Spotlight on Friday Performers at The Playhouse Family Music Festival
New this year, we will offer music and fun and a whole lot of dancing on Friday evening, August 7th from 5:30-11 p.m. Featured performers include Dot-Dot-Dash, the Forget-Me-Nots, Lost Ridge, and Lisa Baldwin and Dave Haney.
Kick up your heels or just kick back with music and contra dance Friday August 7th
This year’s festival will kick off this year with a contra dance on Friday evening. Grab the kids and come early to enjoy dinner outside to the tunes of Lisa Baldwin and Dave Haney at 5:30, followed by Lost Ridge at 6:30.
Barbeque, veggie wraps, pizza, dessert and lots of water will be available for sale at the Playhouse Café. No coolers, please.
Use of the airwalks is included with admission.
At 7:30, we'll mosey on into the gym for a family-friendly contra dance featuring Dot-Dot-Dash and guests the Forget-Me-Nots and experienced Asheville caller Diane Silver. When your kids deflate like birthday balloons on the floor, you can scoop them up and head on home, but die-hard dancers are invited to stay for a "grown-ups dance" from 9-11 p.m.
Pre-Dance Performers:
Lost Ridge: Based in Boone, the Lost Ridge Band’s sound is inspired by The Grateful Dead, Railroad Earth, Steve Earl, Doc Watson, Earl Scruggs, Bela Fleck, The Dillards, and Widespread Panic. Their members are Pete and Phil Washburn, Elijah Davenport, Shane Crawford, and Peter Hanast.
Lisa Baldwin and Dave Haney. Singer-songwriter Lisa Baldwin performs bluegrass for adults with her husband Dave Haney and is popular locally and in Alabama for her “Learning through Song” concerts for children. Lisa will be back on Saturday morning with a Learning through Song program.
Contra Dance Performers:
Diane Silver. An experienced caller based in Asheville, Silver is well suited for a night that will encompass dances for kids to grown-ups and from novices to experts. “She has a rare skill of bringing together dancers of all ages and all levels of experience into one big fun experience for everyone—without overly challenging the less experienced and without ho-humming the highly experienced” said Asheville parent and dancer Elana Kann.
dot-dot-dash. Specializing in Celtic, Appalachian dance, Old-time and Gypsy-jazz, dot-dot-dash includes Bill Anderson, John Hildreth, Joel Keebler, and Matt Livingston playing fiddle, guitar, mandolin, and double bass. Originally based in the Radford and Blacksburg areas of Southwest Virginia, Dot Dot Dash began performing in the fall of 2002. In the time since, the group has become spread out geographically, with members living in Boone, NC, as well as Roanoke, Abingdon and Pembroke, VA. The group has released two CD’s. By day a mild-mannered professor at Appalachian State University, Bill Anderson is the Watauga resident of the group with strong ties to The Children’s Playhouse. “Our kids, Rebecca and Gwendolyn, love The Playhouse and my wife Christine is a former board president,” says Anderson, “so we are excited to help The Playhouse with our music.”
Local Watauga phenoms, the Forget-Me-Nots are fiddlers Ledah and Willa Finck (ages 15 and 13), Maura Shawn Scanlin (age 13), and back-up guitarist-dad David Finck. The girls have been playing together for nine years, since they were ages 4, 3, and 2 years old. Their music mixes traditional Irish, Scottish, Cape Breton, and Appalachian fiddle music, with a helping of contemporary tunes. The Forget-Me-Nots have performed at a number of regional venues, including the Merlefest and the Grandfather Mountain Highland Games.
Festival Day Two: Saturday August 7th
Come back Saturday (11 am- 6 pm) for this great line-up: Sol Driven Train, Big Bang Boom, and the Lazybirds! (more)