Last week while notifying me about the Red June show at the Great Aunt Stella Center this coming Friday, April 13, Wanda Hubicki (who works with the Charlotte Folk Society) pointed out that the 30-year-old music institution has an impeccable track record in bringing rising bluegrass and acoustic acts to town. And she's right.
Thinking about it, the first time I heard of Canadian fiddler April Verch, Virginia's roots music quartet Steel Wheels, and NC duo Polecat Creek was because those acts were headliners at a Folk Society Gathering. CFS even booked Grammy winning old time revivalists the Carolina Chocolate Drops before the NC band had even adopted that name. These acts have since made Charlotte a regular stop on their schedules. Some have become fixtures at Merlefest and, in the case of the Chocolate Drops, risen to national fame.
The latest in this line of up-and-comers is Asheville trio Red June. The group plays The Great Aunt Stella Center Friday at 7:30 p.m. The concert is free, but donations to the Folk Society are encouraged. The trio's music is anchored in bluegrass and folk and centers around rich, three part harmonies with members switching between mandolin, Dobro, and upright bass on stage along with the ever present fiddle and guitar. It makes its Merlefest debut later this month as well. You can find out more about the band here or see it live Friday.
What a great album the best stuff I've ever seen in my whole life since I was a child.
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