HAPPY VALLEY, NC (October 18, 2017)…The Chapel of Rest will host the Jeff Little Trio in concert on Sunday, October 29 at 4pm in Historic Happy Valley, followed by a BBQ chicken and pork supper on the grounds at the Chapel.
The concert is sponsored by Bernhardt Furniture Company and the Chapel of Rest Preservation Society, and is held, in part, as a celebration of the North Carolina Arts Council’s 50th Anniversary, which is being celebrated state-wide during October. Jean McLaughlin, former Director of Public Art for the NCAC and current Executive Director, Penland School of Crafts, will speak briefly to introduce the Trio.
With few exceptions, the piano does not play a prominent part in Appalachian music, and is rarely the lead instrument, but Jeff Little is an exception.” His lead solos are breathtaking in their speed, precision and clarity,” according to the National Council for the Traditional Arts. Jeff’s involvement with fiddle tunes, old time music and traditional blues dates to his growing up in Boone, where his family owned a music shop. The shop was a regular gathering place for musicians including Doc Watson, who would stop by to pick a few tunes, and at an early age, Jeff would regularly sit in with many of them. These influences helped shape Jeff’s approach to the piano.
NPR noted that “Jeff little is a remarkable musician, steeped in the tradition of his native Blue Ridge, yet also a virtuosic innovator,” and The Boston Globe observed that “Jeff Little tore the place apart with his wondrously quick and articulate piano style!”
Steve Lewis, award winning guitarist and banjo player from Todd, NC and Josh Scott, upright bass master from Fleetwood, NC complete the Trio, and they travel the country with performances including the Smithsonian Institution, The National Folk Festival, American Piano Masters and Merlefest. They have also toured around the world on U.S. Government Goodwill Tours to Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Oman, France and Tanzania. Jeff has released four CDs, and has been featured often on National Public Radio and PBS. In 2014, he was inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame, and this concert is presented in conjunction with the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina.
The young musicians of Blackberry Jam will greet folks as they arrive for the concert. They are a six-member stringed instrument group who have evolved from the Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) Program at the Caldwell Arts Council. JAM was founded in Sparta, NC in 2000, and is now in over twenty counties in NC, SC and Virginia. The musicians will be Dawson Clark/ banjo and Lincoln Clark / guitar, Kemdyn Clement/fiddle, Dalton Signon/guitar and Averi Sigmon/ mandolin, and Gideon White/ bass. Bob Henson is strings instructor for the group, and is assisted by Alyssa McLean.
Admission to the concert is $15/ person, and the BBQ supper is $15 / person. Reservations for the BBQ supper must be made by contacting Bill at bogeycat47@charter.net. The Chapel of Rest is located nine miles north of Lenoir at # 1964 Highway 268, adjacent to the Patterson School campus. Proceeds from the concert will be used for the continuing maintenance of the Chapel, and doors will open at 3:30 pm.