The Blue Ridge Music Center presents Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee performing with New Ballards Branch Bogtroggers celebrating the music of the Crooked Road 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.
Mining the fertile common ground between bluegrass, early country music, and traditional mountain music, The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee are torchbearers for dynamic, deeply grounded old-time music. Their powerful harmony singing and energetic instrumentals have captivated audiences around the country and helped the band to win many awards, including blue ribbons in the old-time band contest at the 85th Annual Old Fiddlers’ Convention in Galax, Va., and the bluegrass band contest at the 51st Mount Airy Fiddlers’ Convention in North Carolina. Deep knowledge and appreciation for traditional music enables the band to craft tasteful original songs and instrumentals that blend seamlessly alongside the classics. The Alum Ridge Boys & Ashlee cut no corners when it comes to real, hard hitting, old-time music — an approach that is gaining them loyal followers far beyond the reaches of their Virginia mountain home.
https://alumridgeboys.com/
New Ballards Branch Bogtrotters have been playing old-time mountain music in the Galax, Va., area since 1986. Today’s group is named for the original Bogtrotters of the 1920s, the premiere old-time band of their era.
The present day lineup consists of guitarist Dennis Hall, fiddler and vocalist Eddie Bond, Bonnie Bond on bass and vocals, Josh Ellis on banjo, and Caroline Noel Beverley on mandolin. Eddie Bond was awarded the National Heritage Fellowship in 2018. The band enjoys playing for square dances and festivals and are a fixture at local fiddlers’ conventions, where they have won numerous old-time band contests. Along with their seemingly endless string of local gigs, the band has performed at the Smithsonian Folk Festival, Chicago Folk Festival, and the Kennedy Center.
https://thecrookedroadva.com/artist/the-new-ballards-branch-bogtrotters/