Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05
January 4, 2007 issue
The Best of the Best – Our Top Picks For Live Entertainment During 2006
Story by David Brewer
In hindsight, it really is amazing. Rarely a night or weekend passed during 2006 without some form of great live entertainment available for High Country residents and visitors to enjoy. Singers, dancers, comics and actors delighted audiences young and old on stages big and small, further reinforcing that those of us fortunate enough to live in the High Country are smack in the middle of a culturally rich and diverse area with much to offer.
In this retrospective issue of the High Country Press, we applaud some of this year’s most incredible performances from throughout 2006. Because of the sheer number of performers and events from which to choose, we highlight only a couple of single-night shows, while giving kudos to multiple-day events. So here they are, the best of the best from 2006:
Concerts on the Lawn
One key ingredient that helped make the 2006 season of Watauga Arts Council’s Concerts on the Lawn was the consistently great Friday afternoon weather. Even though not every single Friday was beautiful, many were spectacular. According to Arts Council Folklorist and organizer Mark Freed, attendance at this year’s concerts was up from previous years. It was not uncommon to drive down King Street and see the lawn of the Jones House crowded with lawn chairs from end to end. With a steady schedule of talented performers recruited from around the High Country and beyond, hundreds of music lovers made their way downtown to catch the free music all summer long.
MusicFest ‘n Sugar Grove
It’s no secret that MerleFest is the gold standard in terms of music festivals, but that doesn’t stop the fine folks in Sugar Grove from hosting a top-notch event featuring some fine performers of their own. Over the last nine years, MusicFest ‘n Sugar Grove has weathered ups and downs but has stayed the course, enticing local bluegrass fans with great bands such as 2006 standouts Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, The Krueger Brothers, Larry Keel & Natural Bridge and The Biscuit Burners, as well as a stable of fine local talent. With luck, MusicFest ‘n Sugar Grove will continue to thrive well into the next decade. After all, there’s always room for another great music festival.
Dracula
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet brought a visually stunning production of Dracula to Farthing on October 4. Set to the music of Gustav Mahler, the choreography combined elements of contemporary and classic ballet with humorous pantomime, resulting in an eclectic and entertaining kaleidoscope of dance, thematically held together by the classic story of the vampire, his victim and his destruction.
Ailey II Dance
Dancers are sometimes described as poetry in motion, and that description was never more accurate than in describing the Ailey II Modern Dance Company’s performance at Farthing Auditorium on Friday, November 17. A potent combination of grace and power coupled with amazing choreography gave each of the troupe’s dances a life and personality all its own. A multi-act piece about nature and the healing of the earth imbued the audience with a feeling of redemption. Later, the dancers eased into a soul-stirring gospel-themed piece, leaving the crowd breathless and wrapping up the show with a bang.
Legends Fall Line Up
Booking live entertainment for ASU students has been Randy Kelly’s job for nearly two decades. Unfortunately, it doesn’t ever seem to get any easier. So when the stars align and he schedules a great semester of entertainment, both he and the students are thrilled. This past fall, Kelly and the students booked one of the busiest and most consistently attended semesters of entertainment ASU has ever seen. With sellout performances by The Avett Brothers, Sister Hazel and comedian Zach Galifianakis as well as a packed house for shows by country star Eric Church and Perpetual Groove, the staff at Legends stayed busy. Kelly said that fall 2006 was his best semester ever.