Saturday, August 19 is Mountain Music Trail Day at the State Fair. Three of our member bands will be performing on the Sprint Free Stage, and some up-and-coming younger musicians will be jamming from time to time on the grassy area in the new Tomblin Plaza entrance to the Fair.
The bands are:
11 AM – Rush Run Philharmonic (FB Rush Run Philharmonic) An eclectic group of musicians occupying the hills and hollers of southern Pocahontas and northern Greenbrier Counties, they are named after the creek that bounds down one of those mountain sides. They play Acoustic Americana music that is rich in harmonies. They engage audiences with good time music.
Rush Run = A creek in Pocahontas County, WV
Philharmonic = The love of music and harmonies
(and Phil is the name of the lead singer!)
2:30 PM – Mud Hole Out of Control (featured photo)- the hottest young Old Time band in the state, they also hail from Pocahontas and Greenbrier Counties. A year ago they were the oldest members of our youth division; now they are the youngest of our adult member bands, featuring Trevor Hammons, a successful banjo contest winner, Ben Davis on fiddle, and two young relatives of noted banjo picker Charlie Loudermilk. Pictured here at the Fair last year, they produce a hard driving traditional sound.
5:30 PM – The Viney Mountain Bluegrass Boys. (FB Viney Mountain Bluegrass Boys)- this group from Pocahontas County is made up of younger guys who play traditional bluegrass. Members include Richard Lee Hefner on banjo and David Kershner on Bass, family members of Black Mountain Bluegrass Boys founders Bill and Richard Hefner.
The budding stars, AKA the “little Pickers” will play during the breaks between the stage shows. These girls were part of the lineup last year and will be back this year. The group picture shows the entire bunch at the Fair last year.
This year’s Mountain Music Day is dedicated to the memory of Terry Richardson, an outstanding Pocahontas County guitarist, who played in several bands in his career and was a mentor to many young musicians. Terry was also the fourth generation of his family to operate CJ Richardson hardware in Marlinton. (FB cj Richardson)
Other happenings along the Mountain Music Trail in August include:
July 30-August 4: Bluegrass Week at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins
August 1-4: Pickin’ in Parsons – the biggest Bluegrass Festival in WV (fiverivercampground.com/pickin-in-parsons.html )
August 6-11 Old time Week at Augusta
August 12 – Augusta Festival – with a live taping of Mountain Stage with Larry Groce – for lineup visit: mountainstage.org/shows/Pages/seeuslive.aspx?seeusliveid=127) at the Harper-McNeeley Auditorium, Davis and Elkins College.
August 14 – Girls Guns and Glory at the Purple Fiddle, Thomas: One of Rolling Stone’s “10 New Artists You Need To Know” – “Modern-day Buddy Holly plus Dwight Yoakam divided by the Mavericks…Think-y, soulful lyrics paired with a beat you can dance to.”
“Imagine Lyle Lovett and Chris Isaak paying tribute to classic American rock n’ roll from Elvis, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash and Roy Orbison.” —The Boston Herald
– HashtagWV #92. August 2017.
HASHTAGWV ART & ENTERTAINMENT Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, Christina Entenmann-Edwards has been a WV resident since September 2008. She was born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, and is no stranger to hard work and the entrepreneurial spirit. In 2006, she graduated from Quinnipiac University (Hamden, Connecticut), Cum Laude, with a B.A. in History. In 2010, she graduated with an M.B.A. from Liberty University (Lynchburg, Virginia). In February 2012, Christina launched HashtagWV as the area’s first full-color, free arts and entertainment tabloid + online platform. Christina completed the Leadership West Virginia class of 2021, which is an innovative program that grows, engages, and mobilizes leaders to ignite a life passion to move West Virginia forward.