The Front Porch teams with Appalachian State University professor and folklorist Cece Conway to explore West African influences and instruments through the folk akonting and the griot ngoni, which can be traced to the modern banjo. The Black and Global Roots Music Project will also feature Piedmont blues performed by Jeffrey Scott, whose mastery is carried forward from his legendary uncle, John Jackson, who handed over the torch before his death. “He said I’ve got to take the blues,” Scott told the Washington Times. “He said that it was just like being in a relay race. You have to take the blues and pass it on to someone else before you go.” Duos Seth Swingle and Fiona Balestrieri as well as Jake Blount and Tatiana Hargreaves will also perform.
Related stories
Corey Harris Band
Fronted by the eponymous legendary blues and roots musician, the Corey Harris Band brings traditional Delta blues to contemporary audiences with an influx of world music flare. Well-traveled—and well-versed—Harris was instrumental in the rise of acoustic guitar blues in the mid-’90s and has an expansive sonic vocabulary with inflections from African, Caribbean, and Latin music. […]
Clymer & Kurtz
Fans of acts like Alison Krauss and Indigo Girls will find kinship in the songs of Clymer & Kurtz. The folk-rock singer-songwriter duo has been collaborating for decades, honing ethereal harmonies that drive their emotion-stirring songs. Relying on guitars and keys (with the occasional inclusion of percussion) for accompaniment, Maria Clymer and Christopher Kurtz’ intense […]
“True Stories”
David Byrne’s musical comedy True Stories takes a fond look at wackiness in the American heartland. Set in the fictional town of Virgil, Texas, during a prideful “Celebration of Specialness” for the 150th anniversary of the state, Talking Heads singer Byrne directs and stars as the narrator in a project that adopts the energy of […]
