A Visionary Acoustic Ensemble
Appalachian Road Show is bringing new-generation interpretations of traditional Americana, bluegrass, and folk songs, to the Bluegrass Spartanburg series. GRAMMY-nominated banjoist Barry Abernathy, joins forces with GRAMMY-winning fiddler Jim VanCleve, vocalist and mandolinist Darrell Webb (who has recorded and toured with Dolly Parton and Rhonda Vincent), Grammy-winning bassist Todd Phillips, and guitarist Zeb Snyder. Their rich sound honors the music and storytelling of Appalachian tradition while bringing modern vigor to the stage.
Appalachian Road Show’s album Tribulation was nominated for five International Bluegrass Music Awards. Their self-titled debut album produced powerful versions of gospel songs like “Long Black Train,” ballads like “Anna Lee,” and even reels like “Dance, Dance, Dance.”
The band is touring with their newest album, Jubilation, a colorful song-filled journey chronicling not just the past but the present. The album begins with a voice synonymous with Appalachia as the legendary Dolly Parton introduces the project, gently reminding listeners: “With faith and resilience, Appalachians have endured cold, dark winters, punishing work and hunger, floods and fires. But pride in this place and our people endures, even into the modern age…Every tribulation is answered, in time, with Jubilation.”
The artists of Appalachian Road Show grew up singing in church and at the feet of grandparents who were musicians and preachers. They bring their music style of songs and stories from the mountains and hollers of North Carolina and Virginia to the coal mines of West Virginia and Kentucky into their Bluegrass Spartanburg performance. Join us for an incredible night of music pulled from the roots that are familiar and beloved to all of us.
Ticket Prices
Adults: $35-$45
Box Office Phone: 864-583-2776
Box Office Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 10:00 AM - 5:00 PM | Friday 10:00 AM - 2:00 PM
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Safety Guidelines
In partnership with the Chapman Cultural Center, we continue to welcome and encourage masks, particularly for those in high-risk populations, at this time, though, facial coverings are NOT required to attend Spartanburg Philharmonic concerts. We continue to prioritize safety for all who engage with us. Along with our partners at the CCC, we will continue to monitor local infection rates regularly, and policies may change as we receive updated information.
Full Bio
GRAMMY-nominated banjoist Barry Abernathy, joins forces with GRAMMY-winning fiddler Jim VanCleve, fresh off of his recent stint touring with multi-platinum country artist Josh Turner, as well as esteemed vocalist and mandolinist Darrell Webb, who has recorded and toured with Dolly Parton and Rhonda Vincent, among many others.
The group also includes bassist Todd Phillips, an acknowledged legend in bluegrass music circles, with two GRAMMY wins and four GRAMMY nominations under his belt, along with 23-year-old “old soul” guitarist Zeb Snyder, whose fierce and versatile playing recalls Doc Watson and Norman Blake as readily as it does Duane Allman and Stevie Ray Vaughn.
“With this group, we want to bring to light the culture and lifestyle of the Appalachian music we grew up in,” says Abernathy.
“We immersed ourselves in our native culture by way of sound and further educated ourselves to our own roots, those which are found all throughout the Appalachian music we grew up with,” says VanCleve. Ready to share its authentic and fresh approach with the public, the band went into the studio in the summer of 2018 and recorded its debut album, Appalachian Roadshow. The project landed three multi-week number one songs on Bluegrass Today Weekly Airplay charts and garnered the band a New Artist of the Year nomination and Song of the Year nomination (“Dance Dance Dance”) at the 2019 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Awards.
Appalachian Roadshow invites us to come and sit a spell on its porch as the band shares its dynamic musicianship through songs and stories emanating from the mountains and hollers of North Carolina and Virginia, to the coal mines of West Virginia and Kentucky. On its eponymous debut album, the band delivers powerful songs that range from the gospel-esque “I Am Just a Pilgrim” and “Little Black Train,” to the reeling, kick-up-your-heels “Dance, Dance, Dance,” to the ballad of love and loss “Anna Lee.” “All of these songs came from the Appalachian mountains and from the coal mining regions of Appalachia,” says Abernathy. “They confront topics such as logging, coal mining, trains, a sweetheart that took off, and so on. There’s something universal in the music and its expressed themes. There’s something for everyone.”
Abernathy, VanCleve, and Webb know it well as they were each born and raised in Appalachia. “I was 10 or 11 when I started singing in church,” says Abernathy, who grew up near the head of the Appalachian Trail in northern Georgia. His grandmother had a banjo, and despite being born with only one finger on his noting hand, he knew at the young age of 14 that he wanted to learn to play that banjo and Appalachian music. VanCleve, a North Carolinian by way of Florida, was gifted his first fiddle when he was six. His grandfather, a preacher, played acoustic music, as did his aunt, uncle, and father. By the age of twelve, VanCleve and his father were travelling all over the mountains of North Carolina and Southwestern Virginia, attending dozens of fiddle contests, bluegrass festivals, and old-time music festivals. Webb grew up in the coal mining country of West Virginia where he mastered old-time and bluegrass music through the influence of his father, a coal miner and bluegrass musician who passed away from black lung – an emotional topic which Appalachian Roadshow tackles in its music.
“Appalachian music and its stories have been passed down to us, and we’re now passing our own interpretations of this to a new generation, while also shedding a reverent light on this culture,” says Abernathy. “We want to not only keep these traditions alive, but also honor the strong and dedicated individuals who made lives in the mountains over the past 200 years. Appalachian Roadshow is meant to be more of a cultural experience rather than simply just a collection of songs. If we were to eventually be viewed as unofficial ambassadors of Appalachian culture, that would be an honor.”
What The Press Is Saying
“The Appalachian Roadshow arrangements bring the instruments together to create a tightly focused song that always features remarkable solo work. Yet what sets the group apart from so many other bluegrass bands, or other live performance groups, is how powerful, intricate and well-blended their vocals are.”
~ The Outer Banks Voice
Appalachian Roadshow is something of a concept band. They’re not old time, not straightforward bluegrass, but a mixture of the two, with bits and pieces of history thrown in for good measure. Their focus is on the lives, stories, and songs of the people of Appalachia, pulling in songs from a century ago alongside similar-sounding originals and a narrative thread tying everything together.
~Bluegrass Today
A rare treat in today’s genre-diverse landscape, Appalachian Roadshow is dedicated not only to playing music that’s in keeping with traditional bluegrass but also to highlighting the historical and cultural origins of its namesake region.
~Kira Grunenberg, No Depression