Saturday Serenades with The McKenzies and Thom Moore
Venue: Draper Mercantile and Trading Company, Draper
Organizations: The McKenzies, Thom Moore
Date: Saturday, July 14, 2018
Time: 9:00 AM - 12:30 PM
Event Types: Music, Food
Cost: Free
Description:
Draper Mercantile and Trading Company presents Saturday Serenades featuring The McKenzies and Thom Moore on Saturday, July 14, 2018.

Band Line-Up:
• 9:00-10:30 am: The McKenzies
• 11:00 am - 12:30 pm: Thom Moore

This Saturday's Serenade will feature The McKenzies, a folk and Americana duo with southern Appalachian influences, and Thom Moore showcasing his banjo skills with a variety of music.

Woody and Marcia McKenzie have been playing music together since they were married in 1983. They met in the White Mountains of Arizona, where they were introduced through their music. Long-time residents of the New River Valley (Virginia), they moved to Lynchburg in the fall of 1998, bringing with them their unique blend of contemporary and original folk, traditional music of southern Appalachia and the British Isles, children's music, funny songs, and even some swing and jazz standards.

Over the years this husband-wife duo has provided music for square dances and contra dances and has performed for weddings, coffeehouses, restaurants, schools, libraries, festivals, conferences, retirement homes, and private parties. Outside of Virginia, they have played for audiences in Arizona, Wyoming, North Carolina, Kentucky, West Virginia, and even Denmark!

The McKenzies' variety of musical styles and instrumentation, their strong individual and duet vocals, and their repertoire of lively tunes, unique original songs, familiar ballads, inspiring sing-alongs, and humorous novelty songs, all come together to create an energetic brand of entertainment that appeals to young and old alike. Former members of two clogging groups, they sometimes even incorporate a little "flat-footing" into their performances.

Links:

• http://www.mckenziemusic.com/home.html
• https://www.youtube.com/user/WoodyandMarcia/videos

Thom Moore began playing banjo in 2007 and wrote his own music as he learned his instrument. Thom was no stranger to performing, as he had been in music and theater all his life and had spent many years performing at Busch Gardens and other theater stages on the East Coast. Once he and his family moved to Southwest Virginia, Thom fell in love with the mountains and began writing music inspired by his travels from Roanoke to Bristol to Asheville. While he was on the road, Thom made frequent stops to write down his ideas and themes about what he saw along the way.

Thom once wrote a tune honoring his banjo hero, John Hartford, and recorded it on a clock radio cassette player. He sent the recording to Tony Ellis, a banjoer friend of Hartford. Thom had never heard Tony Ellis’s music before. He had seen the Ellis banjo book in Frett Mill Music in Roanoke and was struck by a picture of Ellis composing music for a Sam Shepherd play. Upon receiving the recording from Thom, Tony Ellis invited him to the farm at Braeburn, Ohio, and a musical friendship was forged. Tony listened to several of Thom’s tunes and encouraged him to record them; he even sent them off to his friend, Steve Martin. The result was “That Evening Sun,” an album of 16 original tunes by Thom Moore with banjo, violin, cello, mandolin, guitar, bouzouki and percussion. Alan Munde, a legendary banjo player, was asked by the Banjo Newsletter publication to interview Thom for the August 2012 issue, placing Thom’s photo on the cover.

Link: https://banjonews.com/2012-08/thom_moore_interview_by_alan_munde.html

Saturday Serenades will be happening on select Saturday mornings here at Brunch at the Merc. The events will feature two local music acts accompanied by wonderful breakfast and lunch food.

There is no cover for this event, but please bring some cash to tip these amazing musicians, if you see fit.

For more information, visit: http://www.DraperMerc.com or https://www.facebook.com/TheDraperVillage/ or call 540-994-5659.