Keepers of Appalachian Music Traditions Concert
Venue: Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
Organizations: Appalachian Roadshow, Jack Hinshelwood, Junior Sisk
Date: Thursday, November 20, 2025
Time: 7:00 - 9:00 PM
Event Types: Music
Cost:

Description:
The Montgomery Museum of Art and History presents Keepers of Appalachian Music Traditions concert on Thursday, November 20, 2025 at The Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.

Experience traditional Appalachian musical heritage and tradition with the Montgomery Museum’s concert!

With major award winning names like Appalachian Road Show, the Junior Sisk Band, and Jack Hinshelwood, this concert embraces the music of Southwest Virginia and the Appalachian region.

Appalachian Road Show is a visionary acoustic ensemble, bringing new-generation interpretations of traditional Americana, bluegrass and folk songs, as well as offering innovative original music, all presented with a common thread tied directly to the heart of the Appalachian regions of the United States.

Ready to share its authentic and fresh approach with the public, the band went into the studio in the summer of 2018 and recorded its debut album, Appalachian Road Show. The project landed three multi-week number one songs on Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay charts and garnered the band a New Artist of the Year nomination and Song of the Year nomination (“Dance Dance Dance”) at the 2019 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards.

Appalachian Road Show invites us to come and sit a spell on its porch as the band shares its dynamic musicianship through songs and stories emanating from the mountains and hollers of North Carolina and Virginia, to the coal mines of West Virginia and Kentucky.

Links:

• https://www.theappalachianroadshow.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/appalachianroadshow
• https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCq8yL5N7BltBX3ZxTAk2HNw
• https://www.instagram.com/appalachianroadshow/

Junior Sisk is widely recognized as one of today's top bluegrass vocalists, and a constant reminder that traditional bluegrass is still alive and well. A longtime resident of the Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains, his bluegrass pedigree runs deep. Influenced by a father who wrote songs and played guitar and a mother who sang, Sisk first learned to play around age 14. His early influences included The Stanley Brothers, Larry Sparks, and Dave Evans, but he often credits the Johnson Mountain Boys with inspiring him to pursue bluegrass professionally.

Sisk first made his mark in bluegrass as a songwriter in the early 1990s, penning classic Lonesome River Band songs like "Game (I Can't Win)" and "Tears Are Blinding Me." As a member of Wyatt Rice & Santa Cruz and Blueridge, he helped define the sound of driving, modern traditional bluegrass. In 1998, Sisk founded the Ramblers Choice band, and released "Sounds of the Mountains" on Rounder Records. After leaving Blueridge in 2006, he reformed Ramblers Choice and began a successful career on Rebel Records.

His 2011 album Heart of a Song helped bring the band into the spotlight and earned the prestigious IBMA Album of the Year Award in 2012. Its single "A Far Cry from Lester and Earl," which Sisk co-wrote, became a rallying cry for a resurgence of traditional sounds in bluegrass and additionally, received the 2012 Song of the Year Award from the IBMA. Sisk was further honored when he was named 2013 IBMA Male Vocalist of the Year, and his band earned the 2014 SPBGMA Bluegrass Band of the Year award. In 2016, "Longneck Blues," a collaboration with noted singer-songwriter Ronnie Bowman, was named Recorded Event of the Year by the IBMA. Most recently, Sisk received the 2017 Male Vocalist of the Year award from SPBGMA.

In 2015, Sisk signed with Mountain Fever Records and turned out hit after hit for them. His album, "Brand New Shade Of Blue" boasts the chart topping single "Whiskey and the Guitar."

Known for his unmistakable voice and hard-driving sound, Sisk has remained a consistent force in bluegrass, with his 2020 album Load the Wagon spending six months at #1 on national charts and drawing critical acclaim.

Sisk is now embracing a new chapter with his latest album, It’s All Fun and Games. Already producing two very successful singles, “Sweeter Than Tupelo Honey” and “Where Love Goes to Die,” this new project offers a fresh dose of high-octane bluegrass that proves tradition never goes out of style.

Links:

• https://juniorsisk.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/juniorsiskband
• https://www.instagram.com/junior.sisk/

Jack Hinshelwood is a singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist with more than 50 years of experience performing traditional bluegrass, old time, folk and Americana music. Known for his work on guitar, fiddle, and harmonica, his style draws from Appalachian roots while moving comfortably through bluegrass, blues, Celtic, and beyond.

He is a past winner of the Knoxville World’s Fair Guitar Championship, the Wayne Henderson Guitar Championship, and a two-time winner at the Galax Old Fiddler’s Convention. His recent projects include DOC AT 100, a touring program honoring the legacy of Doc Watson, which was nominated for Event of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association.

He was also the Executive Director of the Crooked Road and was a civil and environmental engineer for a number of years prior to that. He is also a member of the band the Celtibillies.

Tickets are $30.00 for general public, $15.00 for college students with ID and $10.00 for children under the age of 12.

To purchase tickets online, visit: https://tickets.artscenter.vt.edu/online/seatSelect.asp?createBO::WSmap=1&BOparam::WSmap::loadBestAvailable::performance_ids=F9903C76-5D8D-4764-9E69-DA546F10D28E or in person at the box office or by calling the box office at 540-231-5300.

The Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech is located at 330 Turner Street NW in Blacksburg, VA.

To view the event flyer, visit: https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/65dfacb716076826fe2b324b/e6337760-e441-4058-a20b-b118c84facc1/Keepers+of+Heritage+Tradition.jpg?format=1000w.

For more information, visit: https://www.montgomerymuseum.org/events-page/keepers-of-heritage-tradition or https://www.facebook.com/GetToKnowMMAH or https://www.facebook.com/events/2285880841857320 or https://www.instagram.com/montgomerymuseum.