Lonesome River Band and Blue Moon Rising at Berryville - January 12, 2013

In recent years, our schedule has placed Berryville, Virgnia right on our way as we head south for the winter and spring bluegrass season. On Saturday, January 12, 2013 the Berryville Bluegrass Series, hosted by Frank and Cyndy Jurney for many years will present The Lonesome River Band with Blue Moon Rising opening at the Williams Community Auditorium in Berryville, VA. for the benefit of Clarke County High School Athletics. Presented in the warm and comfortable school auditorium the school has a spacious cafeteria where a variety of home made food is served.  Located at 110 Lincoln Avenue, in Berryville, these concerts are usually quite full.  A few seats remain, so purchase your tickets now.

Johnson Williams Middle School

Cafeteria

Auditorium

All in all, this is a fine place to hold a winter, indoor concert, convenient to all northern Virginia as well as West Virginia, Maryland, and Southern Pennsylvania.

Blue Moon Rising

Led by singer/songwriter Chris West, the band is Tennessee-based. Like so many bands, the band has had difficulty breaking out in performance, but their recordings of West's songs on Rural Rhythm Records has been steady and well-received.  Perhaps their most familiar song is West's This Old Martin Box Guitar, which remained on the charts for most of 2006. Other songs like The Hangin' Tree, The Crime I'm Guilty Of, and The Old Time Preacher Man have been audience favorites, as well as receiving regular play on satellite and terrestrial bluegrass radio.  Their latest CD Strange New World is available from Amazon. Band personnel include:

Chris West

Rusty Ferrell

Brandon Bostic

Tony Mowell

David Mowell

Blue Moon Rising - Time to Be Movin' On - Video

Blue Moon Rising is a very solid concert opener.

Frank & Cyndy Jurney - Promoters

Lonesome River Band

 Arguably, 2012 was the best year in the storied thirty year history of the Lonesome River Band. IBMA Instrumental Recorded Performance of the Year for a new setting of Angeline the Baker, IBMA and SPBGMA Banjo Player of the Year for Sammy Shelor (IBMA for the fifth time), three CD set of retrospective new recordings of LRB history called Chronology, all as a follow-up for his winning of the 2012 Steve Martin Prize for Excellence in Banjo. When the big old green bus pulls into a parking lot or festival grounds, often just a few hours before dawn after a long, hard drive from its last venue, you  know that exciting bluegrass music has arrived with a unique tinge of the traditional and the contemporary. Sammy and his bandmates will soon be seen around the grounds greeting their many frienss, drinking strong, black coffee, and being part of the scene. Late that same evening, they'll close the show with a high energy riot of music and good times. This band just can't be beat. 

Sammy Shelor

 The current version of LRB, built piece by piece over the past five or six years but steadily consistent during the past three or so, may be the strongest band Sammy has had since assuming leadership of the band in 2000. Since then, he has been joined by old hands like Mike Hartgrove on fiddle and young, innovators like the great Brandon Rickman as lead vocalist and on guitar. Rickman's excellence as a songwriter combines with his soulful, bluesy voice to create a unique tone that perfectly fits the LRB vibe. Randy Jones on mandolin and tenor vocals' style is markedly contrasting to Rickman's, yet blends seamlessly with him. With two strong vocal soloists, Sammy is left to fill the baritone role along with Barry Reed, a wonder on acoustic bass, also. Having four singers in the band provides a wide range of vocal versatility for everything from raucous fun-loving songs to haunting murder ballads.  The LRB sound remains instantly recognizable yet always adapting to the needs of the songs it undertakes. 

Brandon Rickman

 Mike Hartgrove

Randy Jones

Barry Reed

Lonesome River Band - Angeline the Baker - Video

This show should go a long way towards warming up a cold Virginia night. Information about tickets for this evening can be found here. The concert begins at 7:00 PM and the doors open one hour earlier. Canned goods will be collected at this concert for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank. Please think about those who are hungry in these dark days. 

How to Get to Johnson Williams Middle School

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See you there!