Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation Events

Old Crow Medicine Show will open the season on Saturday, May 23, 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 in advance, $45 day of show, $20 for children ages 3-12. The Grammy-winning band Old Crow Medicine Show got its start busking on street corners and winning audiences along the way with their boundless energy and spirit. The group eventually found themselves in Boone, N.C., where they caught the attention of folk icon Doc Watson, who invited them to perform at MerleFest.

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and based in Johnson City, Amythyst Kiah has a commanding stage presence, matched by her raw and powerful vocals. Playing banjo and guitar, her eclectic range of influences spans decades, finding inspiration in old-time, alternative rock, folk, country, and blues. Kiah has recently collaborated with Rhiannon Giddens, Leyla McCalla, and Allison Russell to record Our Native Daughters on Smithsonian Folkways.

Led by vocalist Melody Walker, Front Country is a band on the precipice of a metamorphosis. As multi-instrumentalists, songwriters, and composers, the group’s musical vision comes through no matter what stage they take. From their beginnings in the San Francisco Bay Area to their new hometown of Nashville, Walker, Adam Roszkiewicz, and Jacob Groopman have been on a journey to discover their sound. With a genre dubbed “Rugged Americana and Purposeful Pop,” they push the envelope without losing sight of their acoustic roots music influences.

Playing music that ranges from blues to reggae, Leroy Jodie Pierson has been one of the St. Louis blues scene’s most active and productive participants. A guitarist, record producer, and blues historian, Pierson learned to play guitar from brilliant musicians such as Mance Lipscomb, Johnny Shines, Robert Wilkins, and Mississippi Fred McDowell. Pierson made long and frequent trips to rural Mississippi to study with his mentors, who held him in great esteem.

Born and raised in Europe, brothers Jens and Uwe Kruger started singing and playing instruments at a very young age. The brothers were performing regularly by the time they were 11 and 12 years old. In 1995, they became a trio with the addition of bass player Joel Landsberg, a native of New York City. Today, trio is based out of Wilkesboro, N.C., and is known for an incomparable sound, that blends bluegrass with elements of classical music.

Playing classic country standards, old-time traditional gospel songs, and new self-penned tunes, The Malpass Brothers make an impression with their pompadour hair and fancy boots. Their music is steeped in the legacy of the Louvin Brothers, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, and Hank Williams Sr. With sincerity, honesty and an ease on stage that belies their years, the brothers’ smooth vocal blend and skillful musicianship layer infectiously into the deep respect they pay to legends who paved the way.

Raised on the North American traditions of blues, folk, and soul and inspired by their world travels, the four women of Ley Line transcend genre and language, creating a global soundscape by blending influences from Brazil, Latin America and West Africa. They create dynamic harmonies with stand-up bass, guitar, ukulele, and world percussion. With strong ties to world folklore traditions, Ley Line’s multilingual compositions evoke the beauty of the human experience through our connection to nature and each other.

Bill & the Belles explores the space created between hillbilly and urban, between vaudeville and down home, and has arrived somewhere new. They bring to the stage an uplifting show, full of humor, high spirits, and all-around revelry. Bill and the Belles play alongside America’s top country and roots music artists as the house band for the radio program Farm and Fun Time, presented by Radio Bristol.

High Fidelity draws much of its inspiration from bands like Don Reno & Red Smiley, The Stanley Brothers, The Louvin Brothers, Jim & Jesse, and other bluegrass groups from the same era, interpreting classic bluegrass through the fresh, young perspective of today’s generation.

Mark your calendar for the fifth annual Denim Ball on Friday, August 7, to support Moses H. Cone Memorial Park. Check back here for details and updates. If you or your business would like to make a donation to the auction, please complete this form.

Hailing from Asheville, N.C., the Steep Canyon Rangers and Grammy winners, perennial Billboard chart-toppers, and frequent collaborators of the renowned banjoist Steve Martin. Recently, the band has teamed up with Philadelphia soul legends Boyz II Men and the Asheville Symphony to completely overhaul the Rangers’ original song, “Be Still Moses,” from their 2007 breakout album, Lovin’ Pretty Women. The group’s latest album is North Carolina Songbook, a recording of their live performance at MerleFest last year.

A multi-instrumentalist and singer- songwriter from St. James, Minnesota, Becky Buller is a two-time Grammy award-winning songwriter. She co-wrote “Freedom,” the lead-off track of The Infamous Stringdusters’ 2018 Grammy-winning album Laws of Gravity, and “The Shaker” on The Travelin’ McCourys’ self-titled release that garnered a Grammy for 2019 Best Bluegrass Album.

Formed in in 2009, Tuba Skinny has steadily evolved from a loose collection of street musicians into a solid ensemble dedicated to bringing the traditional New Orleans sound to audiences around the world. Drawing on a wide range of musical influences—from spirituals to Depression-era blues, from ragtime to traditional jazz—their sound evokes the rich musical heritage of The Big Easy. The band has gained a loyal following through their distinctive sound, their commitment to reviving long-lost songs, and their barnstorming live performances.

This musical pairing is a natural extension of Abigail Washburn and Wu Fei’s cross-cultural musical explorations. Washburn is an Illinois-born, Nashville-based singer-songwriter and clawhammer banjo player. Fluent in Mandarin, she has a profound connection to the culture and people on the other side of the Pacific. By sharing U.S. music in China, and Chinese music in the U.S., she hopes to foster a cultural understanding and richer existence with sounds that are rooted in tradition.