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Performing Art Series at Shepherd sponsors festival October 2 and 3 ISSUED: 18 September 2009 Shepherdstown, WV--The Performing Arts Series at Shepherd University will sponsor the 14th annual Appalachian Heritage Festival on Friday, October 2 and Saturday, October 3. The concerts begin at 8 p.m. in the Frank Center Theater. Friday night's program will feature performances by blues artist Jeffrey Scott and Jefferson County native Lars Prillaman's old-time string band The Young Napoleons. Friday will also feature the 2009 Appalachian Heritage Writer-in-Residence Silas House and winner of Shepherd University's West Virginia Fiction Award. Saturday's concert will feature a performance by folksinger and songwriter Jean Ritchie, and Juanita Fireball and the Continental Drifters whose string band performance recreates 1920s live radio. Both concerts will be hosted by award-winning songwriter, musician, and editor of West Virginia's "Goldenseal" magazine, John Lilly. Jean Ritchie is known as the Mother of Folk Music. In addition to the sweet traditional ballads like "My Dear Companion," Ritchie's repertoire includes hard-hitting folk classics that address environmental, social, and human rights issues. Ritchie's songs have been recorded by Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, Lester Flatt and Earl Scruggs, Linda Ronstadt, and many more. She is a recipient of the National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship Award, America's highest honor in the folk and traditional arts. Juanita Fireball and the Continental Drifters perform high-energy string band music in the style of a 1920s radio show. The members include Mike Burns (Juanita Fireball) on the fiddle, mandolin, and banjo-mandolin; Mary Sue Burns (Lulu) on banjo; Jay Lockman (Pluto) on fiddle; John Sparks (Preacher John) on guitar; Terry Richardson (Double Dog) on guitar; and Norris Long (Roy) on stand-up bass. Jeffrey Scott is the nephew of the late blues artist John Jackson. He has been a featured at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival, the Kennedy Center, and the D.C. Blues Society Festival. Accompanying vocals with Piedmont-style guitar and old-time banjo playing, Scott draws on the musical sources and community heritage of the Blue Ridge Mountains region. The Young Napoleons, led by Jefferson County native and Shepherd alumnus Lars Prillaman on fiddle and Virginia's Brent Feito on banjo, perform Appalachian indigenous music. The Appalachian Writer-in-Residence project will draw to a close as Kentucky author Silas House will introduce the winners of Shepherd's West Virginia Fiction Competition. The literary competition was established by the Department of English in cooperation with the West Virginia Humanities Council. The winning story will be read at the concert. Tickets are available at the Shepherd Bookstore, by calling 304-876-5219 or visiting online at www.shepherdbook.com. Festival passes with admission to both concerts are available for $20 for general admission; $15 for seniors and Shepherd staff; and $5 for kids under 18. Single concert tickets are $15 for general admission; $10 for seniors and Shepherd staff; and $5 for kids under 18. Concerts are free to Shepherd students with their Rambler ID. -30-YOUNG |
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Jean Ritchie
Jean Ritchie
Brent Feito and Lars Prillaman
Brent Feito |
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