APRIL 9, 2009 ISSUE
Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s John McEuen To Hayes Center April 17
Back by popular demand, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band veteran and multi-instrumentalist John McEuen will perform a solo concert at Blowing Rock’s Hayes Performing Arts Center during the Blue Ridge Wine & Food Festival on Friday, April 17.
Best known as a founding member of American music legends the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, California native and multi-instrumentalist John McEuen will return to Blowing Rock’s Hayes Performing Arts Center to perform on Friday, April 17. The show begins at 7:30 p.m.
McEuen’s show at the Hayes Center will coincide with the Blue Ridge Wine and Food Festival, which will be taking place throughout various locales in Blowing Rock over the course of the weekend.
“I love playing in the Dirt Band, but always playing 18 songs in a set can be restricting,” said McEuen during a 2008 interview. “I’m bringing my guitar, mandolin, banjo and fiddle and I’m going to do some of the things I miss doing at MerleFest because of time constraints.”
With the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, McEuen has recorded more than 30 albums, including the platinum-selling Will The Circle Be Unbroken. Indisputably “one of the most important recordings to ever come out of Nashville” (Rolling Stone, 1972) the album is recognized today as a country music milestone and integral part of Americana history.
During his career, the Grammy- and Country Music Award-winning artist has played more than 5,000 shows around the world, logging more than 1 million miles on the road and 2 million miles in the air. McEuen has also made more than 300 TV appearances and has shared the stage with dozens of stars including The Doors, Kenny Rogers, Willie Nelson, Lester Flatt, Leon Russell, Johnny Cash, Bill Wyman, Phish and Dizzy Gillespie.
McEuen’s solo shows have featured surprise special celebrity guests such as John Sebastian, actor and comedian Kevin Nealon, Matt Cartsonis, late fiddle legend Vassar Clements and occasionally, McEuen’s talented sons Jonathan (of Hanna-McEuen) and Nathan McEuen.
Aside from his time on the road, McEuen has been busy with a variety of music-related tasks. For the last four years, McEuen has hosted the Acoustic Traveler Show on XM Satellite Radio. McEuen also recently took over the reins as producer on the recent release by his friend, comedian and banjo player extraordinaire Steve Martin.
Tickets for the show are $20 for adults and $14 for students and can be purchased at the Hayes Center box office or online at www.brcac.org.
For more info, click to www.brcac.org or call 828-295-9627.
Want To Go?
Date: Friday, April 17
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Hayes Performing Arts Center, Blowing Rock
Cost: $20 for adults/$14 for students
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