Appalachia Rising
Appalachia Rising will be a two-group event! The first group of the night will be Dr. Joe Smiddy and the Reedy Creek Band. The second group will be the Wood Box Heroes.
Reedy Creek Band formed in 1973 was one of the first bands to play at the request of Janette Carter at the original Carter Store and was the first band to play a show in the Current Carter Fold Building. The band consists of Jerry and Susie Keys, known for years with Paul Williams and Trey Hensley. Both are from musical families. Jerry is a banjo instructor in the ETSU Bluegrass Program. Steve and Tracy Edwards are well known musicians, also both from musical families. Both have many years of experience in a variety of music venues. Dr Joe Smiddy is a lifetime musician, band leader, and enthusiast. The band has been an annual fixture at The Papa Joe Smiddy Annual Natural Tunnel Park Labor Day Festival. A band highlight was playing on the soundtrack of the movie Big Stone Gap.
Wood Box Heroes, the American acoustic super-group, is hardly anything like the bluegrass music you used to find in the cassette player of your grandad’s old chevy pickup truck. Deeply rooted in tradition while melding together an eclectic-array of sounds from the country, bluegrass, blues, jazz, rock, and classical varieties, paired with crafty and authentic songwriting, the band delivers a piercing listening experience that plunges deep into the caverns of the soul. Bringing together some of the world’s most highly lauded musicians in Matt Menefee (banjo-Mumford & Sons, Cadillac Sky, Warren Haynes), and Barry Bales (bass-Alison Krauss & Union Station) backing up the vocal magic of Jenee Fleenor (fiddle-Blake Shelton, Larry Cordle) and Josh Martin (singer/songwriter/guitarist), this unit has over a century of musical seasoning between them. Yet, it is quite astonishing that the years spent on separate roads, accompanying a spectrum of incredible artists and receiving some of the most sought-after honors and awards in the business, has led to this enigmatic musical intersection.