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Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05
July 31, 2008 issue
Jeff Little, Charles Welch Join Doc Watson for Todd Concert August 9
Show Begins at 3:00 p.m.
Story by David Brewer
When you see Doc Watson on stage, you’re almost guaranteed to see him surrounded by any one of a stable of gifted musical collaborators and friends that lend his shows that front porch feel. On Saturday, August 9, Doc will be joined by High Country native Jeff Little and Charles Welch.
Starting out the day’s music will be local outfit Backstreet at 3:00 p.m. followed by Phoenix Mountain at 4:00 p.m. Watson, Little and Welch will take the stage at 5:00 p.m.
A remarkable musician, Little is steeped in the tradition of his native Blue Ridge, yet is also a virtuosic and eclectic innovator. Little’s familiarity with fiddle tunes, old-time country and rockabilly dates to his growing up in Boone, where his father owned a music shop. The shop was a regular gathering place for musicians who would just stop by to pick a few tunes. Beginning when he was about six, Jeff regularly sat in with many of the musicians from the region, including the one who set the standard for picking fiddle tunes on the guitar—Doc Watson.
Little’s piano virtuosity stems from having started playing at five years old and having played professionally since age 14. His lead solos, much influenced by the flat-pick guitar tradition, are breathtaking in their speed, precision and clarity. Little also sings and plays the harmonica, so fans can expect a grand collaboration when he and Doc take the stage together.
The August 9 performance marks Doc’s sixth appearance for the Todd Summer Concert Series. His concerts, dedicated to the memory of James “Crow” Parsons, support the tiny community’s presentation of music on summer Saturday afternoons.
A memorial fund is being built to finance future summer concerts at Cook Park. A pickle jar in the Todd Mercantile Bakery collects money for the fund and will be passed around at the concert. The nonprofit Todd Community Preservation Organization also seeks larger contributions to permanently endow the fund and to provide dependable financing for the music series that Parsons helped bring to Todd.
This year’s Todd Summer Concert Series is partially supported by a grant from the North Carolina Rural Center’s NC STEP program. TCPO applied for the grant through HandMade in America as part of a “High Country Cluster” of communities working together to revitalize and sustain their economies while preserving their cultural and historical roots.
Tickets are $15 for adults ($17 for credit card purchases) and children under 12 will be admitted free. The 1,500 available tickets are on sale now in Boone at the Boone Chamber of Commerce and Mast General Store, in West Jefferson at the Chamber Visitor’s Center and Blue Moon Guitars and in Todd at Todd Mercantile and Todd General Store, RiverGirl Fishing Co. and downstream at Riverside General Store.
Sponsors for the concert include Dick and Betsey Sesler, Nan Wyatt and the Todd Ruritan Club. Volunteers are also needed to help manage the expected crowd and their cars and to make the afternoon an enjoyable one for all.
For more info, call the Todd Mercantile at 336-877-5401 or click to www.toddnc.org.
Want To Go?
Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 3:00 p.m.
Location: Cook Memorial Park in Todd
Cost: $15 in advance for adults/Children under 12 admitted FREE