Over the last couple of years the Niles Gallery Series has included an exceptional series of noontime performances by Appalachian traditional musicians and scholars. The Appalachia in the Bluegrass series is sponsored by the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music.

2007

Sonny Houston
November 9
Sonny Houston grew up in the East Kentucky coalfields of Letcher County, steeped in the traditional fiddle and church music of his homeplace. His swing-infused style was influenced by Marion Sumner “Fiddle King of the South.” Now residing in Atlanta, Sonny is recognized for the haunting power of his singing and his dexterity as an instrumentalist.

Randy Wilson
September 7
Randy Wilson’s remarkable Appalachian banjo performance marries the excitement of musical virtuosity with the informed perspective of cultural context. Randy traces the entire sweep of the banjo from the African grasslands to Southern plantations to the mountains of East Kentucky in a way that makes history sparkle with vitality.

Carolina Chocolate Drops
September 14
The Chocolate Drops are reviving the wondrous old Black string band tradition through their animated and informed performance. Living Blues said: “...more than 'revivalists,' they approach their art in a spirit of in-the-moment celebration, making it accessible to everyday listeners as well as folklorists and aficionados.

Dan and Amy Carwile
September 21
Now residing in Lexington, the Carwiles are famous throughout the country, recognized for their award-winning “contest-style” old time fiddling.

Lee Sexton and Rich Kirby
September 28
Sexton, a native of Letcher County, KY, began playing the banjo at the age of eight, and is considered a master of both traditional banjo styles of eastern Kentucky – two-finger picking and "drop-thumb" or clawhammer. He is a past recipient of the Governor's Award in the Arts. Kirby learned traditional old-time music from his grandmother, ballad singer Addie Graham of Magoffin County, Ky. During the old-time music revival period of the 1970s, Kirby performed as a member of the band Wry Straw with John McCutcheon and Tom Bledsoe. He has long maintained a relationship with Appalshop and its radio station WMMT-FM.

Trevor and Travis Stuart with Martha Scanlan
October 15
The Stuart brothers are among the best of Western North Carolina's new generation of old-time music performers. Trevor plays fiddle and Travis plays banjo; They have performed together for over 20 years at dances, concerts, festivals and music camps. They have traveled throughout the US and to England, Germany, Ireland, and Russia, performing and sharing their style of traditional old time music and culture. Scanlan "is possessed of a voice of stirring but almost brittle calm and songs that plow and cultivate emotions in a sort of musical harvest," say Walter Tunis of the Lexington Herald-Leader.

David Long and Kevin Kehrberg
October 26
Kevin Kehrberg, bassist extraordinaire, is a member of the Wildwood Valley Boys and the Red State Ramblers, and a Ph.D. candidate in musicology at UK. He joins with visiting virtuoso mandolinist David Long in a unique performance. David Long plays Monroe-style mandolin with the kind of determination and attack that would make the father of Bluegrass proud.

Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth
November 18
Laura is a remarkable singer/performer of her native traditional Appalachian music as well as the Celtic music that is at the roots of her mountain heritage. Laura has won glowing reviews wherever she appears and is blessed with an ‘essence of the mountains’ spirit that can take you back to the good old days when folks used to huddle around the radio. Long established as one of the classier performers on the Appalachian old-time circuit, she has developed a faithful following in Europe since first touring there in 2004. Last year, it was standing room only again everywhere she appeared, thanks to a stage presence, sweet voice and playing style, whether on clawhammer banjo, autoharp or guitar, that few can match. While in Kentucky, Laura will be in the company of Josh Goforth, an outstanding musician, acclaimed fiddler, guitar picker and mandolin player, also from North Carolina, who has recorded in his own right and is in hot demand as a session player. Only in his mid-20s, he has already established himself as a “one to watch” musician who is heading for the premier league.

Bobby Bridger
October 24
Bridger has been an artist-in-residence at the Buffalo Bill Historical Center in Cody, WY., the Eugene O\'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, CT., the John G. Neihardt Center in Bancroft, NE. and Yellowstone National Park. Bridger starred in Dale Wasserman\'s groundbreaking musical, Shakespeare and The Indians and was featured with David Carradine and Will Sampon in the drama Black Elk Speaks. Full company productions of Bridger\'s Seekers of the Fleece ran for eight consecutive summer seasons in Wyoming. He is the author of the award-winning book, Buffalo Bill and Sitting Bull: Inventing The Wild West, A Ballad of the West, and contributed essays to anthologies on western icons Frank Waters and John G. Neihardt as well as numerous magazine and newpaper features.

Ginny Hawker and Tracy Schwarz
November 16
Hawker and Schwarz have been singing together for 16 years. Their harmonies are hair-raising and representative of the finest American traditional music. Ginny and Tracy are from Tanner, West Virginia. For the past 15 years, Ginny and Tracy have appeared in concerts and festivals throughout the United States, Canada, and England. Every song they do means something special to them and will invite you to join them in the celebration of your heritage.

Rayna Gellert and Jeff Keith
November 30
Jeff is a Ph.D. candidate in History at UK, and a member of Kentucky Wild Horse and the Red State Ramblers. Rayna is a fiddle virtuoso and member of Uncle Earl. She has toured in Europe with dancer Ira Bernstein, in Chile with David Holt & Friends, in the U.S. and Sweden as a member of the Freight Hoppers, and has recently released the acclaimed Uncle Earl CD Waterloo, TN produced by John Paul Jones (formerly of Led Zeppelin fame).

Red State Ramblers
December 7
The music of the Red State Ramblers features native and adopted Kentuckians playing Kentucky tunes and songs that resonate with the truth of life lived close to the font from which this music springs.