Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country
Founded 05-05-05

Two Hot Nights of Music at the 10th Annual Winterfest

Story by David Brewer

From the Polar Plunge and ice carving to the hayrides and bonfire, Winterfest offers plenty of great reasons to bundle up, head outside and enjoy Blowing Rock’s annual homage to lovers of cold weather activities. But when the sun dips behind the tree line on Friday and Saturday, January 25 and 26, and temperatures begin to drop, the Hayes Performing Arts Center will be the place to be as Winterfest heats things up with two incredible nights of live music.

Hot Blues on a Cold Night—Winterfest’s Inaugural Blues Bash January 25

On Friday, January 25, Winterfest patrons and local music lovers are invited to get low down with the blues as Chitlin Circuit legend Chick Willis, up-and-coming North Carolina bluesman Big Ron Hunter and the High Country’s own King Bees converge for a magical night of live entertainment. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Known to fans across the blues world as “The Stoop Down Man,” Georgia native Chick Willis has been wowing crowds in the Southeast for decades. Originally touring with his famous cousin, rock and roll and r&b pioneer Chuck Willis, Chick cut his teeth backing some of the all-time greats including Jackie Wilson, The Five Royals, Ray Charles, Big Joe Turner, Nappy Brown, Sam Cooke, Jimmy Reed and many others at venues ranging from the Apollo Theater to the Magnolia Ballroom.

Working with some of the biggest names in r&b, blues and soul, it’s no surprise that Chick developed into an award-winning entertainer and recording artist. With his trademark grin, wide-brim hats, baritone voice and healthy sense of humor, the veteran entertainer will be the man for the job when it comes to get a primed Winterfest crowd going.

During the last three years, Big Ron Hunter has made several trips up the mountain from Winston-Salem to perform his progressive Piedmont blues for High Country music lovers at various venues and events including Thrill on the Hill, the New River Blues Festival and recently at Canyons.

Though Hunter’s soft and melodic tenor lends itself to more folk-oriented blues styles, the bluesman’s versatile guitar style ranges from acoustic fingerpicking to searing electric lead work, allowing the Winston-Salem native to operate effectively in multiple areas of the blues. In recent years, Hunter’s involvement with the Music Maker Relief Foundation has brought him to the attention of audiences far outside of his North Carolina home.

Moving into their twenty-first year together as a musical team, Penny “Queen Bee” Zamagni and Rob “Hound Dog” Baskerville, better known as The King Bees, are still stingin’ and swingin’ the blues with the best of them. The pair has long called Todd home, but their hearts belong to Chicago and the electric blues and boogie that emanated from the Southside in the 1950s and ‘60s.

The King Bees’ love of real, honest blues has won them fans across the globe and the admiration of not only hardcore blues fans, but also of their peers. From the funkiest juke joints to the biggest festivals, The King Bees have lived every inch of the blues now for more than two decades.

Tickets for the Winterfest Blues Bash are $20 for the general public and $15 for students. Purchase tickets now by calling the Hayes Center Box Office at 828-295-9627. You may pay by credit card or in person by cash. Tickets can also be purchased online at www.HayesCenter.org by credit card. Special group rates are also available.

Want To Go?

Date: Friday, January 25
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Hayes Performing Arts Center
Cost: $20 general admission/$15 for students

The John Cowan Band Returns to the Hayes Center January 26

Aside from making records with some of the most influential acoustic and roots musicians on the planet, John Cowan has been venturing to the High Country to perform for more than 30 years, beginning with his former outfit New Grass Revival in 1977. On Saturday, January 26, Cowan and his band will return to town to headline the 10th Annual Winterfest. The show will begin at 7:30 p.m.

Joining Cowan on stage are longtime collaborators Jeff Autrey on guitar and Shad Cobb on fiddle, as well as special guest mandolin player John Frazier from Colorado outfit Hit & Run Bluegrass. The band’s repertoire ranges from the driving and personal material from Cowan’s last release, Tatoo, to jazz and swing by the likes of Charlie Parker.

“Shad and Jeff and I have been playing together for a long time now,” said Cowan, whose own bass skills have come into sharper focus following the departure of banjo player Noam Pikelny. “Sometimes people tell me they didn’t know I could play bass so well.”

Cowan spoke highly of the Hayes Center, where he and his band performed in September 2006.

“It’s such a nice, pristine environment, acoustically speaking,” said Cowan.

Cowan’s musical journey could be a study in American music. After making a name for himself as one of the most in-demand vocalists in the early 1970s music scene in Louisville, Ky, Cowan rose to fame when he became the lead singer for New Grass Revival alongside Sam Bush, Béla Fleck and Pat Flynn.

Though perhaps best known for his association with members of the bluegrass community, Cowan’s more than 30-year career has been marked by the athletic vocalist and bassist’s versatility more than any single genre.

The Nashville resident recalled the first time that he came to town in the late 1970s with N.G.R. When the band arrived in town, they naturally called their friends Doc and Merle to see if they would be able to make it to the show.

“We were driving around downtown Blowing Rock looking for a place to park and I remember us saying that we knew Doc and Merle lived really close by,” said Cowan.

Following the disbanding of N.G.R. in 1990, Cowan has followed his muse from one project to the next, putting his unique stamp on soul, rock, blues and beyond, as well as doing time with the Doobie Brothers, Leftover Salmon and the Sky Kings. The Nashville resident has also loaned his vocal talents to recordings by Emmylou Harris, Rodney Crowell, Delbert McClinton, Garth Brooks, Roseanne Cash, Steve Earle and Leon Russell.

Since his first appearance on the back of a flatbed truck by what is now known as the cabin stage at MerleFest in 1988, Cowan has been a mainstay of the festival, missing only a handful in the last two decades.

Although the festival has been invaluable in exposing Cowan to thousands of music lovers each year, it’s the exposure to new and exciting players and reunions with old friends that keep him coming back.

“In the circle we play in, the music we play has never been commercially viable; it’s more artist-driven,” said Cowan.

With another, more acoustically driven record in the works for release in 2008, Cowan himself is nothing less than a driven artist whose joy in making music is immediately apparent when you see him live and hear his recorded works.

Want To Go?

Date: Saturday, January 26
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Hayes Performing Arts Center
Cost: $20 general admission/$15 for students