String Band Day
For the second consecutive year, the Alltech Fortnight Festival presents String Band Day at Appalshop, with three top bands leading a day of workshops and jam sessions (11am-4pm), plus an evening concert (6pm) and square dance (9pm)--free and open to the public.
Jim and Ada McCown will join their lifelong friend Paul David Smith to headline the event. Founding members of the Outdoor Plumbing Company, Jim and Ada have been mainstays of the bluegrass and old-time scene for decades. Paul has quietly built a reputation as perhaps the best old-time fiddler in the region.
The Clack Mountain String Band is one of the best young string bands now playing. Based in Morehead, Kentucky, Clack Mountain blends brilliant instrumentals with hard-driving vocals and can switch effortlessly between old-time and honky-tonk.
Rounding out the program and officially hosting the event are Rich and the Po’ Folks. Their music blends dance tunes with ballads, mining songs, and hardscrabble songs from the region’s past.
On String Band Day, band members will lead workshops in fiddle, banjo, guitar, and singing. Jam sessions and a ballad swap will round out the day. In the evening, all three bands will appear in concert. The event will conclude with a square dance called by Julie Shepherd-Powell.
Appalshop