2026 Radford Parks & Rec Music in the Park Concert Series Finale with American Roots
Venue: Bisset Park, Radford
Directions: Google Map Link
Organizations: American Roots, Radford Parks and Recreation Department
Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2026
Time: 7:00 - 8:00 PM
Event Types: Music
Cost: Free

Description:
The Radford Parks and Recreation Department concludes their 2026 Free Music in the Park Concert Series with the American Roots on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 at Bisset Park's Gazebo.

American Roots is a Blacksburg-based, father and son acoustic guitar and vocal harmony duo performing roots and Americana music penned between about 1900 and 1950. Fred and Jon Benfield took the name “American Roots” because it describes the music they have enjoyed performing together in the five-county area over the last 30 or so years.

The father and son guitar duo's musical influences are many and varied as are their shows which could be characterized as Americana Music: “Carter Family to Gershwin”. They are "Crooked Road Artists” interested in preserving the music of the southern Appalachians, but also enjoy performing tunes from other genres. Fred and Jon have spent most of their lives in and around the southern Appalachians and have developed an affection for the broad scope of music appreciated by folks in the region. Their performance may include traditional ballads, Appalachian blues, Piedmont blues, trad-country, trad-jazz, western swing, early country, tin-pan alley toe tappers, swing tunes, hot fiddle tunes (on guitar), and “folkgrass” (folk tunes played at bluegrass tempo).

They’ve performed at venues all around the region including the Floyd Country Store, Blacksburg’s Steppin’ Out festival and Shawsville's Beans and Banjos.

An retired ecology professor at Virginia Tech, Fred Benfield told a writer for Virginia Tech’s website, “My favorite part of performing is the communication that occurs between us during gigs. We’ve played together for so long that we just somehow know where the other is going on tunes without saying anything or even looking at each other.”

Admission is free and all are welcome.

We have plenty of room for you dancers to stomp your feet and clap your hands!

Bring a lawn chair and/or a blanket and enjoy a picnic at the park while listening to great entertainment.

Concerts will be at the Gazebo at Bisset Park and will begin at 7:00 PM and will end at 8:00 PM every Tuesday evening throughout July.

Free parking is available around the gazebo.

Concerts are weather permitting. Concerts are subject to cancel should storms approach near the scheduled start time.

For concert cancellations due to inclement weather, please contact the Rec Department at 540-731-5517 for the latest and updated information for weather related cancellations.

For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/RadfordParksandRecreation or call Lora Gordon at 540-731-5517 or email lora.gordon@radford.gov.

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