Eight Point Star and a new Fort Vause Fiddler

A trio-version of Eight Point Star will be the featured band at January’s Beans and Banjos. Promotions for the group’s eponymous album call them a “Cosmic-Appalachian string band.” That album (Yes it’s on vinyl, but you can stream it and download it, too.) is all original music. The CD the band produced as a companion to Blue Ridge Public Television’s documentary, The Story of the New River, is a mix of old-time standards and originals. You can see and hear a trio version of the band online on Blue Ridge PBS’s Project Southwest, too.

Eight Point Star features Mike Gangloff and Matt Peyton. They do most of the songwriting. Mike, who has a new solo album out, plays fiddle and banjo and an eight-string, Norwegian Hardanger-style fiddle. Matt plays guitar, dulcimer and sometimes theremin. Tim Thornton plays bass, dulcimer and sometimes guitar. Isak Howell, who plays banjo, guitar and harmonica, won’t be at this show. Versions of the band has toured from Carolina to Maryland and in Europe. Mike and Isak have toured and recorded extensively with the old-time string band The Black Twig Pickers – who also brought out a new album in 2021.

It’ll be a humdinger of a show.

This month’s version of Fort Vause will feature the band’s new fiddler, Aran Garnett-Deakin. Aran plays in the Virginia Tech Philharmonic Orchestra and won a ribbon last summer fiddling with the Hot House Cucumbers, the first-place old time band at this year’s Hoppin’ John Fiddler’s Convention. Aran will be backed up by Jeff Wilcke, a doctor of veterinary medicine and rhythm guitar who also plays mandolin; and Tim Thornton, who plays bass and sometimes guitar for the band and has recorded with the Black Twig Pickers and Eight Point Star.

In addition to all that music, the evening will feature beans and cornbread and dessert. Supper and music start at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 28, be in the Dr. George R. Smith Community Room inside Shawsville’s Meadowbrook Center. That’s at 267 Alleghany Spring Road in Shawsville.

As always, we operate on granny rules: no drinking, no smoking, no cussing, no spitting on the floor. Y’all come on out for supper. Stay to dance and sing along – or just sit there and pat your foot.

There’s no admission fee, but the LINC Letter hopes everybody who attends will chip in at least a $5 donation to help the LINC Letter keep publishing.

Y’all come!

Nancy Smith’s Gospel Music at Beans and Banjos

Nancy Smith

Nancy Smith will be the featured performer at October’s Beans and Banjos. For years, Nancy performed her gospel music once a month at Hale’s restaurant. Now she’s back and performing at Hale’s twice a month. She’s performed at churches and events throughout the area and into West Virginia. She’s also recorded a dozen or more CDs featuring gospel standards as well as her own compositions. Nancy and her band were featured performers at a Mountains of Music Homecoming event, a Crooked Road festival of the music and culture of Southwest Virginia.

Fort Vause will open the musical portion of the evening with bluegrass and bluegrass flavored blues, ballads, gospel songs, novelty tunes and show tunes.

Fort Vause features George Smith, who played banjo in the Appalachian Music Masters concert series and on recordings with Jack Hinshelwood and Buddy Pendleton; Jeff Wilcke, a doctor of veterinary medicine and rhythm guitar who also plays mandolin; and Tim Thornton, who plays bass for the band and has recorded with the Black Twig Pickers and Eight Point Star. (You may have heard Eight Point Star on the Blue Ridge PBS documentary The Story of the New River.)

In addition to all that music, the evening will feature beans and cornbread and dessert. Supper and music start at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22, at Shawsville’s Meadowbrook Community Center. That’s at 267 Alleghany Spring Road in Shawsville.

As always, we operate on granny rules: no drinking, no smoking, no cussing, no spitting on the floor. Y’all come on out for supper. Stay to dance or sing along – or just sit there and pat your foot. There’s no admission fee, but the LINC Letter hopes everybody who attends will chip in at least a $5 donation to help the LINC Letter keep publishing on paper and on line

Beans and Banjos and American Roots

The father-and-son son duo American Roots is the featured band at October’s Beans and Banjos.

September’s Beans and Banjos will feature the father-son duo American Roots. Fred and Jon Benfield play guitar and sing everything from The Carter Family to W.C. Handy to Hoagy Carmicheal. They’ve performed at venues all around the region, including the Floyd Country Store and Blacksburg’s Steppin’ Out festival. This will be their first appearance at Beans and Banjos. The Steppin’ Out online directory describes American Roots’ set list as “Appalachian ballads, blues, swing, early country and ‘folkgrass.’”

An 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.”

They’ve performed together for at least a quarter-century.

Fort Vause will open the musical portion of the evening.

Fort Vause features George Smith, who played banjo in the Appalachian Music Masters concert series and on recordings with Jack Hinshelwood and Buddy Pendleton; Jeff Wilcke, a doctor of veterinary medicine and rhythm guitar who also plays mandolin; and Tim Thornton, who plays bass for the band and has recorded with the Black Twig Pickers and Eight Point Star. (You may have heard Eight Point Star on the recent Blue Ridge PBS documentary The Story of the New River.)

In addition to all that music, the evening will feature beans and cornbread and dessert. Supper and music start at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 24, at Shawsville’s Meadowbrook Community Center. That’s at 267 Alleghany Spring Road in Shawsville.

As always, we operate on granny rules: no drinking, no smoking, no cussing, no spitting on the floor. Y’all come on out for supper. Stay to dance or sing along – or just sit there and pat your foot.

There’s no admission fee, but the LINC Letter hopes everybody who attends will chip in at least a $5 donation to help the LINC Letter keep publishing.

Y’all come!

American Roots at Beans & Banjos!

The father-and-son son duo American Roots is the featured band at October’s Beans and Banjos.

Beans and Banjos is back!

We’ll be getting together for Beans and Banjos on Saturday, April 30. The event will feature the father-son duo American Roots. Fred and Jon Benfield play guitar and sing everything from The Carter Family to W.C. Handy to Hoagy Carmicheal. They’ve performed at venues all around the region, including the Floyd Country Store and Blacksburg’s Steppin’ Out festival. This will be their first appearance at Beans and Banjos. The Steppin’ Out online directory describes American Roots’ set list as “Appalachian ballads, blues, swing, early country and ‘folkgrass.’”

An 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.”

They’ve performed together for at least a quarter-century.

Fort Vause will open the musical portion of the evening.

Fort Vause features George Smith, who played banjo in the Appalachian Music Masters concert series and on recordings with Jack Hinshelwood and Buddy Pendleton; Jeff Wilcke, a doctor of veterinary medicine and rhythm guitar who also plays mandolin; and Tim Thornton, who plays bass for the band and has recorded with the Black Twig Pickers and Eight Point Star. (You may have heard Eight Point Star on the recent Blue Ridge PBS documentary The Story of the New River.)

In addition to all that music, the evening will feature beans and cornbread and dessert. Supper and music start at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 30, at Shawsville’s Meadowbrook Community Center. That’s at 267 Alleghany Spring Road in Shawsville.

As always, we operate on granny rules: no drinking, no smoking, no cussing, no spitting on the floor. Y’all come on out for supper. Stay to dance or sing along – or just sit there and pat your foot.

There’s no admission fee, but the LINC Letter hopes everybody who attends will chip in at least a $5 donation to help the LINC Letter keep publishing.

Y’all come!

Eight Point Star at Beans and Banjos!

Eight Point Star will be the featured band at October’s Beans and Banjos. Promotions for the album released last summer call them a “Cosmic-Appalachian string band.” That album (Yes it’s on vinyl, but you can stream it and download it, too.) is all original music. The band’s CD that should be out before Beans and Banjos is a mix of old-time standards and originals produced as a soundtrack and companion to Blue Ridge Public Television’s new documentary, The Story of the New River, which airs this Thursday at 7 p.m.

Eight Point Star features Mike Gangloff and Matt Peyton. They do the songwriting. Mike plays fiddle and banjo and an eight-string, Norwegian Hardanger-style fiddle. Matt plays guitar, dulcimer and sometimes theremin. Isak Howell plays banjo, guitar and harmonica. Tim Thornton plays bass, dulcimer and sometimes guitar. This version of the band has toured from Carolina to Maryland but Mike and Matt have taken Eight Point Star’s music to Europe. Mike and Isak have toured and recorded extensively with the old-time string band The Black Twig Pickers – who also brought a new album out last summer.

It’ll be a humdinger of a show.

Fort Vause will open that show with bluegrass and bluegrass flavored blues, ballads, gospel, novelty tunes and show tunes.

Fort Vause features George Smith, who played banjo in the Appalachian Music Masters concert series and on recordings with Jack Hinshelwood and Buddy Pendleton; Jeff Wilcke, a professor emeritus and doctor of veterinary medicine and rhythm guitar who also plays mandolin; and virtuoso guitarist Steven Paul, who came to Fort Vause from a Gypsy jazz band and is front man for the electric alt-country band Electric Road. Tim Thornton plays bass and sometimes other things. Everybody sings, sometimes all at once.

Along with the music, we’ll have beans, cornbread and desserts – dinner and a show Shawsville style.

This is the last Beans and Banjos until January, so you don’t want to miss it. Supper and music begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, October 23. If covid conditions allow, the event will be in the Dr. George R. Smith Community Center inside Shawsville’s Meadowbrook Center. If the weather’s warm enough, it will be in the courtyard just outside the community center. Either way, the address is 267 Alleghany Spring Road, at the corner of Alleghany Spring and U.S. 460.

This Evening of Beans and Banjos raises money for the LINC Letter and its webpage, lincletter.com. We hope each person who comes will donate $5 or more.

As always, Beans and Banjos operates by granny rules: No drinking; no smoking; no cussing; no spitting on the floor.

Y’all come on out for supper. Stay to dance or sing along – or just sit there and pat your foot.

https://vhfrecords.bandcamp.com/album/eight-point-star

https://www.blueridgepbs.org/local-productions/documentaries/new-river/

Beans and Banjos and the Lunch Truck

Johnny Cake and the Lunch Truck

Johnny Cake and the Lunch Truck are coming back to Beans and Banjos! The group’s Facebook page describes Johnny Cake and the Lunch Truck as a “newgrass/bluegrass band that draws musical inspiration from jazz, rock, country, blues and more. It is all good.”

Johnny Cake and the Lunch Truck plays classics such as Blackberry Blossom and Red Haired Boy, bluegrass standards such as White Freightliner, and jazzier numbers including Sweet Georgia Brown. They do it with guitars, banjos, bass and a percussion section that includes bodhran (that Celtic drum  you’ll often see in Irish sessions).

You may have heard the band at the Palisades, at Rising Silo, or at the Fatback Soul Shack. You can hear more of their music on Facebook and on YouTube.

This is how the band’s Facebook page describes Johnny Cake and the Lunch Truck’s origin story:

“Bud, Jeff, Aaron, Beth, Tom, Jeff and Anthony each hungered for a band that would both pay homage to tradition and to interpret that tradition in new ways that were respectful of the past with an eye to the future. One day they somehow all ended up in line together at the lunch truck. The rest is history.
“Each member comes to the band from a different musical genre – rock, blues, funk, folk, bluegrass and more come together along with years of experience drawn from playing in bands in all genres. Just like soup, or chili – when you add in all those tasty ingredients, you end up with something much more than a sum of its parts. Johnny Cake & the Lunch Truck satisfies.”

Fort Vause will open the show with bluegrass and bluegrass flavored blues, ballads, gospel, novelty and show tunes.

Fort Vause features George Smith, who played banjo in the Appalachian Music Masters concert series and on recordings with Jack Hinshelwood and Buddy Pendleton; Jeff Wilcke, a doctor of veterinary medicine and rhythm guitar who also plays mandolin; and the newest member of the band, virtuoso guitarist Steven Paul, who came to Fort Vause from a Gypsy jazz band and is front man for the electric alt-country band Electric Road. Tim Thornton, who slipped onto a Black Twig Pickers recording once, plays bass and sometimes other things. Everybody sings, sometimes all at once.

Along with the music, we’ll have beans, cornbread and desserts – dinner and a show Shawsville style.

Supper and music begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 22, in the Dr. George R. Smith Community Center inside Shawsville’s Meadowbrook Center. It’s at 267 Alleghany Spring Road, at the corner of Alleghany Spring and U.S. 460.

This Evening of Beans and Banjos raises money for the LINC Letter and its LINC webpage. We hope each person who comes will donate $5 or more.

It’s the first Saturday after Valentine’s Day, so it’s a good time to show your Valentine you don’t need a holiday to have a good time.

As always, Beans and Banjos operates by granny rules: No drinking; no smoking; no cussing; no spitting on the floor. Y’all come on out for supper. Stay to dance or sing along – or just sit there and pat your foot.

Johnny Cake and the Lunch Truck plays February’s Beans and Banjos.

Indian Run Stringband at Beans and Banjos

 

The Indian Run String Band.

The Indian Run Stringband, a fixture at square dances and other events around the New River Valley, will make its first Beans and Banjos appearance in January. Fiddler Paul Herling and banjoist Ginger Wagner are the heart of the band. Herling began playing fiddle during the old-time revival of the ’70s, and learned firsthand from masters including Tommy Jarrell, Albert Hash and Marion Sumner. He has performed for many years at festivals, dances, schools and concerts and has won a pile of awards. Ginger took up clawhammer banjo in the late ’70s, learning from traditional players including Dwight Diller and Mac Traynham, and has played at many dances and festivals. She performed for several years with the Blacksburg Hoorah Cloogers and is an experienced dance caller.

In 2010, the band started out as Ginger’s simple idea: she loved Paul’s fiddling and wanted everyone in the world to enjoy it, too. First they drew bass player Kristie Dorfler into the fold, then added guitar player Mark Barbour. Dorfler grew up playing in classical symphonies and quartets beginning at 11 years old. Barbour has been playing in old-time bands for more than 30 years. His guitar style has been greatly influenced by Riley Puckett of the Skillet Lickers and Roy Harvey (Charlie Poole’s guitar player). That’s the usual line-up, but other local players also fill in the rhythm section from time to time.

The reviews have been good. Kinney Rorrer the long-time host of Back to the Blue Ridge on WVTF, said, “The Indian Run Stringband brings a fresh new sound to old-time music. It is a sound that is both exciting and fun. It will move both your foot and your soul. They play a variety of styles which is one of the strong points of old-time music. Each musician is talented in their own right and they blend that talent to produce a superb sound. I highly recommend them.

Fiddler and writer Ralph Berrier said, “Indian Run Stringband plays old-time music the way it ought to be played – as a living, breathing art form that is still as vibrant and relevant in the 21st century as it was a century ago. Indian Run doesn’t play music meant for museum preservation, this four-piece band from Blacksburg, Va., plays old-time in new ways. They sing and swing, fiddle and flatfoot, harmonize and howl. … From dance tunes to the blues, the Indian Run Stringband plays with love and abandon. They make old-time music fresh and new.”

Fort Vause will open the musical portion of the evening.

Fort Vause features George Smith, who played banjo in the Appalachian Music Masters concert series and on recordings with Jack Hinshelwood and Buddy Pendleton; Jeff Wilcke, a doctor of veterinary medicine and rhythm guitar who also plays mandolin; Tim Thornton, who slipped onto a Black Twig Pickers album once, plays bass; and the newest member of the band, virtuoso guitarist Steven Paul. When Paul’s not playing with Fort Vause, he leads an eclectic electric country-ish trio called Electric Road.

In addition to all that music, the evening will feature beans and cornbread and dessert. We’ll also have LINC Letter cookbooks and The Best of Beans and Banjos, vol. 1 CDs you can take home for a small price. Supper and music start at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 25, at Shawsville’s Meadowbrook Community Center. That’s at 267 Alleghany Spring Road in Shawsville.

As always, we operate on granny rules: no drinking, no smoking, no cussing, no spitting on the floor. Y’all come on out for supper. Stay to dance or sing along – or just sit there and pat your foot.

There’s no admission fee, but the LINC Letter hopes everybody who attends will chip in at least a $5 donation to help the LINC Letter keep publishing on paper and on line.

 

New River Bound at Beans and Banjos

New River Bound is bound for Beans and Banjos.

Beans and Banjos welcomes a new band in September, New River Bound. They’re new to Beans and Banjos, but certainly not new to old time music. They won ribbons at the Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax seven years in a row now. (That’s the big deal granddaddy of fiddlers’ conventions.) The folks in New River Bound describe themselves as “an award-winning string band playing old-time fiddle tunes with a modern twist.”

The band’s Facebook page declares, “An old-time string band playing traditional tunes and songs alongside originals, New River Bound brings a fresh feel and fine spirit to the music of the Appalachian mountains. … Band members Greg Honeycutt on bass, Caleb McAllister on fiddle, Brian Muller on guitar and Jessica Muller on banjo bring together a variety of musical interests and backgrounds including bluegrass, rock, jazz and classical with a shared love of traditional Appalachian music to create a rich texture and interpretation for old-time tunes and songs.”

They’re good.

Fort Vause will open the show with bluegrass and bluegrass flavored blues, ballads, gospel, novelty and show tunes.

Fort Vause features George Smith, who played banjo in the Appalachian Music Masters concert series and on recordings with Jack Hinshelwood and Buddy Pendleton; Jeff Wilcke, a doctor of veterinary medicine and rhythm guitar who also plays mandolin; and the newest member of the band, virtuoso guitarist Steven Paul, who came to Fort Vause from a Gypsy jazz band and is front man for the electric alt-country band Electric Road. Tim Thornton plays bass. Everybody sings, sometimes all at once.

Along with the music, we’ll have beans, cornbread and desserts – dinner and a show Shawsville style.

Supper and music begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28, in the Dr. George R. Smith Community Center inside Shawsville’s Meadowbrook Center. It’s at 267 Alleghany Spring Road, at the corner of Alleghany Spring and U.S. 460.

This Evening of Beans and Banjos raises money for the LINC Letter and its LINC webpage. We hope each person who comes will donate $5 or more.

As always, Beans and Banjos operates by granny rules: No drinking; no smoking; no cussing; no spitting on the floor.

Y’all come on out for supper. Stay to dance or sing along – or just sit there and pat your foot.

 

Beans and Banjos and a Hall of Famer

 

John and Kathie Hollandsworth play and sing and teach traditional music.

Beans and Banjos and a Hall of Famer

John and Kathie Hollandsworth will be the featured musicians at April’s Beans and Banjos. John and Kathie are natives of Christiansburg and have been performing and teaching for more than 30 years, with a repertoire that includes traditional Appalachian music and many related styles. John developed his own autoharp playing style from childhood, when he became familiar with traditional music by playing stringed instruments with relatives and friends in the area. He has become sought after as a workshop leader and classroom teacher of autoharp style and repertoire across the U.S. and beyond. An autoharp builder as well as an outstanding autoharp player, John is the only autoharp player ever named the Best All Around Performer at the Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax – and he’s won the title three times. He’s also in the Autoharp Hall of Fame.

Kathie sings and plays hammered dulcimer and upright bass, and she has led workshops on those instruments and on traditional song. Together, John and Kathie truly enjoy sharing their Appalachian musical heritage with a wide variety of concert and festival audiences. This will be their first appearance at Beans and Banjos. You can hear and see them performing here and here.

Fort Vause will open the show with bluegrass and bluegrass flavored blues, ballads, gospel, novelty and show tunes.

Fort Vause features George Smith, who played banjo in the Appalachian Music Masters concert series and on recordings with Jack Hinshelwood and Buddy Pendleton; Jeff Wilcke, a doctor of veterinary medicine and rhythm guitar who also plays mandolin; and the newest member of the band, virtuoso guitarist Steven Paul, who came to Fort Vause from a Gypsy jazz band and is front man for the electric alt-country band Electric Road. Tim Thornton, who slipped onto a Black Twig Pickers recording once, plays bass and sometimes other things. Everybody sings, sometimes all at once.

Along with the music, we’ll have beans, cornbread and desserts – dinner and a show Shawsville style.

This is the last Beans and Banjos until September, so you don’t want to miss it. We’ll have copies of our CD, Best of Beans and Banjos Vol. 1 on hand, so you can take some Beans and Banjos home to tide you over the summer.

Supper and music begin at 6 p.m. on Saturday, April 27, in the Dr. George R. Smith Community Center inside Shawsville’s Meadowbrook Center, 267 Alleghany Spring Road, at the corner of Alleghany Spring and U.S. 460.

This Evening of Beans and Banjos raises money for the LINC Letter and its webpage, lincletter.com. We hope each person who comes will donate $5 or more.

As always, Beans and Banjos operates by granny rules: No drinking; no smoking; no cussing; no spitting on the floor.

Y’all come on out for supper. Stay to dance or sing along – or just sit there and pat your foot.

 

 

Beans and Banjos and a Guest Fiddler

 

Muddy River plays bluegrass gospel at March’s Beans and Banjos.

Muddy River, a gospel bluegrass group that got together at Sowders Chapel, will be the featured band at the March edition of Beans and Banjos.

Muddy River is Marvin Graham on mandolin and guitar, Jared Belcher on lead guitar, Ben Hall on bass and Jerry Surface playing guitar and doing the lead singing. George Smith joins in on banjo.

Fort Vause will open the evening with bluegrass and bluegrass flavored blues, ballads, gospel songs, novelty tunes and show tunes. Fort Vause features George Smith, who played banjo in the Appalachian Music Masters concert series and on recordings with Jack Hinshelwood and Buddy Pendleton and  Jeff Wilcke, a doctor of veterinary medicine and rhythm guitar who also plays mandolin. This edition of Fort Vause features guest fiddler Ralph Berrier. Berrier fiddles and sings with the Java Brothers. He’s also the author of If Trouble don’t Kill Me, the story of his grandfather and great uncle, Clayton and Saford Hall.

In addition to all that music, the evening will feature beans and cornbread and dessert. Supper and music start at 6 p.m. on Saturday, March 23  at Shawsville’s Meadowbrook Community Center. That’s at 267 Alleghany Spring Road in Shawsville.

This Evening of Beans and Banjos raises money for the LINC Letter and its webpage, lincletter.com. We hope each person who comes will donate $5 or more. We’ll also have copies of the CD The Best of Beans and Banjos Vol. 1 for sale.

As always, Beans and Banjos operates on granny rules: no drinking; no smoking; no cussing; no spitting on the floor. Y’all come on out for supper. Stay to dance or sing along – or just sit there and pat your foot.

Ralph Berrier can make music and write about it, too!