Jonesborough Bluegrass Series returns to stage

By Staff Reports

The Historic Jonesborough Bluegrass Series will present a bluegrass double header concert on Saturday, July 21m with performances by two of the genre’s most popular artists: Balsam Range and The Larry Stephenson Band.

From deep in the Appalachians where the Great Smoky Mountains meet the Blue Ridge comes Balsam Range, creatively blending bluegrass, folk, gospel and jazz into a new American acoustic music experience.

One of the most popular bands to burst onto the music scene in recent years, Balsam Range consists of five musicians — Buddy Melton on fiddle; Darren Nicholson on mandolin; Tim Surrett on bass; Marc Pruett on banjo; and Caleb Smith on guitar. The band has received multiple nominations over the last couple of years from the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and took home the 2011 IBMA Song of the Year award for “Trains I Missed” from their latest project on Crossroads Music. Promoting the release of their upcoming project, Papertown, Balsam Range will deliver a powerful, musically masterful, and positive stage show that will captivate and entertain audiences of all genres.

Perhaps one of the most consistently staples of bluegrass music for nearly 25 years, The Larry Stephenson Band brings a sense of pure professionalism to the genre. Stephenson, highly regarded as one of bluegrass music’s finest high lead and tenor vocalists, has been a touring musician since he performed with his dad in the 1970s, cutting his teeth on the music of the first generation of bluegrass musicians. The Larry Stephenson Band has toured widely and recorded frequently, nurturing it’s own sound based on Larry’s crystal clear, easily recognizable tenor voice, while providing a musical home for some of the finest sidemen in contemporary bluegrass history.

The Historic Jonesborough Bluegrass Series concert will take place on July 21 at 7 p.m. at the Jonesborough Visitors Center located at 117 Boone St. Jonesborough. Tickets are $20/adults, $10/ETSU students with ID and children 12 and under, and may be purchased at the door the night of the show, online at www.jonesboroughtn.org or by calling (866) 401-4223.