The Blue Ridge Music Center presents The Malpass Brothers with special guest Redd Volkaert live in concert in our spacious outdoor amphitheater on the Blue Ridge Parkway
As young boys, Christopher and Taylor Malpass (The Malpass Brothers) soaked up the music of their granddad’s phonograph records. Christopher earned his first talent show trophy at age 7, and Taylor was playing mandolin by the time he was 10. Today, they promote the work and music of classic country artists they treasure while creating new music and making their own mark in the lineage of a rich American cultural heritage. With sincerity, honesty and an utter ease on stage that belies their years, their smooth vocal blend and skillful musicianship layer infectiously into the deep respect they pay to legends who have paved the way. Add the funny, off-the-cuff quips between the two 20-something siblings, and the engaging concert becomes a magnetic time-traveling journey to when a calmer rhythm reigned supreme. This is music steeped in the legacy of the Louvin Brothers, Johnny Cash, Marty Robbins, Hank Williams, Sr. & others.
Redd Volkaert was a successor to Roy Nichols in Merle Haggard's backing band, and is "among the country’s top Telecaster guitar slingers." Redd won a 2009 Grammy for Best Country Instrumental Performance. Since the early 2000s Redd's band has been playing Saturdays, and Redd plays with Heybale!, the Sunday night house band, at The Continental Club in Austin, Texas. In 2020 Redd moved to Galax, VA.