2019 Appalachian Folk Arts Festival
Venue: Heth Lawn (Radford University), Radford
Organizations: Appalachian Events Committee at Radford University, Dori Freeman, The Comptons, The Wolfe Brothers String Band, Willard Gayheart
Date: Saturday, September 21, 2019
Time: 10:00 AM - 4:00 PM
Event Types: Music, Miscellaneous, Arts & Theatre, Charity
Cost: Free
Description:
The Appalachian Events Committee at Radford University presents the 34th Annual Appalachian Folk Arts Festival on Saturday, September 21, 2019 on Heth Lawn on the campus of Radford University.

The Folk Arts Festival features live music, performers, demonstrations of traditional crafts and art including leatherworking, apple butter making, bee keeping, wood turning and blacksmithing throughout the day with a silent auction as part of Radford University's Family Weekend Festivities. Crafts will also be available for sale.

Silent auction proceeds will benefit the Robert Glen and Cora Green Toney Appalachian Studies Scholarship.

Music Schedule:
• 10:00 am - Willard Gayheart
• 11:00 am- Travis Frye and Blue Mountain
• 12:00 pm- The Wolfe Brothers String Band
• 1:00 pm- Dori Freeman
• 2:00 pm- Josh Blankenship
• 3:00 pm- The Comptons

Willard Gayheart is a pencil artist and musician from Southwest Virginia. He is originally from Eastern Kentucky, working mostly from the theme "Nostalgic Glimpses of the Appalachians". His works are positive images of Appalachian Culture, presenting the region as a place alive with interesting personalities.

Besides his artistic talent with the pencil, Willard is also an accomplished bluegrass musician having played as a member of the bluegrass band The Highlanders. He not only picks the guitar and sings, but writes many of the songs himself. On one album, 5 out of the 10 songs were written by him. All the songs written by Willard reflect his experiences and love for the mountain way of life.

Link: http://www.mtnlaurel.com/arts-and-crafts/266-willard-gayheart-pencil-artist-a-remarkable-gift.html

The Wolfe Brothers (Wolfe Bros.) play and sing traditional old-time music and their repertoire includes some original material as well. The members of the group include Jerry Correll, Dale Morris, Casey Hash, and Donna Correll. All members live in the Elk Creek Valley of Grayson County, Virginia.

Although The Wolfe Brothers String Band first formed during the mid 1970s, the group re-established their unique old time sound in the early 1990s. Featuring three vocalists, the band's repertoire ranges from rarely heard traditional songs and tunes to their own original material.

The Wolfe Brothers have played at many venues including Merlefest, the Carter Fold Festival, Floydfest, the Barter Theater, and the Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival. Bluegrass Unlimited featured an article about the group in their June '04 issue, and they have appeared on the acclaimed PBS television series, Song of the Mountains. The Wolfe Brothers String Band was named 2013 Appalachian Cultural Music Association (ACMA) Old Time Vocal Group of the Year.

Link: http://wolfebrothers.blogspot.com

Dori Freeman’s was raised among a family of musicians in the Blue Ridge Mountains and hailed by Rolling Stone as “one of the most authentic vocalists to emerge from the hills of southwestern Virginia in recent years,” she’s a bonafide Appalachian artist, while simultaneously shattering the archetype by empowering the characters in her songs with personal strength and homegrown wisdom. Through this process, she both defies and expands notions of what it means to be from the region.

Dori comes from a family rooted in art and tradition. Her grandfather is an artist and guitar player, and her father, a multi-instrumentalist and music instructor. While her style subscribes to no one genre, the influence of her Appalachian upbringing lies at the core of her music - heard especially in the lulling mountain drawl of her voice. She sings without affect and with striking clarity, delivering each song carefully and earnestly.

Dori's style was shaped by American Roots music: Bluegrass, Rhythm and Blues, and Old Country. Her early introduction to musicians like Doc Watson, The Louvin Brothers, and Peggy Lee have heavily influenced her modern yet timeless sound. Dori learned how to play the guitar at fifteen and began writing her own material a few years later, citing Rufus Wainwright and his haunting melodies and achingly honest lyrics as the spark that inspired her to pen her first song. Her songs often center on heartache and pining; unrequited and sometimes unconventional love common muses for her melodies and lyrics.

Links:

• http://www.dorifreeman.com/
• https://www.facebook.com/dorifreemanmusic
• https://www.instagram.com/dorifreeman/

The Compton brothers, Darryl and Roger, began playing bluegrass gospel music in the 80's in church then was joined shortly after by their dad, Clinton Compton. The three make their home in Willis, VA in Floyd county.

The band just changed members about a year and a half ago. Tim Goins from Mt. Airy, NC now plays dobro and banjo with the group, whichever the song may call for. Tim in the past has played with such groups as the Easter Brothers, Mark Templeton and New Vision, Lynwood Lunsford and many more.

There are times when the Compton' friends consist of Doug Holly from Floyd on guitar and some vocals, also Jimmy Creed, cousin of the Comptons, on mandolin or guitar.

Links:

• http://comptonbluegrass.tripod.com/index.html
• https://www.facebook.com/The-Comptons-Friends-139296176140731/

Admission is free and all are welcome.

Chair and/or blankets are permitted.

In case of rain, the festival will be moved inside.

For more information, visit: https://www.radford.edu/content/family-weekend/home/schedule.html or https://www.facebook.com/AECatRU/.