AUGUST 27, 2009 ISSUE
Blue Ridge Descendants Perform Sunday
The 1960’s bluegrass band Blue Ridge Descendants will reunite to give a special concert one night only at the Hayes Performing Arts Center in Blowing Rock on Sunday, August 30. Photo submitted
Members of the popular 1960’s bluegrass band, Blue Ridge Descendants, will reunite at the Hayes Performing Arts Center in Blowing Rock for one night only, at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 30.
A musical staple of 1960s Appalachia, Blue Ridge Descendants was formed to celebrate and preserve the music and tradition that made mountain life and the music it begat so unique. Three of its original members—James Coffey, Bob Harman and Glenn Bolick—come together to recapture that old-time sound for generations both old and new in this special concert.
Master potter and musician Glenn Bolick is famous in these parts for preserving the history of the Appalachian Mountains via music and storytelling. Well-versed in the fiddle, guitar, banjo and harmonica, Bolick, a true descendant whose family was among the first to settle in Appalachia, excels in old-time gospel, mountain ballads and bluegrass, and has been featured on radio, TV and recordings.
Guitarist James Coffey, the grandson of 1940’s and ’50’s roadside musician Happy John Coffey, has demonstrated his considerable ax-picking skills by playing with such legends as Doc Watson and Earl Scruggs. He also appeared on Ralph Emery’s eponymous television show.
Bob Harman, a sixth generation grandson of the Goodwin Family Weavers, began playing the dulcimer in 1960. Upon returning from the Army in 1966, Harman began playing shows for civic clubs, eventually hooking up with Coffey and rounding up Tommy Cannon, Rand Shook, Ora and Arlie Watson and Beth Jones to form the Blue Ridge Descendents.
Rounding out the band is Lenoir native Doug Davis on guitar and Denton native Becky Jones on banjo.
Tickets for Blue Ridge Descendants are $12 in advance and $15 at the door and are available now. Tickets can be purchased by credit card or by cash in person, and special group rates are available. The Hayes Performing Arts Center is located at 152 Jamie Fort Road, located off Highway 321 in Blowing Rock.
For tickets or for more information, click to www.HayesCenter.org or call the box office at 828-295-9627.
Want To Go?
Date: Sunday, August 30
Time: 7:30 p.m.
Location: Hayes Center, Blowing Rock
Cost: $12 advance/$15 at the door
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