SEPTEMBER 9, 2010 ISSUE
Old-Time String Bands Play at the Jones House Friday
Concerts on the Lawn Feature Whitetop Mountaineers, Zephyr Lightning Bolts
Whitetop Mountaineers consists of Martha Spencer and Jackson Cunningham, both of Whitetop, Va. The duo will perform this Friday, September 10, as part of Concerts on the Lawn. 
Zephyr Lightning Bolts, an old-time string band formed in the early 1980s, will also play at the Jones House this Friday as part of Concerts on the Lawn. Concerts on the Lawn continue this week with Zephyr Lightning Bolts and Whitetop Mountaineers at the Jones House in downtown Boone this Friday, September 10, beginning at 5:00 p.m.
Hosted by the Watauga Arts Council, the event is free and open to the public.
“There’s a nice fit between these two groups,” said Mark Freed, Concerts on the Lawn organizer. “They’re both old-time string band groups, and I know they are friends, so that opens the door to possible collaboration between the two.”
Whitetop Mountaineers features the young duo Martha Spencer and Jackson Cunningham, both of Whitetop, Va. Their shows consist of old-time country duet singing, an up-tempo fiddle, clawhammer banjo, bluegrass mandolin and guitar as well as high energy Appalachian dancing.
The group has an impressive list of concerts under their belts: MerleFest, the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the San Francisco Bluegrass and Old-Time Festival and they have even played overseas in England, Ireland and Australia.
Along with performing as a duet act, Spencer and Cunningham are also members of the Whitetop Mountain Band, which is made up mostly of the Spencer family and is a popular old-time band in Southwest Virginia.
“Our concert series isn’t able to bring their whole band, but this is a good core duet out of the group,” Freed said.
Whitetop Mountaineers’ latest CD Go Away with Me: Songs from Virginia’s Hills and Hollers was self-produced and released this year, and the Whitetop Mountain Band’s newest release Loafer’s Dream has been getting airplay worldwide.
Cunningham is also a fiddle making apprentice under Audrey Hash Ham, who has been featured in numerous articles and radio and television programs such as CMT for her fiddle making. Cunningham currently works out of his shop in Whitetop making custom fiddles—and if concert-goers are lucky this Friday, he might have some of his custom-made fiddles on display at Concerts on the Lawn.
Zephyr Lightning Bolts was formed in the early 1980s and now consists of husband and wife Steve and Diane Bowen, along with their son, Jacob, and guitar player Eddie Butcher. Named after the Zephyr community in Surry County, the group also plays old-time string music and has performed and won prizes at many fiddlers’ conventions, including events in Ashe and Alleghany County.
“Zephyr Lightning Bolts approached us about playing, and we were happy to bring them on for the first time this year,” Freed said. “I’ve known about the group for some time and have heard them perform at MerleFest and square dances.”
Lovers of bluegrass and old-time music traditions of this area “will really enjoy Friday,” he concluded.
Don’t miss the last concert in the series featuring The Harris Brothers and Crys Matthews on Friday, September 17, at 5:00 p.m. For more information, call 828-264-1789 or click to www.watauga-arts.org.
Community Interest
News & Notes
Events
Arts & Entertainment
