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PAGE 10B PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS THURSDAY. JULY 26. 2007
Bluegrass appealing to younger crowds,
filling up concert halls
Lonesome River Band energizes as part of Cherokee bluegrass series
The Lonesome River Band performed last week as part of a bluegrass concert series at
the Cherokee Arts Center. They are one of the bands who are attracting a whole new gen
eration of fans to the Appalachian music while travelling around the country and interna
tionally.
By Alice Chapman Newgen
The Cherokee County Arts
Center has been hosting a blue
grass concert series over the
summer.
Leila Ibrahim, the
Development and Resource
Director at the center believes
bluegrass music has definitely
been on the upswing lately.
She said, “I have had so
many requests and people tell
me that they are happy we have
this because they have to drive
to other places for this normal
ly”
The last concert was so pop
ular that every seat was sold out.
People were literally turned
away at the door. Bluegrass
shows are family oriented,
which represents different age
groups. Ibrahim said, “We've
had everything from little kids
to grandma and grandpa here."
The Conner Sisters was the
opening act for Lonesome River
Band on Saturday, July 21.
Angela and Barbara Conner
have been singing together prac
tically since birth. They started
out singing gospel, which is still
a major part of their lives. One
of the songs they sang that night
was Glory Road, which they get
a lot of requests for.
Another heart-tugging song
performed by the sisters was
Coat of Many Colors by Dolly
Parton.
The words tell of a young
child who was bom into a poor
family. One day the mother
made a special coat out of rags
of many colors. She gave it to
her child who proudly wore it to
school, only to be made fun of.
The child was saddened because
she knew her mother had put a
lot of love into making that coat.
Angela said, “The song real
ly stirs emotions. I think that if
you live in this area you can’t
help but relate to that because it
is part of our heritage. We know
how those cold winters used to
be. I remember I heard that song
for the first time when I was ten.
I loved Dolly Parton and the
words were just so beautiful.”
The sisters perform at wed
dings, funerals and various
church functions. They also sing
at senior centers, nursing homes
and benefit and charity events.
Barbara and Angela make a spe
cial effort to be at funerals when
someone requests them to sing.
They know firsthand how hard
it is to lose a loved one. Nine
years ago their parents died
within two weeks of each other.
Barbara said, “We don't turn
anybody down. . .We feel like
God gave us the talent we’ve
got, and we want to use that for
God.”
After the Conner Sisters
great performance, Lonesome
River Band took the stage with a
burst of energy that thrilled the
sizeable crowd.
Lonesome River Band was
officially formed in 1982. None
of the original members are still
with the group. Sammy Shelor,
the band leader, has been with
Lonesome River Band for sev
enteen years. He plays banjo in
the group. The other musicians
are Brandon Rickman (guitar),
Mike Anglin (bass), Matt
Leadbetter (Dobro) and Andy
Ball (mandolin). They have
been performing their music
together since February of this
year.
The band has its own style of
bluegrass music. It is traditional
bluegrass with a rock-n-roll
edge to it. The unique blend
pulls in audiences of all ages
across the country. Shelor gave
his thoughts on why bluegrass
continues to have such a strong
following in today’s society.
“The people that grew up
when Bill Monroe started blue
grass music in the ‘40s were
born in the ‘20s and’30s. They
became followers of the music
and supported the music on
through the ‘60s and ‘70s and
even ‘80s. A lot of that crowd
has left us, but along the way we
picked up younger generations
and then they grew older. We try
to do music that captures the
younger audience, but also what
we do pleases the older audi
ences too. We don’t offend them
with anything we do. We are not
so rock-n-roll that it is offensive
to them, but it has an energy to
it that tends to draw younger
folks.”
Some of the songs that
Lonesome River Band sings
have certain messages that reach
out to a lot of people. Stray
Dogs and Alley Cats has a slow
but catchy tune with lyrics that
many fans can relate to. It’s a
song about a guy that knows
he's not perfect but he hopes
that maybe in Heaven there is
room for stray dogs and alley
cats. The man figures it’s doubt
ful he will be allowed to enter
through the Pearly Gates so
he'll be happy if he can just get
in through the back door. And
he won’t mind emptying
Heaven's trash cans once he
gets there. A lot of people iden
tify with that because no one is
perfect.
It was obvious that the crowd
at the Cherokee County Arts
Center got their money's worth
the night Lonesome River Band
performed. An added bonus to
the high energy atmosphere was
when Brandon Rickman kept
the crowd laughing with his
comical introductions to the
songs throughout the evening.
The band received a standing
ovation at the close of the show.
Besides traveling throughout
the United States, Lonesome
River Band has also performed
in Switzerland, England, Japan
and Canada. Switzerland and
Japan both have a big bluegrass
following.
Another bluegrass concert is
scheduled for August 25 at the
Cherokee County Arts Center.
For more information call 770-
704-6244 or go to www.chero-
keearts.org. To contact the
Conner Sisters call 706-633-
8180 or 770-365-3475.
[Newgen is a North Georgia
resident who covers arts and
entertainment for the Progress.
She can be reached at anew-
gen@ellijay.com.]
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Celebrating 25 Years in Jasper!
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The Piedmont Physicians at Pickens would like to invite you to
an open house to celebrate Dr. McCurdy's 25 years of service to the
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Pickens Medical Plaza
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Pickens Medical Plaza I 1222 A East Church Street I Jasper, Georgia 30143 I 706-692-2437 I fax 706-692-6869 I www.piedmontphysicians.org