NRCC Fiddle, Banjo & Dance Club Bluegrass Concert ft. Valley Bluegrass and Larry Sigmon
Venue: New River Community College (Dublin), Dublin
Organizations: Unique Sound of the Mountains with Larry Sigmon, Valley Bluegrass
Date: Saturday, December 10, 2016
Time: 6:00 - 9:00 PM
Event Types: Music
Cost: Free
Description:
The New River Community College Fiddle, Banjo & Dance Club brings you a night of bluegrass and old-time music featuring Valley Bluegrass and Larry Sigmon & Martha Spencer on Saturday, December 10, 2016 at 117 Edwards Hall located at New River Community College's Dublin, VA campus.

Valley Bluegrass is a a bluegrass band from West Virginia. Most of the group's members come from long family traditions of bluegrass music, with several having played for 20 years or more.

Links:

• http://www.valleybluegrassbandwv.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/valley.bluegrass

Larry Sigmon was born in Callaway, Virginia. His father, Lewis Eldridge Sigmon, was a locally beloved banjo and fiddle player. Larry taught himself harmonica as a child, and then moved to guitar, learning to play by backing up his father. When he took up the banjo at fifteen, it became his main instrument, and he developed a signature hard-driving, rhythmic style. Larry’s first band was the Sugar Hill Ramblers, a six-piece group that performed old time tunes and old country numbers for six years. He went on to play stints with Carl Scott and Richard Bowman until the late 1980s, when he met bassist Barbara Poole at a local fiddlers’ convention.

Larry and Barbara began performing together, winning countless ribbons in banjo, bass, and folk song competitions and playing at festivals, dances, and other concert venues. Their sound was so distinctive with just the banjo, bass, and Larry’s distinct singing, they became known as the “Unique Sound,” and gained a dedicated local following, particularly among flatfoot dancers. Larry and Barbara drew upon a repertoire of old time and bluegrass songs from Charlie Poole to Jimmy Martin and Bill Monroe, making songs their own through Larry’s strong vocals and Barbara’s double-slap bass. Throughout their eighteen-year career, the duo performed at the Carter Family Fold, the Grand Ole Opry, and mountain music festivals throughout the South, becoming one of the most popular bands in the Blue Ridge Mountains until Barbara passed away in 2008 after a long struggle with cancer.

Larry had quit performing until old-time musician and advocate Martha Spencer arrived to interview him for her online documentary project, Mountain Music Magazine. During their interview, Martha encouraged Larry to play some tunes and the “Unique Sound” was reborn.

The Unique Sound of the Mountains now features Heather Krantz on guitar and vocals, Susan Blankenship on bass and Ashlee Watkins on mandolin, guitar and vocals.

Link: https://www.facebook.com/uniquesoundofthemountains/

Admission is free.

Doors open at 5 pm.

For more information, visit: http://www.nr.edu/fiddle/.