2017 Jazz & Ribfeast
Venue: Jackson Park, Pulaski
Organizations: Adaire Theatre, Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley, Plunky & Oneness, The Billy Crawford Band, The Jamtastics
Date: Friday, July 28, 2017
Time: 11:00 AM - 11:00 PM
Event Types: Music, Food, Miscellaneous, Family Friendly
Cost: Free
Description:
The Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley and The Southwest Times present the 3rd Annual Jazz & Ribfeast will be held on Friday, July 28, 2017 in Jackson Park in downtown Pulaski, VA.

Enjoy Hot Ribs and cool Jazz! Attendees will enjoy ribs from three different rib vendors in addition roasted corn, ice cream and a variety of other regional foods and cold beer will be available for purchase.

Five tremendous bands playing including the cast from "Come Fly With Me" from the Adaire Theatre, J Plunky Branch and the Oneness, The Jamtastics, The Traditions and The Billy Crawford Band.

Music Schedule:
• 11:00 am - 1:30 pm: "Come Fly With Me" Adaire Theatre
• 2:00-4:00 pm: J Plunky Branch and the Oneness
• 4:30-6:30 pm: The Jamtastics
• 7:00-9:00 pm: The Traditions
• 9:00-11:00 pm: The Billy Crawford Band

Plunky & Oneness is one of the most enduring and versatile funk, jazz, Afro-fusion groups of all time. The group has been described as "the missing link between Pharoah Sanders and Kool & the Gang". The band has been performing for more than 30 years and they still have a funky fresh sound as evidenced by their concerts with Earth Wind & Fire and SOS Band.

Every Plunky & Oneness concert is a festive carnival. A party with a purpose. Led by saxophonist J. Plunky Branch, who has been gigging and touring for over 35 years, Plunky & Oneness is a unique combination: exotic smooth grooves, sax, vocals, African percussion, and electronics. This, along with the group's infectious energy, moves audiences of all ages to celebrate, dance and shout.

Over the years Plunky has produced and released 20 albums of original avant-garde jazz, funk, soul, fusion, gospel and African music. Plunky & Oneness has performed at numerous festivals including: the National Black Arts Festival in Atlanta, Georgia; the Hampton Jazz Festival in Virginia; and at the World's Fair in New Orleans.

The group has toured in Africa and Europe, with three headline performances at London's famed Jazz Cafe. They have opened concerts for some of the biggest names in Black music, including: Earth Wind & Fire, Patti LaBelle, B. B. King, Ray Charles, Frankie Beverly & Maze, Sun Ra, The Isley Brothers and Roy Ayers.

Links:

• http://www.plunkyone.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/PlunkyandOneness

The Jamtastics are a group that is dedicated and true to the groove. The members have rich backgrounds in music that span decades of influence.

Some major contributors to their art are: Grover Washington Jr., Marcus Miller, Marvin Gaye, Al Jareau, Anita Baker, Earth Wind & Fire, Steve Gadd, Chic Corea, and many, many other fantastic artists! Because of their different influences in music, The Jamtastics are able to perform music from across all genres such as Jazz, Funk, Soul, R&B and more.

Members of the band have performed with artists such as: The Fabulous Thunderbirds, Percy Sledge, Bob Mintzer, Allen Vizutti, and others.

Links:

• http://www.thejamtastics.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/Thejamtastics

Billy Crawford was raised playing bass in church, then gaining an early hard-rock pedigree on electric guitar. But for the past three decades, he has turned his six-string action toward the blues. Now playing with his band, The Billy Crawford Band, he performs blues rock across the region.

Blues guitar might be associated with Mississippi, Texas and Chicago, but a man of the mid-South has something to say about that. The city of Bristol, smack on the Tennessee / Virginia border, claims itself as the birthplace of country music. But one of its native sons is making a huge blues noise.

The common denominator in all of this is Billy Crawford – raised playing bass in church, then gaining an early hard-rock pedigree on electric guitar. But for the past three decades, he has turned his six-string action toward the blues.

For much of the 1990s, audiences around the world heard Crawford’s intense work with blues-rocker Deborah Coleman. He gave up the road in 2002, when his wife gave birth to their son. Turns out, son Tyler is a little guitar hotshot, too.

But his daddy still has something to say. His Bristol-based Billy Crawford Band includes some of that region’s finest blues men. The fire is still burning blue from Crawford’s Guitar, as he rips through blues, ballads, rock, surf – even New Orleans-style. Underpinning it all is a band with plenty of energy and mastery of dynamics.

Links:

• http://www.thebillycrawfordband.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/TheBillyCrawfordBand

Admission is free and all are welcome.

Bring a lawn chair, your dancing shoes and an appetite!

For additional information, contact the Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley at 540-980-7363 or email info@facnrv.org or visit https://www.facebook.com/facnrv/.