Wayne C. Henderson & Jeff Little

www.waynehenderson.org

www.jefflittle.net

National Heritage Award recipient Wayne Henderson is a musician and instrument maker who lives in Rugby , Va. His top-notch finger-picking guitar style has been enjoyed in Carnegie Hall, on three national tours of "Masters of the Steel-String Guitar," and internationally in seven nations on three continents. The annual Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition, originated in 1995, honors this "living legend." We offer a special Song of the Mountains welcome to one of our region's most accomplished native sons.
North Carolina musician Jeff Little -"Piano Man From the Blue Ridge"-began playing at the age of five and has performed professionally since the age of 14. He has been a guest on National Public Radio, been featured at the Smithsonian Institution, and delighted audiences in countries as diverse as Sri Lanka , Oman , France and Tanzania . Jeff is making a distinctive contribution to old-time country music with his virtuoso style.

Highway 11-W Bluegrass Band

A dynamic new bluegrass band. But while the band is newly formed, its members are not new to the bluegrass scene and have been playing in this genre since they were kids. Frankie Elliott (lead and tenor vocals, bass) hails from a musical family. He began singing as a boy and was playing bass by age 13. He performed with his father's band, Albert Elliott and the Blueridge Partners, among others, and was privileged to play with Marty Stewart at The Carter Fold. Other members are: Mark Marshall (tenor vocals, banjo), who began playing guitar at age 8 and banjo at 13; Johnny Greer (bartione vocals, mandolin) who has enjoyed recent success with the release of The Johnny Greer Project (Lonesome Feelin); and John Malayter (baritone vocals, guitar), a New Jersey transplant who has played this music for years. While still in Jersey, he was a part of the bluegrass band Ground Speed, named bluegrass band of the year.

Lonesome Will Mullins & the Virginia Playboys

Lonesome Will Mullins & the Virginia Playboys offer stage shows with a lively mix of hard-driving bluegrass, lonesome ballads, gospel songs and old-time clawhammer banjo. Will Mullins grew up in a family of musicians, influenced from an early age by the old time banjo playing he heard in his home. Originally from Skeetrock - near Clintwood, Va., home to mentor Ralph Stanley - Will played in small bands, gaining regional recognition with the Virginia Mountain Boys, a band he headed up with partner Daniel Salyer. Will is now backed by the "Virginia Playboys" - musicians Duran Dutton, Tim Mullins, Jarrod Church and Randall Johnson. Like Mullins, all hail from southwest Virginia, and each is capable of playing nearly every instrument and singing harmony.

The Corklickers

The Corklickers, an old-time string band from the mountains of northwest North Carolina , draw their repertoire from the early country music artists including Gid Tanner & The Skillet Lickers, Uncle Dave Macon and Earnest V. Stoneman. Together since 1976, The Corklickers have performed at the Chicago and Kent State Folk Festivals, the Wheatlands Festival in Michigan , the Brandywine Mountain Music Festival in Pennsylvania , and at the 1982 World's Fair, among other festivals. They still perform regularly at such regional venues as The Carter Fold, Down Home, the Todd, North Carolina Summer Concert Series, Rhythm & Roots, and at The Pickin' Porch.The Corklickers are comprised of Gil Adams and Rick Palmer on fiddles, Mark Adams on banjo, Mack Vannoy on guitar, and Rick Moore on bass. www.corklickers.com

The Cana Ramblers

The Cana Ramblers, from Cana, VA, features father Phillip Jones - a practicing trial lawyer when he isn't playing bluegrass - and children Will, Laura Leigh and Ashley. Phillip plays lead and rhythm guitar, and lends songwriting abilities to the band. In addition to awesome flatpicking, Will does lead singing, harmony, and carries the show with his great emcee work. Sister Laura Leigh shares lead vocals as well as harmony, and is also a blue-ribbon winner for her work on mandolin. Ashley, the eldest of the Jones kids, also performs both lead and harmony vocals, and provides solid timing on the bass fiddle. The only non-Jones in the bunch, veteran performer Rick Allred, plays banjo and can claim performance or session credits with Charlie Waller and the Country Gentlemen, the Larry Stephenson Band, J.D. Crowe, Jerry Douglas and Lou Reid, among others. www.canaramblers.com

Everett Lilly & the Lilly Mountaineers

Everett Lilly & the Lilly Mountaineers are led by 82 year-old Everett Lilly, part of the legendary brother duo called the Lilly Brothers. He also performed for a time with Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs and is on many of their classic bluegrass recordings. Most agree that Everett and his brother Bea played a significant role in the spread of bluegrass music to the northeast, Boston in particular, through touring and playing the famous Hillbilly Ranch. Don't miss this opportunity to hear this first generation performer!