ensemble has toured across the United States and internationally, performing for audiences of 300 to 30,000.
2:45 - 3:45 p.m. Billy Baker and the Bluegrass Kinsmen Fiddlin’ Billy Baker grew up in Pound, Virginia, and helped forge the sounds of the genre we know today as bluegrass music. The list of influential groups and artists he has played with includes luminaries such as Bill Monroe & the Bluegrass Boys, Del McCoury, Jimmy Martin, Ralph Stanley, Jim & Jesse, and many others. Billy’s fiddling is a strong as ever, and is rich in the stylings and repertoire from Bluegrass’ golden era. Like most of Bill Monroe’s sidemen, Billy has the stamp of a consummate professional and his bandmates better be ready to dig in and hold on whenever Billy starts a song or tune.
The Bluegrass Kinsmen have been playing traditional Bluegrass music dating back to 1971 when the band was formed by brothers Shelby and Ebby Jewell of Southwest Virginia. The band, which writes much of their own material, has songs that run the gambit from traditional bluegrass to folk to gospel music. They also have great harmony and tight picking led by Ebby’s virtuosity on multiple instruments, especially the banjo. Other members of the band include Ervin Compton, Ricky Kennedy, Ryan Lester, Dean Jackson.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOPS
Are you ready for a toe-tapping, educational experience that is sure to bring a smile to your face?
Then be sure to check out the intimate musician workshops that occur throughout the day at Art & Music on the Farm. Every year, the Barrier Islands Center showcases high-caliber bands that represent various styles of Virginia roots music. Add in the mix a music historian to emcee the discussion, and you have an incredibly unique up-close and personal experience. It is surely on the “top five list” of favorite things to do locally.
The emcee and the award-winning musicians treat you to a chat about their personal musical influences and inspirations, interspersed with impromptu jam sessions that juxtapose the various styles.
This year’s workshops will take place in the Beazley Community Room of the Education Building where the acoustics are fabulous.
Do yourself a favor: Tell your parents, children and friends, and make sure to catch at least one of the workshops at Art and Music on the Farm. You’ll be glad you did - we promise!
MUSICIAN WORKSHOPS SCHEDULE (Held in the Education Building)
12:30 - 1:15 p.m. “Southern Sacred Music: A cappella Harmony and Gospel Blues” Larnell Starkey and the Spiritual Seven, Sheryl Warner and the Southside Homewreckers The music of Virginia and the South reflects the diversity of American religious song, ranging from the beautiful harmonies that sprang from shape-note tune books of the Shenandoah Valley and Appalachian Mountains to the fiery singing of Pentecostal and Holiness churches and street singers. Members of Larnell Starkey and the Spiritual Seven Gospel Singers and the Southside Homewreckers will discuss these distinctive Gospel styles.
1:30 - 2:15 p.m. “Roots and Branches of Appalachian Music” Billy Baker and the Bluegrass Kinsmen, Jim Lloyd, and Mac Traynham The Appalachian region’s musicians not only preserved Old World musical traditions but also created new ones based in the area’s deep roots. This up-close and personal conversation with members of the Bluegrass Kinsmen and Appalachian musicians Mac Traynham and Jim Lloyd will explore the roots and branches of Southern music using each musician’s background and repertoire as a road map.
2:45 - 3:30 p.m. “Traditional Guitar Styles” Jim Lloyd, Mac Traynham, and Gregg Kimball The guitar came to prominence in traditional music in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The participants in this workshop—Jim Lloyd, Mac Traynham, and Gregg Kimball—will demonstrate the wide range of Southern guitar styles, including Blues, Old Time, and the Carter Scratch.