#darrell scott string band

[krispyweiss]

“Dirty Lights” Illuminate Darrell Scott’s “It Must be Sunday” Release

- Eponymous String Band sings the coal-burnin’ blues in latest video

Ostensibly a bluegrass combo, the Darrell Scott String Band can be a full-on blues band when the mood strikes.

Said mood descended Oct. 11, 2024, in North Carolina, as the DSSB reinterpreted “Keep Your Dirty Lights On.” Scott sings most of it, with fiddler Shad Cobb taking Tim O’Brien’s lines, bassist Bryn Davies adding harmonies on the chorus and banjo picker Matt Flinner playing slow and sad between Scott’s dose of reality:

Every time they have elections/they talk how coal is clean/well coal is cheap but coal’s still black/it ain’t never turning green, he sings.

Like electricity itself, “Dirty Lights” is magical in that it makes blues of bluegrass instrumentation and leaves the audience delighted even as Scott scolds them - and the rest of humanity - for the society they’ve built.

Read Sound Bites’ previous “It Must be Sunday” coverage here.

5/18/25

[festivalgear]

MerleFest 2020 Lineup Announced: Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss & More

MerleFest 2020 Lineup Announced: Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss & More

The post MerleFest 2020 Lineup Announced: Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss & More is published on LIVE music blog.

The initial lineup for next year’s MerleFest 2020 has been announced! Set for April 23-26, 2020 in the Wilkesboro, North Carolina foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, the festival will feature a who’s who of Americana music and will be headlined by Willie Nelson & Family and Alison…

[uneasylisteningradio]

Audio & Playlist for June 22, 2020: Doors

Songs about doors! Special 3 hour version.

link to downloadable audio Playlist: Bay City Rollers - Saturday Night (Uneasy Listening theme song) Jimmie & Vella - The Door is Open - Jimmie & Vella

DJ speaks over The Living Strings - When Love Comes Knockin' at Your Door

The Monkees - The Door into Summer - Pisces Aquarius Capricorn and Jones Ltd The Velvet Underground - Temptation Inside Your Heart - VU Jimmy Hughes - What Side of the Door - I Like Everything About You / What Side Of The Door Shopping - Knocking - Why Choose

DJ speaks over Wynder K. Frog - The Green Door

Can - Outside My Door - Monster Movie Mississippi John Hurt - Keep on Knockin' - The Immortal The Ramones - You Should Never Have Opened That Door - Leave Home Serge Gainsbourg - Un Violon un Jambon - Vilaine Fille Mauvais Garçon Gregory Isaacs - Front Door - More Gregory St. John Green - Help Me Close the Door - St. John Green The Fall - My Door Is Never - Reformation - Post TLC

DJ speaks over John Barry - Doors & Bikes & Things

The Fruit Eating Bears - Door in My Face - Door in My Face The Humane Society - Knock, Knock - Knock, Knock / Tip-Toe Thru The Tulips With Me Hank Locklin - Kiss on the Door - My Kind of Country Music Discharge - The Possibility of Life's Destruction - See Nothing Hear Nothing Say Nothing The Wolfgang Press - Shut That Door - Bird Wood Cage

Little Richard - Keep a Knockin' - Little Richard Lithics - Edible Door - Mating Surfaces Daddy Cleanhead & the Chuck Higgins Band - Something's Goin' on in My Room - Something's Goin' On In My Room / Let Me Come Back Home Alice Cooper - Don't Knock at My Door (live) - Demo Sons of the Pioneers - Hard Times Come Again No More - Hard Times Come Again No More Fugazi - Shut the Door - Repeater The Misunderstood - Find a Hidden Door - Before the Dream Faded

The Sisters of Mercy - Poison Door - Walk Away / Poison Door Fairport Convention - Close the Door Lightly When You Go - Heyday: The BBC Sessions Door Chain PSA Darrell Banks - Open the Door to Your Heart - Open the Door to Your Heart/Our Love (Is in the Pocket) Bee Gees - Close Another Door - Bee Gees 1st Jim Lowe - The Green Door - The Green Door

Patsy - The Red Door - LA Women The Primates - Knock on My Door - Knock On My Door / She Posies - Definite Door - Definite Door The Lollipop Shoppe (The Weeds) - Don't Close the Door on Me - Just Colour

Gil Scott-Heron - No Knock Jack McVea - Open the Door, Richard - Open The Door Richard! / Lonesome Blues Thee Hydrogen Terrors - The Enemy Mancini - Terror, Diplomacy and Public Relations Phil Ochs - Knock on the Door - All the News That's Fit to Sing The Clash - Jail Guitar Doors - Clash City Rockers/Jail Guitar Doors Doom - War on Our Doorstep - Bury The Debt Not The Dead / No Security The Romantics - Open Up Your Door - In Heat Derek - Back Door Man - Back Door Man / Sell Your Soul

Ford Eaglin - That Certain Door - That Certain Door/By the Water Alice Donut - The Chicken Door - Nadine Harry Nilsson - At My Front Door - Son of Schmilsson Richard and the Young Lions - Open Up Your Door - Open Up Your Door/Once Upon Your Smile Carolanne Pegg - Open the Door - Carolanne

Velvet Underground - After Hours - The Velvet Underground The Isley Brothers - I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door - Turn to Me/I'm Gonna Knock on Your Door  The Ex & Tom Cora - A Door - Scrabbling at the Lock The Carter Family - Are You Lonesome Tonight - The Original Carter Family From 1936 Radio Transcripts Otis Redding - Open the Door The Happy Song (Dum-Dum) / Open The Door 

Betty Davis - Shut Off the Light - Nasty Gal

[concerthopperblog]

Hayes Carll Uses Isolation to Rework His Hits on 'Alone Together Sessions'

2020 wasn't supposed to be an “album year” in Hayes Carll's cycle. Having released the well-received What It Is in 2019, this year was supposed to be mostly about touring in support of it. But, well, you know how that went. Carll found himself with 5 months off the road unexpectedly due to COVID-19 (he played his first live show just last week in Nashville and I was lucky enough to be in attendance). While doing some streaming shows kept him going for a while, he eventually started switching things up with his catalog of songs; changing tuning, shifting perspective of a lyric, or putting an acoustic spin on his more electric songs. The result is Alone Together Sessions, which releases Sept. 4.

Without access to a studio, Carll had to rely on home recording technology. It's a barrier that turned into a plus for the album, which has a DIY “back porch guitar pull” feel without the polish of a standard studio recording. Joining Carll via remote recording were producer and virtual one-man band Darrell Scott, who can play anything with strings and contributes all of the instrumentals on the album except Carll's acoustic guitar and harmonica and Luke Moeller's violin, as well as backing vocals.

Another guest is Texas legend Ray Wylie Hubbard, who “joined” Carll via his own studio to duet the song they co-wrote which served as Carll's breakthrough hit, “Drunken Poet's Dream.” If any artist was perfect for the loose and rough-hewn feel of Alone Together Sessions, it's Hubbard, who has never been “put together” in his life and has, in fact, made a career of playing the part of the “drunken poet” of their song. The pair's banter to end the song, trading gentle insults with each other, might have been separated by thousands of miles, but gave the song an intimate in-house feel.

Carll's one live recording partner on the project is the one who happens to already live in his home, which is certainly not a bad thing when that person happens to be an Americana artist as, if not more, known than Carll himself, his wife Allison Moorer. Moorer's vocals can be heard throughout the album, but is out front in the one song from the album that isn't a Hayes Carll original. Moorer and Carll duet on the Lefty Frizzell classic made most famous by Merle Haggard (and again a decade later as a duet his between Haggard and Jewel), “That's the Way Love Goes.” It's the undeniable highlight of the album, a touching counterpoint to Carll's usual stable of wry, sometimes funny, and typically cynical songs.

Of Carll's originals, the song that is most transformed by the acoustic shift is the title track from his 2011 album KMAG YOYO. One of Carll's hardest rocking songs in its original form, I had some serious doubts about how well it would work as an acoustic song considering how well the electric guitar slid under his rapid-fire lyrics. But, with a slowed down lyric and some twists in the delivery, the acoustic version (with an understated electric strum courtesy of Scott) lets the listener spend more time with the often absurdist lyrics, shifting the song away from the brain blast acid trip of the original to a more disbelieving confusion as the narrator finds himself moving from a war zone in Afghanistan to a rocket ship headed for some unknown destination.

There's not a lot that can be said positively about 2020 and, having seen his almost overwhelmed reaction to the applause after that first song back on stage, I feel comfortable saying he'd rather be on the road. But as he points out in the album's bio “When you make your living playing out there for people, you’re constantly in motion. That momentum doesn’t leave much time for thinking about what happened, let alone what it all means.” With Alone Together Sessions, Carll has made the most of that time to think about his songs and his fans are the beneficiaries. It's an album that exists somewhere in the middle ground between studio and live album, between hits collection and new compositions. Like 2020, it's uncharted territory and, unlike 2020, it's really damned good.

[the-record-briefs]

Nov. 13, 2019: In other news

Willie Nelson, Alison Krauss returning to MerleFest

MerleFest, presented by Window World, has announced the initial lineup for MerleFest 2020, which will be held April 23-26. 

This year’s lineup, announced on Tuesday, includes Willie Nelson & Family, Alison Krauss, The Jerry Douglas Band, Sam Bush, Jim Lauderdale, Kruger Brothers, The Waybacks, Scythian, Donna The Buffalo, Peter Rowan and the Free Mexican Airforce, Tommy Emmanuel, Shinyribs, Charley Crockett, Darrell Scott, The Steel Wheels, Robbie Fulks, Amythyst Kiah, Cordovas, Alison Brown, Andy May, “B” Townes, Banknotes, Bill & The Belles, Bryan Sutton, Carol Rifkin, Charles Welch, Chatham Rabbits, Che Apalache, The Cleverlys, Creole Stomp with Dennis Stroughmatt, David Holt, Fireside Collective, Flattop, Happy Traum, Hogslop String Band, InterACTive Theatre of Jef, Irish Mythen, Iron Horse Bluegrass, Jack Lawrence, Jeff Little Trio, Jody Carroll, Joe Smothers, Ken Crouse, Laura Boosinger, The Local Boys, Los Texmaniacs, Mark Bumgarner, Mary Flower, Mitch Greenhill, Pete & Joan Wernick, Piedmont Bluz, Presley Barker, Rev. Robert Jones, Roy Book Binder, Sierra Ferrell, String Madness, T. Michael Coleman, Tony Williamson, Wayne Henderson, The Moore Brothers, The Williams Brothers, and Wyld Fern. 

Tickets went on sale, Tuesday, Nov. 12, and may be purchased at www.MerleFest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. 

[nikfix]

Fretboard Masters: Sho Hikino

Aside from your biggest heroes (in my case, Steve Vai, John Mayer, SRV, Andy Timmons, etc...), you take the most of your musical inspiration and influence from your teacher.

I spent my first few years learning guitar on my own, playing the basic licks and riffs here and there, but with no foundation on theory and improvisation. And that is something that my mentor, (or my sensei) Sho Hikino has brought to me.

I started taking lessons from Sho back in 2010 (I believe). From that point in my playing, I started to learn new things from fretboard exercises to licks and music theory concepts that were totally new to me. The guitar was never the same for me from then on.

He's been up and around the music scene for quite some time now, best known as Salamin's six-string wielder. Up Dharma Down's Carlos Tañada even went to say that the most talented person in their band is their sound engineer. He also used to teach guitar a few years ago he also taught my sister Elise classical guitar and discovered how much of a good player she is too, as well as some of my other friends.

Now, we look into his awesome guitars, influences and being Up Dharma Down's sound engineer, and his awesome new band, AOUI.

What started your interest in music?

My family is very music oriented. I've been listening to different types of genres from classical, jazz, pop, funk, soul, RnB, ballads, western, eastern, middle-eastern, OPM, and so on since I was a kid. I'm very thankful I've been fed great music right from the start. Then I started researching current music, and more guitar driven music! I guess my love for music has been there from the very beginning. Honestly, it's like my soul, heart, and mind can't live without it! hahaha!

How does it feel to be at the other end of the stage and taking control as a sound engineer for Up Dharma Down?

This is something not everyone can experience, These people are not just workmates to me, they're like brothers (and sister) to me! Everyone in UDD, including myself, and the whole crew treats each other like family! I also feel like UDD's 5th ghost member. If I don't do my job right, they won't be able to sound their best! and everyone won't get to enjoy their set, Including UDD too. I also get to set everything up for them so, in essence, it's like adding your own touch to their sound live! We also get to work with some of the best sound system suppliers, events, artists/bands, and people around PH!

Sho playing Paul Gilbert’s Curse of the Castle Dragon at 19 East (2011)

Did you take any formal musical training?

Yes! I took classical guitar lessons since 2nd yr High School at U.P. Diliman, and right after HS, I went straight to the U.P. Conservatory of Music. The rest, I learned through experience, research, reading, listening, learning from other musicians!

Who are your biggest influences on guitar? How did you apply knowledge that you've acquired from them into your own playing style?

This is a hard one! I can list a lot but I'll try to minimize it to a few and summarize it. I'll start with:

Nuno Bettencourt: his percussive style of guitar playing and very melodic and unique style of soloing is a big one for me!

Paul Gilbert: his chops, speed, accuracy, picking, melodies, and rhythm is a must for every guitar player!

Joe Satriani & Steve Vai: for the very melodic soloing and modal changes.

Dimebag Darrell & Fredrik Thordendal (Meshuggah): Metal Riffs, extreme solos, noise, groove metal!

Tom Morello: very unique guitar playing, groove hip-hop riffs, out of the box solos!

Greg Howe, Frank Gambale, Scott Henderson, Allan Holdsworth, Brett Garsed, Eric Johnson, Shawn Lane, Guthrie Govan, Steve Lukather:

All the Fusion rock, jazz rock, Modern Jazz, out-o'-this-world guitar soloing.

Yngwie Malmsteen, Michael Romeo, John Petrucci: for all the Neo-Classical, Prog rock style.

Tosin Abasi, Acle Kahney, John Browne, Misha Mansoor: for the modern prog style, groove metal.

I'll stop here, These are all basically in my head jammed up together! and I try to apply everything I hear to my style of playing.

Let's talk gear. What guitars are you playing/have you used?

Fender American Standard Stratocaster (Bought from friend and Up Dharma Down guitarist Carlos Tañada)

Fender Thinline 72' Reissue MIJ

Made in Mexico Fender Black Paisley Stratocaster 

PRS Tremonti SE loaded with Bare Knuckle Cold Sweat humbuckers with Burnt Chrome cover in the bridge position

Ibanez ARZ307 loaded with BKP Aftermath set bridge + neck pickups with Tyger cover

Neko Claymore 7 String

Washburn N4 Nuno Bettencourt Signature

Phoebus PG-60CE Acoustic-Electric guitar with Fishman Isys+ Pickup

Sho also makes use of MONO cases and the ZOOM G3X for easy gigging.

What strings and what gauges do you use?

Tried a lot but I always end up with D'Addario ProSteels 10-46s, Regular Light for my 6 String guitars and NYXL1059 Nickel Wound, Regular Light 10-59 for my 7-String guitars

What's next for your music?

I've been writing some solo stuff on the side but my new band AOUI is currently writing songs, and soon to record and hopefully release our album (or EP) this year! Please follow us for more updates and gig sched!

Facebook.com/aouimusic Instagram.com/aouimusic

What would be your advice to aspiring musicians as well as fellow guitar players?

For everyone including starters and veteran musicians, listen to as much music as you can, learn and play your instrument(s) as if your life depends on it, love music, drop the attitude, find the right bandmates with good chemistry, right mindset, share your knowledge and experience with other musicians, learn how to communicate with others, talk, support the local scene, support your scene and the rest will follow.

Meanwhile, here is some notable stuff Sho’s been to in the past few years. 

[krispyweiss]

It Must be Bluegrass, Joni Mitchell-style, for Darrell Scott’s “It Must be Sunday” Series

When Darrell Scott gets the urge for bluegrass, he convenes with fiddler Shad Cobb, bassist Bryn Davies and banjoist (and mandolinist) Matt Flinner under the auspices of the eponymous String Band.

It’s this group that features in Scott’s latest “It Must be Sunday” vault release as the quartet - with Scott on acoustic guitar and lead vocals - put a rural spin on Joni Mitchell’s balladic folk song “Urge for Going.”

DSSB’s arrangement is a dichotomous display with Mitchell’s melancholic lyrics wrapped in a revved-up melody that exudes joy. It’s almost as if Scott is telling the fans who gathered Sept. 24, 2022 at the Carolina in the Fall festival that even if they are dreading winter, they best find some pleasure in it, because, as Mitchell wrote and Scott sings:

I’d like to call back summertime and have her stay for just another month or so/but she’s got the urge for going so I guess she’ll have to go

Which might explain why Mitchell later pined for a frozen “River” upon which to skate away.

Read Sound Bites’ previous “It Must be Sunday” coverage here

12/8/24

[krispyweiss]

Album Review: Darrell Scott String Band - Old Cane Back Rocker

The players are the same but the former Darrell Scott Bluegrass Band is rechristened the Darrell Scott String Band for Old Cane Back Rocker.

It’s a subtle but important shift as Scott (Dobro, piano, banjo, guitar), bassist Bryn Davies, fiddler Shad Cobb and Matt Flinner on banjo and mandolin are playing a more melancholic, country-rooted version of mountain music that with rare exceptions (“Banjo in the Holler,” “Fried Taters”) doesn’t qualify as bluegrass.

The playing is exquisite and Scott is in exceptional voice. But the album lags on overwrought presentations that plague such songs as “Charlie and Ruby,” a cover of Crosby, Stills & Nash’s “Southern Cross” and a re-recording of Scott’s own “It’s a Great Day to be Alive.”

In the end, Old Cane Back Rocker is the sound of Scott trying too hard to be mainstream. On one hard, he can’t be blamed for wanting the success he deserves; on the other, Scott is best when he makes music first for himself.

Grade card: Darrell Scott String Band - Old Cane Back Rocker - C+

11/6/23

[krispyweiss]

Darrell Scott Nods to Daddy Wayne in Latest “Sunday” Episode

- Wayne Scott’s “This Weary Way” plays like a traditional hymn

It sounds like a traditional hymn in the hands of the Darrell Scott String Band. But “This Weary Way” is actually a Wayne Scott composition that simply defies time.

The band performed Wayne Scott’s song Aug. 31, 2024, in Nashville and the resulting video is the latest in Darrell Scott’s ongoing “It Must be Sunday” series.

It finds the quartet - guitarist Scott, fiddler Shad Cobb, bassist Bryn Davies and mando man Matt Flinner - setting the words to a waltzing melody to fit Wayne Scott’s decades-defying words sung first by his son, then in four-part harmony:

Once I was a slave for Satan/many wrong things I have done/many hearts have been broken/too late to right the wrongs I’ve done/won’t you listen to me brother/get down on your knees and pray/if you’ve wandered long as I have, oh Lord/help a man who may pass this weary way

Its modern origins are simply remarkable. But then, “Amazing Grace” probably sounded ancient from the jump, as well.

Read Sound Bites’ previous “It Must be Sunday” coverage here.

3/30/25

[krispyweiss]

Darrell Scott is a “Ramblin’ Man” as “Sunday” Rolls ’Round Again

- Think Hank, not Dickey

Darrell Scott sings Hank Williams on the latest “It Must be Sunday” video.

Armed with an eight-string baritone guitar March 7 in North Carolina, Scott captured Williams’ low-n-some sound as immortalized on the first “Ramblin’ Man.”

Where the Allman Brothers Band went country on Dickey Betts’ composition, Williams opted for the blues with his, a genre into which Scott dived even deeper just a few days ago, making this ongoing archival series temporarily contemporary.

A band all by his lonesome, Scott makes the low guitar sing and uses the full breadth of his range to deliver the melancholy of Williams’ words of resignation.

I love you, baby/but you gotta understand/when the lord made me/he made a ramblin’ man, Scott sings.

Read Sound Bites’ previous “It Must be Sunday” coverage here.

3/9/25

[krispyweiss]

Darrell Scott Heads Toward Country with Old Cane Back Rocker

It sounds as if Darrell Scott is heading for the country - music, that is - with Old Cane Back Rocker.

Credited to the Darrell Scott String Band - with bassist Bryn Davies, fiddler Shad Cobb and Matt Flinner on banjo and mandolin - the forthcoming album does not have a release date. But three tracks - Scott’s own “Kentucky Morning” and “Charlie and Ruby” and a cover of Crosby, Stills and Nash’s “Southern Cross” - streaming for a limited time on Scott’s website seem to indicate why this group is no longer called the Darrell Scott Bluegrass Band.

For while the bluegrass instrumentation has not changed, the musical output has. This is country music designed to get Scott the kind of mainstream attention that has mostly - quite unbelievably - eluded him. And in that regard fans can only hope it works; Scott deserves every success.

Then, when he lures more people to his gigs, he can hook them with the wide variety of music he does best, including some real bluegrass.

Hear the tracks here before they’re gone.

5/22/23

[krispyweiss]

Darrell Scott at King Arts Complex, Nicholson Auditorium, Columbus, Ohio, May 13, 2023

Darrell Scott doesn’t use a setlist.

“I figure it out with you and for you,” he said.

On May 13, Scott unlocked the mystery of a timely group of songs during his solo show at Columbus, Ohio’s, King Arts Complex to close the Six String Concert season with his third gig for the nonprofit since 2006.

“May it continue forever,” Scott, said of Six String as he employed 18 strings and 88 keys while accompanying himself on piano and acoustic, electric and Weissenborn guitars over an enthralling, 105-minute, two-set gig.

“If it’s here, I’ll play it I guess,” Scott - author of such songs as the Chicks’ “Long Time Gone” and a member of Robert Plant’s Band of Joy - told his hard-listening audience of the instrumentation.

As for that on-the-fly song list, Scott was masterful in his selection and presentation. The show-opening “There’s a Stone Around My Belly” was acoustic and engaged the audience on the hallelujah refrain.

Picking up his white, hollow-bodied electric axe, Scott cast “You’ll Never Leave Harlan Alive” - often played as a guitar/piano hybrid - as a blues as sooty as the coal hidden in the hills of which he sang. The often-acoustic “There’s No Use Livin’ for Today,” meanwhile, skittered on a Chet Atkins-inspired arrangement for one.

Back on the acoustic to honor “one of my heroes,” Scott took ownership of Gordon Lightfoot’s “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” with a powerful, bottom-string-focused rendition that made the old classic brand new in the moment.

With a rare combination of musicianship and showmanship, coupled with a versatile voice that moves effortlessly from falsetto to baritone, Scott is a master solo tactician. And when he performed “American Tune” in the No. 12 (of 14) slot - just after his own “The Whiskey Eases the Pain” - the Paul Simon song seemed to represent a Darrell Scott concert as much as anything Simon had in mind.

So it was that Scott placed the Weissenborn on his lap for Hank Williams “When You’re Tired of Breaking Other Hearts;” sat at the piano and evoked the murders of JFK, RFK and MLK inside the King Complex walls on the chilling “Born in ’55;” nodded to Mother’s Day Eve in the acoustic “She Sews the World with Love;” and evoked haunting spirits on “Wayfaring Stranger,” as Scott sustained notes from his electric guitar while playing the melody on piano.

And then, he did it in reverse.

Darrell Scott doesn’t use a setlist. But he plays everything in every way.

Grade card: Darrell Scott at King Arts Complex - 5/13/23 - A

5/14/23

[krispyweiss]

The Live Music Year in Review

If live music is a drug, Sound Bites is a user and abuser. But, dang, a drug never felt so good and left so little damage (read: none) as live music.

The following are excerpts from the blog’s original reviews and do not include performances at the Nelsonville Music Festival, the Outlaw Music Festival and other difficult-to-encapsulate events.

That said, it’s a fair look at an exceptional year of concertgoing and one of the many things Sound Bites is grateful for in the year that was 2019. These sound bites (lower case) are listed in order of quality; parenthetical numerals indicate the number of times the blog’s seen the act.

A+

Los Lobos (18) at Music Box Supper Club, Cleveland, Ohio, March 1 - This was a band that wanted to be exactly where it was doing exactly what it was doing. And it showed in the music and the on-stage interaction, resulting in what was likely the best of the nearly 20 Los Lobos concerts Sound Bites has experienced since the early 1990s.

Los Lobos (19) at Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, Ohio, July 23 - Los Lobos earned multiple standing ovations, created enough energy to make the half-full shed feel like a packed arena and proved once again why on any given night, this is the best live band in America.

Brian Wilson (2) at Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, Ohio, Aug. 13 - Wilson’s performance of Pet Sounds and Beach Boys hits wasn’t perfect, yet it was sheer perfection. The concert humanized a musical god; it celebrated of the soundtrack of a generation; and it demonstrated the healing power of music, for both Wilson and his followers.

Wheels of Soul feat. Tedeschi Trucks Band (10), Blackberry Smoke and Shovels & Rope at Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, Ohio, July 20 - Tedeschi Trucks Band proved the existence of life after death Saturday night, as the 12-piece killed with song after song after song and the audience came back with increasing enthusiasm each time. And while there is no denying the value in this packed night of music - which ran from 7 to 11 p.m. on a steamy, Southwestern Ohio night - it was the headliners that slayed listeners time and time again.

Livingston Taylor (2) at Thirty One West, Newark, Ohio, Dec. 6 - Livingston Taylor is as well-rounded an entertainer as anyone could ever hope to see, even if his relative obscurity meant only about 80 people turned out to see him put on an outrageously entertaining Friday-night show.

Marc Cohn feat. the Blind Boys of Alabama at Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, Ohio, June 19 - Singing with their "Hebrew buddy" Marc Cohn, the Blind Boys of Alabama provided healing salve to the blues that immediately preceded and followed their joint set at the Rose Music Center at the Heights. The unexpected combo stole the night, an evening when Robert Cray was uncharacteristically tepid in his performance.

A

Punch Brothers (4) at Southern Theatre, Columbus, Ohio, March 20 - Even by the Punch Brothers' high standards, the band's March 20 show in Columbus was exceptional and featured a setlist that spurned esoterica for pure musicianship and songcraft. The precision in their performances continues to stagger, even more than a decade in to their career, as the band zigs and zags through various stylistic landscapes, stops on any number of onstage dimes, accelerates from zero to 60 in nanoseconds and demonstrates time and time again that intricate ensemble playing is typically much more effective than even the most evocative solo.

Todd Rundgren (39) at State Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio, May 6 - By the time he closed with “Just One Victory,” fans who had given sporadic standing ovations all evening had crowded up front for a chance to slap hands with their musical hero. Rundgren obliged. But even if he hadn’t, he’d already delivered.

Hot Tuna (Acoustic) (9) at Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music, Worthington, Ohio, Nov. 5 - Some people say going to concerts is like going to church. Sometimes that church is a pizza shop. And the preachers are occasionally a couple of former psychedelic warriors and Woodstock veterans who have always been grizzled bluesmen at their core.

Darrell Scott (3) at Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music, Worthington, Ohio, Sept. 29 - Accompanying himself on hollow-bodied electric guitar, six-string acoustic guitar and piano, Scott previewed tracks from the four albums, including a Hank Williams tribute, he's working on - "It sounds crazy, but it's just music," he said - sung Joe South's "Games People Play” and briefly turned the restaurant into a church.

Steep Canyon Rangers (8) at Midland Theatre, Newark, Ohio, Oct. 24 - To call the show lively would be an insult to the word, as the group moved on and off stage to play in various incarnations with members moving up front to solo and backing off to give their mates their own star turns.

Circles Around the Sun at Woodlands Tavern, Columbus, Ohio, June 11 - The band whipped out a nine-song, nearly two-hour performance that whizzed by in what seemed like 45 minutes as the quartet laid down thick grooves and the audience in the tight, well-sold space stomped around gleefully in them.

Lyle Lovett (4) and His Acoustic Group at Victoria Theatre, Dayton, Ohio, Oct. 18 - No matter whom he plays - Acoustic Group, Large Band, solo or acoustic with friends like Robert Earl Keen and Shawn Colvin - Lyle Lovett is always a wise ticket.

Todd Snider (11) at Speaker Jo Ann Davidson Theatre, Columbus, Ohio, April 10 - For 90 minutes, Snider played a career-spanning set that culled songs from 1994's Songs for the Daily Planet through this year's Cash Cabin Sessions, Vol. 3 and most of his other albums as well. The crowd was small but enthusiastic, singing loudly on old songs such as "Easy Money" and listening attentively to new ones such as "Watering Flowers in the Rain" and "Just Like Overnight."

The Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams (4) Band at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch, Pomeroy, Ohio, April 13 - The Larry Campbell & Teresa Williams Band can play anything. And they played most of it during a knockout, two-hour show inside the Fur Peace Station. This was one of those concerts - a show rewarded with several standing ovations from the sold-out house as Campbell and Williams - with Williams’ parents on hand - covered the Carter Family (“I Ain’t Gonna Work Tomorrow”), Johnny Cash (“Big River”), traditional songs via the Grateful Dead (“Deep Elem Blues”) and performed originals from their two duo LPs as Jorma Kaukonen joined in for most of the second set.

Joan Osborne (3) at Memorial Hall OTR, Cincinnati, Ohio, Aug. 2 - For 95 minutes, Joan Osborne and her trio played tracks from Songs of Bob Dylan. But it was Osborne, whose voice ranges from soprano cries to deep-throated, bluesy wailing to tender and cracking in a girlish way, who made them work. "Buckets of Rain" was the little girl; "Highway 61 Revisited" was the brassy blues singer. Meanwhile, "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" was a rest on a front-porch swing and "Tangled up in Blue" was a walk through a lifetime - either Dylan's or Osborne's.

Grateful Ball Featuring the Travelin’ McCourys (2) and the Jeff Austin Band at Woodlands Tavern, Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 27 - Bluegrass meets jamgrass meets psychedelic rock ‘n’ roll when the Travelin’ McCourys and the Jeff Austin Band get together for a Grateful Ball. Playing alone and together, the bands treated the sold-out bar to more than three hours of exhilarating, Sunday-night roots music that bled into early Monday morning.

Leo Kottke (5) at Thirty One West, Newark, Ohio, April 21 - Leo Kottke held the audience at in rapt silence as he demonstrated what an acoustic guitar - two, actually; a 12-string and a six-string - can sound like in the right hands. And in Kotte's hands, the guitar can sound like a bass, a dulcimer and multiple guitars all at the same time.

Dom Flemons Woodlands Tavern, Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 23 - Touring behind his Black Cowboys LP, the bespectacled Flemons looked as if he’d just walked off the ranch with a hat, suspenders holding up his blue work pants and a pocket watch on a gold chain. The former Carolina Chocolate Drop, known as "the American Songster," was the consummate entertainer and played in the style of De Ole Folks at Home-era Taj Mahal.

A-

John Oates with the Good Road Band at Victoria Theatre, Dayton, Ohio, Jan. 15 - A blind person attending this show would have spent most of the 110 minutes not realizing this was the same John Oates who is most famous for playing pop music with Daryl Hall. This was music culled mostly from the first half of the 20th century, when blues, country and jazz were still a melting pot of Americana and hadn't yet separated and led to rock 'n' roll.

Crash Test Dummies (2) at Memorial Hall OTR, Cincinnati, Ohio, Sept. 21 - On the road celebrating 25 years of God Shuffled His Feet, four of the five original band members played 10 of God's dozen tracks and offered others from 1991’s The Ghosts that Haunt Me through 2010’s Ooh La La!

Jeff Lynne's ELO at Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio, July 30 - Jeff Lynne's ELO ended the show where the former Electric Light Orchestra's career began to take off, playing a rambunctious version of "Roll Over Beethoven" - replete with its quotations of the composer's famous 5th symphony found on ELO 2 - and wrapping a night full of highlights with one of the brightest of all.

Lake Street Dive (2) and the Wood Brothers (7) at Fraze Pavilion, Kettering, Ohio, June 15 - Though they’re a disparate pair, Lake Street Dive and the Wood Brothers displayed shocking congruity during sit-ins and while playing alone across their rain-soaked, co-headlining sets.

Dead & Company (8) at Rouff Home Mortgage Music Center, Noblesville, Ind., June 12 - Like a young relative you see only occasionally, Dead & Company seems grow by leaps & bounds in between its annual summer tours.

Chicago (13) at Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, Ohio, May 5- Down to three original members in keyboardist/guitarist/vocalist Robert Lamb, trombonist James Pankow and trumpeter/vocalist Lee Loughnane, the recently expanded, 10-man Chicago recreated the original septet’s sound via standout performances by all as they focused mostly on their first decade of recorded music.

Nick Mason's Saucerful of Secrets at Palace Theatre, Columbus, Ohio, April 7- For 110 minutes, the former Floyd drummer and his outstanding band plumbed the early-Pink discography, plucking songs from every album (except Ummagumma) from 1967's the Piper at the Gates of Dawn to 1972's Obscured by Clouds. These weren’t covers so much as interpretations and the band gave the music enough of a contemporary nudge to keep it from sounding too dated.

It Was 50 Years Ago Today at Akron Civic Theatre, Akron, Ohio, Sept. 28 - The Fab Faux Five consisted of a Utopian (Todd Rundgren), a Monkee (Micky Dolenz) with a Badfinger (Joey Molland), a dude from Chicago (Jason Scheff) and Christopher Cross. Motley and, unbelievably, well-matched, the group was backed by a stellar four-piece band who provided essential vocal backing and played synths, keys, drums, guitars, harmonica and bass as needed. They didn’t get a break, while the stars spent little time on stage all together (now), instead coming and going to play 23 of the Beatles' 30 tracks and two solo/band songs apiece.

Bob Dylan (12) and His Band at Mershon Auditorium, Columbus, Ohio, Nov. 4 - Never one to stand still or rest on his legacy, Dylan starts futzing with songs almost as soon as he commits them to tape and continues to do so basically forever.

Chris Smither and Sierra Hull at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch, Pomeroy, Ohio, Sept. 7, 2019 - Chris Smither mic'd his boots, played bottom-string-heavy, country blues on his acoustic guitar and solicited a lot of laughter. Sierra Hull played mandolin, octave mandolin and guitar and was mostly serious, eliciting a few gasps of disbelief.

B+

Bruce Hornsby (10) & the Noisemakers at Rose Music Center at the Heights, Huber Heights, Ohio, July 16 - Though the Rose's sound system was typically muddy and Hornsby and company seemed to be at about 88 percent of their capability, they shouldn't have been opening for Amos Lee, whose mix of soulless soul and funk that wasn't funky caused dozens of Hornsby partisans - Sound Bites included - to bail after four songs.

Bob Seger & the Silver Bullet Band (3) at Nationwide Arena, Columbus, Ohio, Jan. 19 - The show came 18 months after back issues forced a last-minute postponement of his previously scheduled Columbus show - and eventually, his entire 2017 tour. And though Seger was noticeably less powerful than he was during his 2015 visit, he was also was visibly happy to be performing on what he says will be his final outing.

Mark Lanegan Band at MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus, Ohio, May 18 - Sound Bites ducked in and out of Sonic Temple Day 2 to see Lanegan after scoring a $1 dollar ticket. A $25 parking spot and a bottle of water priced at $5.50 negated some of the value, but Lanegan’s nine-song set was worth every dollar and every hassle to get inside the sold-out soccer stadium for his 35 minutes of stage time.

B

Bob Weir and Wolf Bros at Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 6 - This Bob Weir and Wolf Bros performance is best described as a solid, Weir-led Grateful Dead spin-off show that was more successful than RatDog in its later years, but much less exciting than Bob Weir & the Campfire Band.

Rory Block and Cindy Cashdollar at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch, Pomeroy, Ohio, Oct. 19 - A show that reached its apex - and potential - late.

B-

The Richie Furay (2) Band at Jorma Kaukonen's Fur Peace Ranch, Pomeroy, Ohio, Aug. 10 - With his voice in sick bay, Furay didn't even attempt his signature songs, "Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing," which would have seemed too ironic, and "Kind Woman," which he couldn't have pulled off in his diminished state.

Funky Feat at Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch, Pomeroy, Ohio, June 16 - Ultimately, Funky Feat provided an opportunity for Little Feat fans to hear the music they love played by some of those who made it - and that makes the group a worthwhile endeavor. But folks unfamiliar with Feat’s music should turn to the original recordings for their primary education.

Experience Hendrix at Taft Theatre, Cincinnati, Ohio, March 17 - There's no shame in being unable to play like Hendrix. And most of the performers were unable to muster what was needed to make covering him for more than 180 minutes worthwhile. But the exceptions - including Zakk Wylde, Eric Johnson, Mark Nanji and Doyle Bramhall II - were exceptional.

Martin Barre (3) at Athenaeum Theatre, Columbus, Ohio, May 8 - Narrated by a disembodied voice that was piped in every few songs to tell the story of Jethro Tull's evolution, the concert was a little too contrived for its own good.

C+

Elizabeth Cook (4) and Will Hoge at Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza & Live Music, Worthington, Ohio, Oct. 30 - Each performer played 50 minutes; too long for Hoge and too short for Cook, who seemed like she wanted to be anywhere but on stage.

C

Blues Traveler at Columbus Commons, Columbus, Ohio, May 17 - The free concert had its moments. And the tickets were worth every penny.

12/18/19

[krispyweiss]

Darrell Scott at Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music, Worthington, Ohio, Sept. 29, 2019

The last time Darrell Scott visited central Ohio, he was on the road with the Zac Brown Band and found himself playing to 80,000 people inside Ohio Stadium.

"That was wild," he said. "I'm glad to have found another place to play in Columbus."

Scott was speaking Sept. 29 from the stage of Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music where perhaps 80 people watched and listened to him put on spellbinding solo concert that touched on country, blues, jazz, folk, rock, gospel and more over the course of an hour and 45 minutes.

Scott - who's toured and recorded in Guy Clark and Robert Plant’s bands, written songs for the Dixie Chicks ("Long Time Gone"), released a slew of acclaimed solo albums and whose "You'll Never Leave Harlan Alive" is a modern classic - is a musician's musician, a fancy term for a criminally underappreciated talent. But he seemed happy in the cozy confines of the pizza joint. And he delivered the goods.

Accompanying himself on hollow-bodied electric guitar, six-string acoustic guitar and piano, Scott previewed tracks from the four albums, including a Hank Williams tribute, he's working on - "It sounds crazy, but it's just music," he said - sung Joe South's "Games People Play," briefly turning the restaurant into a church with his soulful electric piano; played the Carter Family's "Keep on the Sunny Side," which he put in his sets after watching "Country Music: A Film by Ken Burns;" and honored a request for "River Take Me" after telling the fan, "It's been switched to 'Reefer Take Me,'" which it had not.

With a bushy, white goatee and dressed in a brown, Western-style shirt and bowler hat, Scott was a fountain of music that poured forth seemingly without effort. He often backed away from the mic between verses to play jazzy or blues-tinged solos on his electric guitar and did such with such a precise touch, so much texture, they never sounded empty in the absence of backing musicians. On acoustic guitar, Scott plays with subtle power, coaxing big sounds from the instrument that looks so small against his large frame.

In Scott's hands and voice, Clark's "Desperados Waiting for a Train" became a joyful singalong. Townes Van Zandt's "White Freightliner Blues," meanwhile, was played to pin-drop silence and Scott's resounding voice and forceful, blues riffs filled the restaurant with the aura of sweet trouble in mind.

Playing without a setlist as per typical, he took his guitar with him when he sat down at the piano for "Harlan." Switching instruments seamlessly as he sung about the hardscrabble Kentucky town where the sun comes up about 10 in the morning … and goes down about 3 in the day, Scott was in that moment a profoundly talented multi-instrumentalist, a sharp observer of cultural and economic injustices, a resounding vocalist capable of rising and falling as his words demand and a man who should be playing bigger venues.

He was - and is - a criminally underappreciated musician's musician and songwriter's songwriter.

Grade card: Darrell Scott at Natalie's Coal Fired Pizza and Live Music - 9/29/19 - A

9/30/19

[the-record-briefs]

April 10, 2019: In other news

Wilkes-based group to compete in MeleFest

 band competition

The Wilkes County-based band, Alex Key and the Locksmiths, will    participate in the MerleFest Band Competition.

The event will be held on the Plaza Stage    on Saturday the April 27 from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Judged by members of The Local Boys and emceed by Mark Bumgarner, the    competition’s winners will be announced at 4 p.m. on the Plaza Stage. The winning band will head over to the Cabin Stage, where    they will perform to an enthusiastic MerleFest audience from 6:35 to 7    p.m. 

This year’s    band competition finalists also include Shay Martin Lovette (Boone), Pretty Little Goat (Brevard), None of the Above (Piedmont Triad), Brooks Forsyth (Boone), Massive Grass (Wilmington), Redleg Husky (Asheville),    and The Mike Mitchell Band (Floyd,    Va.).

MerleFest has    also announced the winners of the 2019 Chris Austin Songwriting    Competition.

From its first    incarnation in 1993, MerleFest’s annual Chris Austin    Songwriting Competition has seen    the likes of Gillian Welch, Tift Merritt, and Martha Scanlan rise to the    top of an always competitive field of up-and-coming    songwriters. Legendary songwriters have presided over the competition    from the start as judges, too. Darrell Scott, Hayes Carll, and the late,    great Guy Clark have all taken a turn at judging the CASC. This year,    the event will be judged byJoey    Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale, better known as The Milk Carton Kids, Cruz Contreras of    The Black Lillies, and Texas-troubadour    Radney Foster. Mr. Americana Jim Lauderdale will host the competition and Mark Bumgarner will return as emcee for    the finalist contest taking place at MerleFest’s Austin Stage on Friday,    April 26th at 2:00 p.m.

This year’s    Chris Austin Songwriting Competition Finalists each fall into one of four    categories:

Bluegrass:

Wyatt Espalin (Hiawassee, Ga.):    “Light Coming Through”

Anya Hinkle (Asheville): “Ballad Of Zona Abston”

James Woolsey (Petersburg,    Ind.) and David Foster (Petersburg,     IN): “Sugar Ridge Road”

Country:

Hannah Kaminer (Asheville): “Don’t Open Your Heart”

Andrew Millsaps (Ararat): “Ain’t No Genie (In    A Bottle Of Jack)”

Shannon Wurst (Fayetteville, Ark.):    “Better Than Bourbon”

General:

Wright Gatewood (Chicago, Ill.):    “First”

Alexa Rose (Asheville): “Medicine For Living”

Bryan Elijah Smith (Dayton, Va.):    “In Through The Dark”

Gospel/Inspirational:

Ashleigh Caudill (Nashville, Tenn.)    and Jon Weisberger (Cottontown, Tenn.):    “Walkin’ Into Gloryland”

Kevin T. Hale (Brentwood, Tenn.):    “We All Die To Live Again”

Russ Parrish (Burnsville,    Minn.) and Topher King (Savage, Minn.): “Washed By The Water”

All three    finalists in each category will have the chance to perform their songs for    the judges on MerleFest’s Austin Stage before category winners are    ultimately decided on Friday.

Net proceeds    from the Chris Austin Songwriting Contest support the Wilkes Community    College Chris Austin Memorial Scholarship. Since its inception, the    scholarship has been awarded to 91 deserving students.

Tickets for    this year’s festival, backstage tours, as well as the Late Night Jam    sponsored by The Bluegrass    Situation, may be purchased at www.MerleFest.org or by calling 1-800-343-7857. MerleFest offers a    three-tiered pricing structure and encourages fans to take advantage of the    extended early bird discount. Early Bird Tier 2 tickets will be    available through April 24th. Remaining tickets will be sold at the gate    during the festival. Headliners    include The Avett Brothers, Brandi Carlile, Amos Lee, Wynonna & the Big    Noise, Del McCoury Band, Dailey & Vincent, Tyler Childers, Keb’ Mo’,    Sam Bush, The Earls of Leicester, and Peter Rowan and The Free Mexican Air    Force. The Late Night Jam sponsored by The Bluegrass Situation    will be hosted by Chatham County Line. In addition to the above-mentioned    artists, the following will be performing at MerleFest ‘19:

American    Aquarium, Andy May, Ana Egge & The Sentimentals, Ashley Heath and Her    Heathens, AZTEC SUN, Banknotes, Bob Hill, Cane Mill Road, Carol Rifkin,    Carolina Blue, Casey Kristofferson Band, Catfish Keith, Charles Welch,    Chris Rodrigues with Abby the Spoonlady, David LaMotte, Dirk Powell Band,    Donna the Buffalo, Driftwood, Elephant Sessions, Elizabeth Cook, Ellis    Dyson & The Shambles, Gordie MacKeeman & His Rhythm Boys, Happy    Traum, Irish Mythen, Jack Lawrence, Jeff Little Trio, Jim Avett, Jim    Lauderdale, Joe Smothers, Jontavious Willis and Andrew Alli, Josh Goforth,    Junior Brown, Junior Sisk, Larry Stephenson Band, Laura Boosinger, Lindi    Ortega, Mark Bumgarner, Mark & Maggie O’Connor, Maybe April, Michaela    Anne, Mile Twelve, The Milk Carton Kids, Mitch Greenhill and String    Madness, Molly Tuttle, Nixon, Blevins, & Gage, Pete & Joan Wernick    and FLEXIGRASS, Presley Barker, Professor Whizzpop!, Radney Foster, Roy    Book Binder, Salt & Light, Scythian, Sean McConnell, Shane Hennessy, Si    Kahn & The Looping Brothers, Steep Canyon Rangers, Steve Poltz, T.    Michael Coleman, The Black Lillies, The Brother Brothers, The Gibson    Brothers, The Harris Brothers, The InterACTive Theatre of Jeff, The Kruger    Brothers, The Local Boys, The Trailblazers, The Waybacks, Todd Albright,    Tom Feldmann, Tony Williamson, Uncle Joe and The Shady Rest, Valerie Smith    & Liberty Pike, Wayne Henderson, Webb Wilder, and Yarn. The lineup and performance    schedules are accessible viaMerleFest.org/lineup.

MerleFest is    pleased to partner with Come    Hear NC, a promotional campaign of the North Carolina Department of    Natural & Cultural Resources and the North Carolina Arts Council, to    celebrate 2019 as “The Year of Music,” a designation Governor Roy Cooper announced in November    of last year. MerleFest, honoring its locale, has programmed over 40    artists who currently call North      Carolina home, each artist representing a    different aspect of the state’s great musical history. Come Hear NC was    designed to celebrate North Carolinians’ groundbreaking contributions to    many of America’s most important musical genres — blues, bluegrass, jazz,    country, gospel, Americana, rock and everything in-between. It’s fitting    then, with 2019 as “The Year of Music,” that the Steep Canyon Rangers, also    proud North Carolinians, would debut their    North Carolina Songbook set at MerleFest.

About MerleFest:

MerleFest was    founded in 1988 in memory of the son of the late American music legend Doc    Watson, renowned guitarist Eddy Merle Watson. MerleFest is a celebration of    "traditional plus" music, a unique mix of traditional,    roots-oriented sounds of the Appalachian region, including old-time,    classic country, bluegrass, folk and gospel and blues, and expanded to    include Americana, classic rock and many other styles. The festival hosts a    diverse mix of artists on its 13 stages during the course of the four-day    event. MerleFest has become the primary fundraiser for the WCC Foundation,    funding scholarships, capital projects and other educational needs.

About Window World:

Window World,    headquartered in North Wilkesboro, N.C., is America’s largest replacement    window and exterior remodeling company, with more than 200 locally owned    offices nationwide. Founded in 1995, the company sells and installs    windows, siding, doors and other exterior products, with over 15 million    windows sold to date. Window World is an ENERGY STAR partner and its    windows, vinyl siding and Therma-Tru doors have all earned the Good    Housekeeping Seal. Through its charitable foundation, Window World Cares, the Window World family provides funding for St. Jude    Children’s Research Hospital, which honored the foundation with its    Organizational Support Award in 2017. Since its inception in 2008, the    foundation has raised over $8 million for St. Jude. Window World also    supports the Veterans Airlift Command, a nonprofit organization that    facilitates free air transportation to wounded veterans and their families.    Window World has flown over 100 missions and surpassed $1 million in    flights and in-kind donations since it began its partnership with the VAC    in 2008. For more information, visit www.WindowWorld.com or call 1-800 NEXTWINDOW. For home improvement and    energy efficiency tips, décor ideas and more, follow Window World on Facebookand Twitter.

About the North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural    Resources:

The N.C.    Department of Natural and Cultural Resources (NCDNCR) is the state agency    with a vision to be the leader in using the state's natural and cultural    resources to build the social, cultural, educational and economic future of    North Carolina.    NCDNCR's mission is to improve the quality of life in our state by creating    opportunities to experience excellence in the arts, history, libraries and    nature in North Carolina by stimulating learning, inspiring creativity,    preserving the state's history, conserving the state's natural heritage,    encouraging recreation and cultural tourism, and promoting economic    development.

NCDNCR includes    27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, two science    museums, three aquariums and Jennette's Pier, 39 state parks and recreation    areas, the N.C. Zoo, the nation's first state-supported Symphony Orchestra,    the State Library, the State Archives, the N.C. Arts Council, State    Preservation Office and the Office of State Archaeology, along with the    Division of Land and Water Stewardship. For more information, please call    (919) 807-7300 or visit www.ncdcr.gov.

About the North Carolina    Arts Council

The North    Carolina Arts Council builds on our state’s long-standing love of the arts,    leading the way to a more vibrant future. The Arts Council is an economic    catalyst, fueling a thriving nonprofit creative sector that generates $2.12    billion in annual direct economic activity. The Arts Council also sustains    diverse arts expression and traditions while investing in innovative    approaches to art-making. The North Carolina Arts Council has proven to be    a champion for youth by cultivating tomorrow’s creative citizens through    arts education. http://www.NCArts.org

 For more information, visit www.MerleFest.org.