Featuring The Gibson Brothers, Wayne Henderson and friends
Friday, June 15th, will be an unforgettable night of hot picking, down home stories and the best of American music. As a prelude to the 18th annual Wayne C. Henderson Festival & Guitar Competition, Wayne Henderson & friends from as far afield as Texas to Rugby, Virginia, will heat things up on the Music Center stage before turning it over to the award-winning Gibson Brothers band.
The Gibson brothers are renowned for their bluegrass-gospel songs, superb vocals, and stellar instrumental chops. Steve Leftridge of PopMatters says: “Eric and Leigh Gibson might have, pound-for-pound, the most impeccably fine-sounding traditional bluegrass band on the contemporary scene. The reason these guys can’t lose is that, quite simply, they sound so great. Eric and Leigh sing bluegrass’ tightest harmony blend, and instrumentally the group plays with unmatched alacrity and taste.”
In 2011, the Gibson Brothers won IBMA Vocal Group of the year and this year they received the SPGMA Album of the Year award for their CD, “Help My Brother.” In a relatively short time, the Gibson brothers have become a crowd favorite at many major US festivals. This is their debut performance on the Blue Ridge Music Center stage.
Wayne Henderson’s top-notch finger-picking is a source of great pleasure and pride to his friends, family, and neighbors in Grayson County and audiences world-wide. Audiences have enjoyed Wayne’s guitar playing at Carnegie Hall, on three national tours of “Masters of the Steel-String Guitar,” and in seven nations in Europe, Asia and Africa. As well as being a renowned guitarist, Wayne Henderson is also a first-rate luthier, producing about 20, sought-after instruments a year—mostly guitars and occasionally mandolins, fiddles or ukes.
Wayne’s instruments are most respected for their volume, tone, and resonance and there is a long waiting list for his guitars. Wayne is a recipient of a 1995 National Heritage Award presented by the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Gibson Brothers , Wayne and crew are not to be missed!
The concert starts at 7pm, Friday June 15. Seating opens at 5:30pm. Tickets are $10 or $8 for students and seniors. Children 12 and under are free. For info call (276) 236-5309 x112. Tickets are available at the Galax Visitor Center and online at www.BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org. Come early and enjoy the free, new museum, the Roots of American Music. Bring lawn chairs. Picnics welcome. Smokehouse BBQ available. The Blue Ridge Music Center is located at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The summer-evening concert series occurs every weekend through mid-September in the outdoor amphitheater at the foot of beautiful Fisher Peak (only 10 miles from Galax).
