Roanoke's landmark Performing Arts Center teams up with region preservationists, Friends of the Blue Ridge, for a Jamboree to remember! Join us as we celebrate four of our region's most talented musicians!

Featured Artists:

Blue Ridge Girls

The Blue Ridge Girls, featuring Jamie Collins, Martha Spencer, and Brett Morris, are a trio firmly rooted in Appalachian music.
With skillful musicianship and tight vocal harmonies, they perform a mix of traditional standards and original songs that embody the spirit of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
They have shown a deep commitment to preserving and passing on traditional music through organizations like Junior Appalachian Musicians.
The Blue Ridge Girls recently made appearances at FloydFest, Redwing Roots Music Festival, Merlefest, and Bristol Rhythm and Roots Reunion.

Earl White

Fiddlin' Earl White has been a prominent figure in the Oldtime music and dance community for more than 50+ years. He is one of few Black Americans playing and perpetuating the music that was once an important part of Black culture and communities across the US. He is an original and founding member of the famed Greengrass Cloggers. Earl's energetic, rhythmic, driving style is attributed to many years of dancing with the Cloggers to the delights of Tommy Jarrell, the Highwoods Stringband, the Plank Road Stringband, and the Horseflies, to name a few.

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Rootstone Jug Band

Rootstone is a group of versatile young musicians who conjure the ancient strains of American music with a fearless old school sensibility. This is not Roots Music with a modern twist. It's a full tilt primitive revival that conjures the sounds of Memphis' great jug bands and songsters, Mississippi's Blues and Fiddle masters, and the Blues greats and superb string bands of the Carolina Piedmont. Around one mic, they sing the songs with their regional accents and use a rotating arsenal of guitars, banjos, fiddle, upright bass, washboard, jug, harmonica and more to make a glorious ruckus, in full harmony with the ghosts of 400 years of American Roots Music.

catherine the great

catherine the great is the solo project of Catherine Backus (the skipperdees, After Jack). Her original songs have drawn numerous accolades, including 1st place at the Merlefest Chris Austin Songwriting Contest, 4th place at the Rocky Mountain Folks Festival Songwriter Showcase, and finalist in the Bernard/Ebb Songwriting Awards. Over the course of her career, she’s shared stages with folks like Molly Tuttle, Kim Richey, Willie Watson, and Ben Sollee.

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