7:30pm Saturday
Concert admission $20, prepaid online $15; age 12 & under free. Doors open 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the info desk during the day and at the door until they sell out. Or order tickets online by Friday midnight Feb 21 and pick them up at Will Call the day of the concert.
The evening concert features Carolina Blue. an award-winning Bluegrass band from North Carolina presenting traditional and original music. Other featured performers include:
Distinguished Gentlemen of Spoken Word – Performance Poetry
Harmonia – Music of Eastern Europe
Luca Mundaca – Brazilian Singer Songwriter
Carolina Blue
Carolina Blue is a Brevard, NC based band whose roots run deep in the tradition of Bill Monroe and Flatt & Scruggs, while performing original material. Formed in 2007, the band consists of Bobby Powell (guitar, vocals), Tim Jones (mandolin, vocals), James McDowell (banjo, vocals), Reese Combs (upright bass, vocals) and Aynsley Porchak (fiddle), who was named Momentum Instrumentalist by the 2018 International Bluegrass Music Awards.
“We’re a 12-year overnight success,” says Powell, laughing. Three years ago Carolina Blue was playing local BBQ restaurants. But last year they played 120 shows all over the country, “at festivals and venues that we only dreamed about.” What’s more, IBMA has nominated them for three awards this year: New Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for I Hear Bluegrass Calling Me, and Instrumental Recording of the Year for Fried Taters & Onions, penned by the band’s banjoist, James McDowell.
““…bluegrass comfort food. Something warm and familiar
that takes you back to an earlier time. It’s good even when
it’s average. But when it’s just right, as it is with Carolina
Blue, it can’t be beat.” — John Lawless, Bluegrass Today
Distinguished Gentlemen of Spoken Word
The Distinguished Gentlemen of Spoken Word are young poets who hail from Cleveland, Ohio. They are a group of African-American males age 8-18 who study the art of performance poetry. Ms. Honey Bell-Bey, founder of the Distinguished Gentlemen, was recently named Cuyahoga County’s poet laureate.
The Gentlemen impact and inspire with their powerful stories, reciting the works of Paul Lawrence Dunbar, Shakespeare, Langston Hughes, etc. Poetry is the living tool to help keep them focused and on the right path in school, home and community. They have performed at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and for civic groups, nursing homes and community events.
Harmonia
Stop in front of a simple hall or church in Cleveland, open a nondescript door and go down the steps, and suddenly you’re in another, unexpectedly rich world, a party that transports you to a village in rural Ukraine, a café in Croatia, or a black-tie ball in 1930’s Budapest.
A multi-ethnic group of master musicians performing on authentic folk instruments, Harmonia presents the virtuosic and passionate traditional music of Eastern Europe. The harmonic, rhythmic and tonal richness of Roma and village music from east of the Danube are channeled by this “musical gem” (National Public Radio). Featuring top soloists from Ukraine and Slovakia, and with roots in Hungary and Croatia, this Cleveland-based ensemble includes violin, accordion, vocals, folk flutes, and cimbalom. Harmonia makes the depth, fire and passion of Hungarian, Slovak, Romanian, Ukrainian, Carpatho-Rusyn, Croatian, and Romani music and culture come alive.
Luca Mundaca
Luca Mundaca is a musical artist in her prime. Luca’s music is a glorious blend of her native Brazil with a touch of downtown New York. As a gifted singer and songwriter, she mines deep melodic roots in her country’s heritage, creating musical gems that she polishes with the lightest of touches.
A formidable composer and arranger, Luca’s albums Day by Day and Primeiro feature all original compositions. In addition to her own albums, Luca’s work has been featured on two compilations distributed by Putumayo World Music. Her music has been featured in movies including End of Watch, The Visitor, Kissing Paris, and television shows such as the HBO series Californication, ABC show Mistresses, and Brazilian telenovela TiTiTi.
Shore Cultural Centre