Barry Abernathy was a founding member of the vocal and instrumental powerhouse band, Mountain Heart. The group or its members have won or been nominated for multiple Grammys, ACM, CMA, and IBMA Awards. Abernathy is also known for his contributions to both Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and IIIrd Tyme Out. The most unlikely thing about Barry’s story is his having been born with just a thumb and part of an index finger on his left hand. Still, in addition to his truly great voice, Abernathy plays a blistering banjo. Because of his hand, he approaches the fingerboard from the top and does the fretting with his thumb and the end of his single-knuckled index finger. The Georgia-born Abernathy was named Banjo Player of the Year in 1997 by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA).

Darrell Webb is a Grammy nominated session musician as well as an International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and SPBGMA award winner. The mandolin master with the soaring tenor previously headed up his own eponymous band and prior to that, worked with some of the top acts in acoustic music, Lonesome River Band, J.D. Crowe & The New South, Rhonda Vincent & The Rage, was a founding member of the band Wildfire, and Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper and has appeared on two different albums with Female Country Icon, Dolly Parton. When you see or hear Darrell Webb perform you’ll know why he’s such a big part of the signature sound of Appalachian Roadshow.

With Appalachian Road Show, Abernathy, Webb and their talented all-star cast, including grammy nominated fiddle beast, Jim VanCleve, and legendary bass player, Todd Phillips (Bluegrass Album Band/ David Grisman Quintet/ Tony Rice Unit)  seek to honor the music, traditions and history of the great Appalachian people and region. Additionally, the group takes influences from other sources and applies that Appalachian style, as they’ve done with their top-charting radio single, a grassy version of the Steve Miller Band’s “Dance, Dance, Dance.” Which is currently the number 1 song in The Nation.

The Columbia County Ballet celebrates 35 years!

October 12   Imperial Theatre

Etudes           The Royal Danish Ballet’s Masterpiece of Classical Ballet

Baroque Garden     To the exquisite music of Domenico Zipoli.

Stardust        A sublime duet danced to the sounds of the Big Band era.

SJHHDA         Stevo Jones Hip Hop Dance Academy debuts!

The Queen’s Cartoonists play music from classic cartoons and contemporary animation. The performances are synchronized to video projections of the original films, and the band leads the audience through a world of virtuosic musicianship, multi-instrumental mayhem, and comedy. 

Behind the project is a single question is it possible to create jazz and classical music in the 21st century that appeals to everyone? Even people who normally wouldn’t go to concerts? The Queen’s Cartoonists present a concert for everybody - regardless of age, gender, or familiarity with the concert hall. 

Tying this diverse concert together are comedic anecdotes involving the cartoons and their composers. The band is on a musical mission of equal parts performance, preservation, and education. Expect the unexpected from repertoire that includes the Golden Age of animation, cult cartoon classics, modern animation, and elements of a musical circus! 

Since their inception in 2015, The Queen’s Cartoonists have brought their unique sound to performing arts centers in over 20 states and have opened for the New York Philharmonic. The 6 members, all currently living in Queens, New York, are world-class professional musicians. The band has been featured in numerous major publications, including The Wall Street Journal, The Chicago Tribune, Mashable, and on NPR.

The film depicts the final years of Sir Thomas More, the 16th-century Lord Chancellor of England who refused to sign a letter asking Pope Clement VII to annul King Henry VIII of England's marriage to Catherine of Aragon and refused to take an Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry VIII Supreme Head of the Church of England. Paul Scofield, who had played More in the West End stage premiere, also took the role in the film, starring alongside Wendy Hiller, Robert Shaw, Orson Welles and Susannah York. Also appearing are Nigel Davenport, Leo McKern, Corin Redgrave and, in one of his earliest screen roles, John Hurt.

Tickets will not be mailed. If will call is selected you can pick them up at the box office Tuesday-Friday 10am- 4pm.

The event is free, but a ticket is needed for entry. 

Highly esteemed bluegrass band Blue Highway has earned a collective 28 IBMA Awards, 6 SPBGMA Awards, one Dove Award, plus three Grammy nominations as a band.  As momentum continues to build for the 25 year strong powerhouse band (2019 is their 25th year touring, with 4 of the original members), Blue Highway is rolling on with a rich legacy, carried on by three powerhouse songwriters and vocalists in Tim Stafford, Wayne Taylor, and Shawn Lane, whose harmonies soar over the dynamic banjo of Jason Burleson and the tasteful dobro of Gary Hultman.

·         Blue Highway's 2016 album "Original Traditional"  was nominated for a 2017 GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album.

·         Blue Highway was voted the Favorite Bluegrass Artist of All Time by the readers of Bluegrass Today in April 2016.

·         Wayne Taylor was a 2016 Inductee into the Virginia Country Music Hall of Fame, alongside legends like Patsy Cline, the Statler Brothers,  Jimmy Dean, Mother Maybelle Carter, and Roy Clark.  

·         Tim Stafford received honors as 2015 SPBGMA Guitar Player of the Year and 2014 and 2017 IBMA Songwriter of the Year.  Shawn Lane was nominated as 2015 IBMA Songwriter of the Year, while past member Justin Moses was named IBMA’s Dobro Player of the year in 2017.

·         Blue Highway charted the Most Radio Airplay of any Bluegrass Artist in 2014, per the 2014 Bluegrass Radio Airplay Chart, storming national airplay charts with their heralded album The Game. 

·         The Game  topped multiple charts at #1 including reigning at #1 for 7 consecutive months on the Bluegrass Unlimited Album Chart, and was named the # 1 Bluegrass Album of the Year by critic Daniel Mullins in his end of the year Top 20 Albums of 2014 list in Bluegrass Today. 

·         The 2012 IBMA Vocal Group of the Year also sent the title track of The Game  to #1 on multiple charts including Bluegrass Todayand Roots Music Report, as well as holding at #1 for three consecutive months on the national Bluegrass Unlimited Song Chart (Aug-Oct 2014). 

Blue Highway has been praised by peers, fans, and media alike, with one of the most powerful descriptions of the Bluegrass super group being shared by Country Standard Time: 

“Wayne Taylor sings with the emotion of a man who escaped the coal mines and ain't planning on going back. Tim Stafford continues to craft songs with depth .. The instrumentation is perfect. From the get go, Jason Burleson opens with the unique style that defines Blue Highway banjo..  Shawn Lane exemplifies modern mandolin, yet nods to the Monroe legacy. Three lead singers.. rich harmony .. songs of forgotten homeless veterans, fallen heroes, and heartbroken families. Blue Highway personifies modern acoustic music with respect for tradition. Highly recommended, highly respected." 

SELDOM SCENE

Biography

What does it take for a bluegrass band to remain popular for more than four decades? For The Seldom Scene, it’s taken not only talented musicians, a signature sound, and a solid repertoire, but also a sheer sense of fun. On April 22, the longtime pillars of the bluegrass world returned with the aptly titled ‘Long Time… Seldom Scene,’ via Smithsonian Folkways. The newly recorded collection features fresh interpretations of 16 oft-requested tunes and is the band’s first studio album since the GRAMMY-nominated album Scenechronized in 2007. It’s a family reunion in all the best ways, featuring the current — and longest-running — lineup, joined by founding members Tom Gray and John Starling and guests Chris Eldridge, Emmylou Harris, and Rickie Simpkins.

‘Long Time’ is The Seldom Scene’s first-ever release with Smithsonian Folkways, and captures the identity and playfulness that have endeared the group to audiences around the world for so long. “Hickory Wind” is a homesick ballad that features the vocals of longtime friend of the Scene, Emmylou Harris, who originally recorded the song on her ‘Blue Kentucky Girl’ album in 1980. Fan-favorite “Wait a Minute” is a fresh take of a song originally recorded for 1974’s Old Train album and includes founding member John Starling (vocals) and guests Rickie Simpkins (fiddle) and Chris Eldridge (guitar), son of founding member Ben Eldridge (banjo). The album was produced by three-time GRAMMY award-winning Smithsonian Folkways Sound Production Supervisor Pete Reiniger.

Listen to a two-song sneak preview of ‘Long Time… Seldom Scene’ here.

Watch video of “Through the Bottom of the Glass” here.

Over 40 years since they began playing together at weekly jam sessions in Ben Eldridge’s Bethesda, Maryland basement, The Seldom Scene have become one of the single greatest contributors to the progression of bluegrass while setting a new standard and attracting new audiences to the genre.  Their legendary weekly DC-area residencies included bluegrass versions of country music, rock, and even classical pop. The band's popularity soon forced them to play more than once a week—but they continued to maintain their image as being seldom seen, and on several of their early album covers were photographed with the stage lights on only their feet, or with their backs to the camera. The Seldom Scene have performed at the White House many times, and continue to tour year-round.

The Seldom Scene are Lou Reid (mandolin/vocals), Dudley Connell (guitar/vocals), Ronnie Simpkins (bass/vocals) Fred Travers (dobro/vocals) and Ron Stewart (banjo, fiddle).  The last founding member, Ben Eldridge, retired in July of 2016 at a lovely retrospective of his career staged at the band's home club, The Birchmere, surrounded by family and friends.

The Seldom Scene dedicates this album to the memory of founding members John Duffey (1934–1996) and Mike Auldridge (1938–2012).

The holiday season brings to mind family, friends and...The Nutcracker! Come and experience the same magic and grandeur that Ron Colton brought to Augusta in 1971. Your entire family will enjoy this classic holiday tale that has become a tradition in the CSRA. Join us as Colton Ballet Company of Augusta brings this holiday favorite to life during the 2019 Thanksgiving Weekend!

Discounts for children are only available for 1pm performances. Senior, Military and Group (10+) rates are available for all shows.  All Discounts are only available for Orchestra and Mezzanine Sections.

VIP Experience Package to include:

• Early access for VIP holders (1) one hour before doors
• Casual Meet & Greet with John in the theatre or space mutually agreed upon
• Questions and answer session with John and fans
• 2-3 acoustic songs performed by John
• VIP Experience collectible souvenir laminate
• Autograph opportunity with John
• Photo opportunity with John

Cost: $25 (this is an additional ticket and not combined with show ticket)

Length of event: 1 hour

John Berry has a new outlook, a new address and a new beginning.  The singer-songwriter rose to stardom on the country charts of the 1990s with such mega hits as Your Love Amazes Me, Standing on the Edge of Goodbye and She’s Taken a Shine. His annual Christmas tours brighten the holidays for thousands, as does his electrifying rendition of O’ Holy Night.

During his star-making decade, John placed 20 singles on the county charts, 6 of which went Top 5, with Your Love Amazes Me, scoring a #1 on the Billboard and Radio & Records Country Chart as well as Standing on the Edge of Goodbye and She’s Taken a Shine earning the #1 slot in Radio & Records . He has earned multiple Gold and Platinum records over the years. John was nominated for the ACM Top New Male Vocalist in 1994, won a Grammy Award in 1996 for his participation in Amazing Grace: A Country Salute to Gospel Vol. 1, was nominated for another Grammy in 1995 for his smash hit Your Love Amazes Me and was nominated for the CMA Horizon Award and Top Male Vocalist Award in 1995. In 1997 he was nominated for Vocal Event of the Year (for Long Haired Country Boy with Charlie Daniels and Hal Ketchum) and in 2013 John was nominated for the Mainstream Country Male Artist by the ICM Awards. And thanks to the miracles of modern technology, he even sang a duet with the late, great Patsy Cline.

“I love what I do, with a passion not seen in quite some time. I’m hopeful and excited about the future. I love singing and always will. I have a bus, an incredible stage presentation, a great band, hands-on management team and I’m always all dressed up and ready to go.”

He and his family moved back to Music City after several years in Georgia, and in 2017 John is pursuing a touring and personal appearance schedule that is more active than ever. Given his wide range of music and number of releases, John is fortunate in that he can book a solo show with just himself and guitar, a small-band acoustic show or a full-band engagement and has more than enough hit material to captivate a crowd and deliver an evening full of musical memories.

John’s enduringly powerful performances draw on a lifetime of making music and living life.  Born in South Carolina and raised in Georgia, he began playing guitar at 13, performing shows at age 14 and making records at age 19.  “By the time I was 17, I knew that music was what I wanted to do with my life”; and he has done it well ever since.

Between 1979 and 1990 he recorded and marketed six albums on his own labels. The Graduation Song, which he wrote during his senior year in high school, became a perennial favorite at graduation ceremonies. It appeared on two of his early collections.

Those early discs and John’s strong regional popularity attracted attention on Music Row. Capitol Records signed him to his first major label contract in 1992. Berry’s co-written hits A Mind of Her Own and Kiss Me in the Car introduced him to radio audiences in 1993. Then Your Love Amazes Me, What’s in it for Me and You and Only You thrust him to stardom in 1994. Standing on the Edge of Goodbye, I Think About it all the Time, and If I Had Any Pride Left at All were all major hits the following year, with Standing on the Edge of Goodbye earning John the coveted 1995 Grammy nomination.

But it was his stunning performance of the title track of the 1995 CD O’ Holy Night that led to his most enduring legacy to date. John began doing special Christmas tours that year and 2016 marks his 20th anniversary holiday concert tour. He has big plans to celebrate and involve the fans like never before for this anniversary celebration. He has also issued three more Christmas-music collections.  If O’ Holy Night is all that anyone remembers of me, that’s fine with me,” he comments about his perennial Christmas popularity. “It is a truly inspired piece of music.”

Happily, there were more successes to come. The hit Change My Mind earned John a Top-5 spot on the Country music charts in 1996. She’s Taken a Shine became an even bigger hit in 1997.  Both fans and the media took note again when There He Goes was released as a 1999 duet with Patsy Cline.

In 2002, Berry returned to making records for his own company, Clear Sky Records. Songs and Stories, a double CD was issued that year.

In 2003, John Berry released his I Give My Heart collection and its critically applauded wedding anthem Will You Marry Me. The disc also contained his versions of such classic love songs as Time in a Bottle, If, Love Look What You’ve Done to Me, Faithfully, Lady and Let’s Stay Together. I Give My Heart inspired still another popular concert series, The Love Tour.

In 2008, Those Were the Days, was released, marking John’s return to mainstream country music. He created his first Christian-music CD in 2011. In 2012, John published the combination book and CD, again titled Songs and Stories. Over the years he has continued to tour steadily.  “We just have a great group of fans who welcome us every year.  They are always there.”

In late 2015 John launched a crowd funded Kickstarter project that proved very successful. Overwhelmed by the fan response, John assembled an all-star studio team and cut both a Country album entitled What I Love the Most and a new album simply titled Christmas and released both in late 2016.  Blessed with the ability to make the music he wanted to make (and not what a label dictated) allowed John the time to write and create what many music critics who have heard bits & pieces are saying could be his best, most complete project yet.    “I'm excited to have been able to release this new music and bring it to the fans through a new distribution agreement with Sony RED. It’s a new time in the music business and technology allows me to be closer to my fans and interact in new ways.  You know, God just keeps blessing me. There are new opportunities coming at every turn.”

“With time, I’ve learned that the road to fulfillment is doing what I was called to do, love to do, and then doing it the best I can, regardless of the circumstances.  And for me, that is making music and singing for people."

2017 found John touring in several configurations (acoustic solo, acoustic trio and full band) culminating in the year-ending legendary Christmas Tour, marking its 21^st year this year.

Also, in August of 2017 John launched a new, weekly internationally syndicated television show entitled Songs and Stories with John Berry that explored the songs and stories that changed the lives of his weekly guest. Superstar guests in Season 1 of the show include Billy Ray Cyrus, Billy Dean, Mo Pitney, Neal McCoy, Suzy Bogguss, Collin Raye, Craig Morgan, Mark Wills, Delbert McClinton, Clay Walker and Lee Roy Parnell. He followed up a successful Season 1 with Season 2 that showcased artists like Steve Dorff, Mac McAnally, Bryan White, John Schneider, Radney Foster, Terri Clark, Tracy Lawrence, Darryl Worley, Pam Tillis, Rhonda Vincent, newcomers Sean Berry, Preston James and Blane Howard and closing out the season with the legendary group, Exile.

Songs and Stories with John Berry airs multiple times weekly to over 105 million homes across the United States as well as the UK and New Zealand on great networks like Heartland Television, The Family Channel, The Country Channel, Phil Mack’s Keep it Country (UK), Country TV (New Zealand) and Ride TV.

Along with Season 2 of Songs and Stories with John Berry, 2018 saw John celebrating his 25^th anniversary since signing his major label deal, touring the country, being recognized by the State of Georgia with a proclamation naming a day in his honor, receiving the key to the city in his old hometown of Athens, Georgia after a sold out return show there (celebration his first show in an Athen’s club in 25 years), being featured in the critically acclaimed major motion picture “Beautifully Broken” by singing the title cut, which saw him notch his first Top 30 Country in hit in 22 years,  releasing a new recording project which contains several songs John co-wrote that celebrates his life, entitles “Thomas Road” and ended with his celebrated Christmas tour, the 22^nd annual tour.

2019 proves to be another milestone year with more new projects and a few surprises along the way.

Stay tuned to all of his activities at www.johnberry.com or www.songandstories.com

Two households, both alike in dignity,

In fair Verona, where we lay our scene,

From ancient grudge break to new mutiny,

Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.

From forth the fatal loins of these two foes

A pair of star-cross’s lovers take their life;

Whose misadventure piteous overthrows

Do with their death bury their parents’ strife.

W. Shakespeare

About Balsam Range
The 2018 International Bluegrass Music Association’s Entertainer of the Year, Balsam Range, has become one of the genre’s most award-winning acts. Since forming in 2007, the group has garnered 13 IBMA awards on the heels of 9 critically-acclaimed albums. Balsam Range has left audiences spellbound while headlining major festivals from coast-to-coast, selling out venues across the nation and in multiple appearances at the Grand Ole Opry. The band's latest album, Aeonic, debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart, and features the #1 radio song, "The Girl Who Invented The Wheel." Prior to the release of Aeonic, the band collaborated with the Atlanta Pops Orchestra Ensemble to record 2 albums, the second of which, Mountain Overture, debuted on the Billboard Bluegrass Chart at #5 and the Classical Crossover Chart at #6. Their previous outing, Mountain Voodoo, debuted at #4 on the Billboard Bluegrass Albums Chart and remained on that chart for 45 weeks. Three singles from that album reached #1 on the Bluegrass Today Chart, including “Blue Collar Dreams,” which spent three consecutive months at the top. Mountain Voodoo also was named IBMA Album of the Year in 2017. In addition to winning Entertainer of the Year in 2018, Balsam Range vocalist Buddy Melton won IBMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year for the second time and bass player Tim Surrett won IBMA’s Bass Player of the Year for the second time.

The Cleverlys are a one-of-a-kind comedy/music blend coming from the remote part of the Ozark Mountains, near Cane Spur, Arkansas.

Digger Cleverly, along with his nephews Ricky Lloyd, Sock, DVD and Cub, make up The Cleverlys. They have traveled the globe, if the globe only consisted of the United States, performing at music venues and some of the nation’s largest festivals like Stagecoach, Telluride, CMA Music Fest and even the Grand Ole Opry.

The New York Times wrote, "If Earl Scruggs, Dolly Parton, and Spinal Tap spawned a litter of puppies, it would be the Cleverlys.”

Don’t be fooled by this faux-family band – they are all accomplished musicians putting their unique bluegrass spin on cover songs from any genre. The Cleverlys’ set list includes genius arrangements of tunes like Psy’s “Gangnam Style,” a medley of Blackstreet’s “No Diggity,” and Flo Rida’s “Low” that recently went viral on Facebook, with over 11 million views from a local TV appearance.

Rolling Stone Magazine says Digger’s “out-of-date eyeglasses are as thick as his hillbilly accent, but whose comic sensibilities are a hilariously off-kilter hybrid of Homer & Jethro and The Office.”

A firecracker of talent that powers one of the hottest shows in any genre of music! 

World Class Musicians, and an Award Winning Voice seamlessly set the stage for a breath-taking, one-of-a-kind, must-see performance; that reaches beyond the boundaries of bluegrass music! 

Written words can give you but a glimpse of the artist known as The Queen of Bluegrass, as deemed by the Wall Street Journal. But it’s only when you see this artist, that you can feel the energy and experience the excitement of her music, to truly know why she and her amazing band are the “Most Award Winning Band in Bluegrass Music History, with over 100 awards!” 

Breaking a stereotypical image, Rhonda Vincent takes the stage in designer gowns, stiletto heels, in a take-charge manner, far from the type set that Hollywood has portrayed as the image of acoustic music. 

“We’re changing the landscape of our music in many aspects; to show we are sophisticated, educated, and hold a deep respect for the tradition of our music, keeping the roots embedded within the perimeters of our songs, to create a balance of tradition mixed with a contemporary flare, and present our own unique brand of music,” Rhonda explains.

“We want our listeners to hear with their hearts,” says Rhonda. “Music is a business, but I hope we don’t let it show that much,” she continues, “The business part is a necessity; but most of all it’s the love of the music, that keeps us doing what we do!” 

Rhonda Vincent makes having a successful career look easy. Behind the scenes, she’s a savvy businesswoman with a tireless work ethic. At center stage, she makes a magical transformation to wow her audiences, with a fresh cover girl face, and complimentary curves; all while showing off her chops as the genre’s finest vocalist, and playing break-neck riffs on the mandolin.

The Voice of Rhonda Vincent is the centerpiece, surrounded by the rhythms of each instrument; featuring the individual styles of the world class musicians that collectively make up The Rage. Their talent is unmatched. Each and every member can sing every part, and play every instrument. Their depth of skill sets the stage for the highest level of professionalism in every performance.

Rhonda Vincent & The Rage are one of the HOTTEST TICKETS in any genre of music!