by Emily Shaw, Local New Harmonies Coordinator
Warren County Memorial Library
Warrenton -— As part of the traveling Smithsonian Institution exhibition New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music, currently on view at the Warren County Memorial Library, the Warren County Arts Council in conjunction with the Warren County Memorial Library announce a musical sampler of over fifteen local artists performing Native American drum, early American traditional, country, bluegrass, blues, jazz, and gospel, to be held on May 8 from 3 to 6 p.m. at the newly renovated Warren County Armory Civic Center. The event is free and open to the public.
Sherman Johnson, WARR radio host and co-chair of the Warren County Arts Council, will emcee the concert, which will culminate in a whole-group performance. Joining Johnson in historical commentary will be Freida Egerton of the Ridgeway Opry House.
Johnson says that the showcase “will offer an opportunity for great artists and musicians to perform for not only those visiting our area for the first time, but it will also be a first for many of their own neighbors to hear and enjoy their talents.”
Several of the local talents scheduled to perform include Alan and Betsy Reid, the Warrenton Echoes, Matt Nelson, the Royal Jubilee Singers, and Joe “B” Cutchins.
Mike Taylor, a folklorist commissioned by the North Carolina Arts Council to conduct a survey about the traditional music and musicians of Warren County, comments that the Armory Musical Showcase offers an opportunity to witness some “mind-blowing performances.”
“Warren County,” Taylor continues, “sustains a rich, varied, and vibrant musical life and legacy. Besides the many gifted musicians and music venues . . . that reside in the area, Warren County has been the stage on which some important and groundbreaking musical moves have been played out; less than a block from the Warren County Memorial Library are the former offices of WVSP, arguably one of the most progressive and culturally important radio stations to exist in North Carolina. Another radio station, the beloved WARR 1520 AM, continues its mission of providing a soundtrack and commentary on life in and around Warrenton.”
New Harmonies is part of Museum on Main Street, a collaboration between the Smithsonian Institution and the North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Support for Museum on Main Street has been provided by the United States Congress. Sponsors of complementary New Harmonies programming include the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, the Warren County Arts Council, Warren County Board of Commissioners, and the Warren County Community Foundation.
For further details on New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music in Warrenton, contact Emily Shaw at 252.257.4990, ext. 203 or eshaw@wcplnc.org.
The North Carolina Humanities Council is a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. The Humanities Council supports through grants and public programs vital conversations that nurture the cultures and heritage of North Carolina. In addition to grants and publications, the Council offers the Teachers Institute, a free professional education development program for NC’s K-12 public school teachers; Road Scholars, a speakers bureau bringing scholars and NC communities together to explore issues in the public humanities; Let’s Talk About It, a library discussion series of literature and film in partnership with the North Carolina Center for the Book; Museum on Main Street (MoMS), a traveling exhibition in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution and rural NC towns statewide; NC Roadwork, an initiative encouraging the examination of local NC history related to routes of human passage; and Literature and Medicine, a scholar-facilitated book discussion group for hospital staff to reflect on the larger mission of medicine. Learn more about the work of the North Carolina Humanities Council at www.nchumanities.org.
The North Carolina Arts Council works to make North Carolina The Creative State where a robust arts industry produces a creative economy, vibrant communities, children prepared for the 21st century and lives filled with discovery and learning. The Arts Council accomplishes this in partnership with artists and arts organizations, other organizations that use the arts to make their communities stronger and North Carolinians–young and old–who enjoy and participate in the arts. The Arts Council is a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.