The Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College and Mountain Stage with Larry Groce are again teaming to present a stellar performance of folk, bluegrass, American rock ‘n’ roll and Appalachian-inspired country. The annual Augusta Festival Concert is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, August 12 in Myles Center for the Arts Harper-McNeeley Auditorium on the College campus.
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and folk icon Tom Paxton and Grammy winning singer-songwriter duo The Don Juans, featuring Don Henry and Jon Vezner, will headline the show. Rounding out the evening will be performances by Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands, Bill Kirchen, Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer, and The Early Mays.
Tickets are $25 general admission and can be purchased online at www.augustaheritagecenter.org, by calling 304-637-1255 or in person at the Augusta Box Office in Jennings Randolph Hall on the D&E campus. Student tickets are $15 with student ID at the D&E Box Office on the night of the concert only. Remaining tickets will be available the night of the show at the D&E Box Office beginning at 7 p.m. Tickets include admission to the dance after the concert. Presented by the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College, the concert is a highlight of the final weekend of Augusta’s four-week summer session.
“We have a wonderful mix of artistic styles planned for Augusta this year,” said Mountain Stage host and artistic director Larry Groce. “All these guests have such varied experiences and backgrounds that this show is bound to have some great musical moments, and I know it will be a ton of fun. So many of our guests have participated in the Augusta workshops over the years and we’re all excited to be bringing Mountain Stage back for a fourth year.”
The Augusta Festival concert will be recorded live for the nationally syndicated radio program Mountain Stage with Larry Groce airing on 200 stations. Heard weekly on NPR stations across the country, Mountain Stage is produced by West Virginia Public Broadcasting and is celebrating its 34th year on the air.
“We are so happy to welcome Mountain Stage back to the Augusta Festival for the fourth year,” said Beth King, director of the Augusta Heritage Center. “They have a wonderful lineup of artists for the show – many with long-time ties to Augusta as students, or teachers, or both. The evening will be the perfect celebration at the end of Festival Saturday.”
Paxton has become a voice of his generation, addressing issues of injustice and inhumanity, laying bare the absurdities of modern culture and celebrating the tender bonds of family, friends and community. An integral part of the songwriting and folk music community since the early 1960s Greenwich Village scene, he continues to be a primary influence on today’s “New Folk” performers.
Paxton’s early success in Greenwich Village coffeehouses, such as The Gaslight and The Bitter End, led to an ever-increasing circle of work. In 1965 he made his first tour of the United Kingdom — the beginning of a still-thriving professional relationship that has included at least one tour in each of the succeeding years.
Throughout his career, Paxton has recorded more than 50 albums of his own songs and hundreds of other artists have recorded his songs, including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Judy Collins, John Denver, Joan Baez and Peter, Paul and Mary. Among the enduring modern standards are “The Last Thing On My Mind,” “Ramblin’ Boy,” “Bottle Of Wine,” “Whose Garden Was This?,” “Goin’ To The Zoo” and “The Marvelous Toy.”
In 2009, Paxton received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Recording Academy during the 51st annual Grammy Awards. He was nominated for a Grammy for “Comedians and Angels” in 2007, and “Live in the U.K.” in 2006. He was also nominated for Grammys in 2003 for his Appleseed Records CD, “Looking For The Moon,” and in 2002 for his children’s CD, “Your Shoes, My Shoes.” He also received the Lifetime Achievement Award from ASCAP and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the BBC in London.
Together The Don Juans, Don Henry and Jon Vezner, have been awarded the highest accolades in songwriting. Their song, “Where’ve You Been,” recorded by Kathy Mattea, was the first song in country music history to sweep all major song of the year honors including the Grammy, ACM, CMA and the Nashville Songwriter’s Association International (NSAI) awards.
Since then, they have performed in venues from the Bottom Line in New York City to the Bluebird Café in Nashville, sharing stages with artists as diverse as Joey Ramone, John Hartford, Michael Johnson and David Crosby. Their songs have been recorded by a multitude of artists including Janis Ian, Ray Charles, John Mellencamp and Miranda Lambert, among others.
Laurie Lewis & The Right Hands
Grammy Award-winning musician Laurie Lewis is internationally renowned as a singer, songwriter, fiddler, bandleader, producer and educator. She was a founding member of the Good Ol’ Persons and the Grant Street String Band and has performed and recorded since 1986 with her musical partner, mandolinist Tom Rozum.
Lewis has twice been voted “Female Vocalist of the Year” by the International Bluegrass Music Association and has won the respect and admiration of her peers. A pioneering woman in bluegrass, she has paved the way for many young women today, always guided by her own love of traditional music and the styles of her heroes that came before. At the same time, she has steadfastly followed her personal muse and remained open to new influences.
As a teacher, Lewis has taught Augusta Heritage Center workshops and served as coordinator of Bluegrass Week for 10 years. She also has led one-on-one sessions and workshops in the United States and Canada.
Bill Kirchen
Grammy nominated guitarist, singer and songwriter Bill Kirchen is one of the fortunate few who can step on any stage, play those trademark licks which drove the seminal Commander Cody classic “Hot Rod Lincoln” into the Top 10 nationwide and elicit instant recognition. Named a “Titan of the Telecaster” by Guitar Player Magazine, he celebrates a musical tradition that embraces rock ‘n’ roll, blues and bluegrass, Texas Western swing and California honkytonk.
A founding member of the legendary Commander Cody and his Lost Planet Airmen, Kirchen has released eight critically acclaimed solo albums, toured internationally with Nick Lowe and performed with Doug Sahm, Gene Vincent, Elvis Costello, Dan Hicks, Emmylou Harris, Bruce Hornsby and Link Wray.
Kirchen has led workshops at the Augusta Heritage Center and Jorma Kaukonen’s Fur Peace Ranch, and was keynote speaker at the International Conference on Elvis Presley in Memphis.
A winner of multiple Wammies over the years, in 2002 Kirchen was one of three artists inducted into the Washington, D.C. Area Music Association Hall of Fame along with Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Foo Fighters) and John Philip Sousa.
Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer
Two-Time Grammy award winners Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer are master musicians with a career spanning more than 35 years. Their superb harmonies are backed by instrumental virtuosity on the guitar, five-string banjo, ukulele, mandolin, cello-banjo and many other instruments. An eclectic folk festival on their own terms, their repertoire ranges from classic country to western swing, gypsy jazz to bluegrass, and old-time string band to contemporary folk including some original gems.
In February 2017, the duo released their 45th recording, “Get Up And Do Right” which features duets of some of their favorite songs by songwriters such as Alice Gerrard, Tom Paxton, Ola Belle Reed and David Francey.
The Washington Area Music Association has recognized the duo with more than 60 Wammie Awards for folk, bluegrass and children’s music. Cathy & Marcy have earned two Grammy awards for their recordings “cELLAbration: a Tribute to Ella Jenkins” and “Bon Appétit!”. Their CDs “Postcards” and “Banjo Talkin’” were both Grammy nominated in the Best Traditional Folk Album category.
The Early Mays
The Early Mays, made up of Emily Pinkerton, Ellen Gozion and Rachel Eddy, blends Appalachian-inspired songs built on deep country sensibilities with masterful singing and a sweet old-time sound based on a love of American tradition.
The Early Mays burst on to the scene in 2014 with their self-titled album debuting at No. 2 on the National Folk DJ charts. The work features fiddle, banjo and guitar as the backdrop to heart-melting three-part vocal harmonies. The same year, the album was ranked No. 32 in the Top Albums of the Year on the Folk DJ Charts, and the group was named WYEP Pittsburgh Artist of the Year. Most recently, they took home the blue ribbon in the Neo-Traditional Band Competition at Clifftop 2016.
All three band members are celebrated solo artists.
Pinkerton weaves folk, classical and world music traditions together in her songwriting. She recently won a 2015 New Music USA grant to compose a song cycle for banjo and chamber ensemble.
Gozion is an accomplished ballad singer and visual artist who has taught at the Augusta Heritage Center, and was an American Music Abroad finalist with the U.S. State Department.
Born and raised in West Virginia, Eddy is a prolific performer who has shared the stage with musical legends including Tim O’Brien, Uncle Earl and Bruce Molsky.
A D&E center of excellence for more than 40 years, the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College offers several week-long programs featuring instruction in many traditions of music, dance, craft and folklore. Concerts, dances, a summer festival and other heritage arts events are part of the Augusta experience. The Augusta Heritage Center is also home to significant collections of field recordings, oral histories, photographs, instruments and Appalachian art. For additional information, call the Augusta Heritage Center at 304-637-1209 or visit www.augustaheritagecenter.org.
Programs offered by the Augusta Heritage Center of Davis & Elkins College are presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts.
Related to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Davis & Elkins College is located in Elkins, 2 hours east of Charleston, 3 hours south of Pittsburgh and 4 hours west of Washington, D.C. For more information, please visit the College website at www.dewv.edu or call 304-637-1243.
