The Blue Ridge Music Center presents Alison Brown Quintet performing with Wayne Henderson & Friends live in concert at its outdoor amphitheater on the Blue Ridge Parkway (Milepost 213) just south of Galax, Va., just north of Mount Airy, N.C. and just east of Sparta, N.C.
One of the most multi-faceted minds in roots music, Alison Brown is a Grammy-winning musician, Grammy-nominated producer, former investment banker, and co-founder of the Compass Records Group, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2023. Brown is also one of The First Ladies of Bluegrass – an elite group of women who were the first in their categories to win Instrument of the Year awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association.
Although Brown began her musical career as a teenager in the Southern California bluegrass scene, she has built a reputation as one of today’s most forward thinking and innovative banjo players. She is known for taking the instrument far beyond its Appalachian roots by blending bluegrass and jazz influences into a sonic tapestry that has earned praise and recognition from a variety of national tastemakers including The Wall Street Journal, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, and USA Today.
On her new release, aptly titled “On Banjo,” Brown continues her musical explorations on a set of original compositions that explore the range of the banjo. The album features an eclectic cast of collaborators including Steve Martin, Kronos Quartet, Sharon Isbin, Anat Cohen, Sierra Hull, Stuart Duncan, and members of the Alison Brown Quintet.
https://www.alisonbrown.com/
Wayne Henderson is an accomplished luthier and performer from Rugby, Va. He developed a unique musical style using a thumbpick and fingerpicks that mimics the sound of flatpicking — producing fast, accurate, clean notes. In addition to handcrafting guitars that are coveted by musicians around the world, Henderson has won more than 300 ribbons at fiddlers’ convention competitions, is a National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellow, and was part of the Masters of the Steel String Guitar tours. Henderson has performed at Carnegie Hall, Smithsonian Institution, on “A Prairie Home Companion,” and for the 1992 presidential inauguration. He has hosted the annual Wayne C. Henderson Music Festival and Guitar Competition since 1995. Winning the competition is said to be the only way to skip the waiting list for a handmade Henderson guitar.
https://www.waynehenderson.org/wayne-henderson/