News

R&B acts span bluegrass to brass

Mountain Heart plays bluegrass and country.

By Bill Moss, Published: April 16, 2015

A six-piece Nashville band that plays country, roots-rock and southern soul, a country-bluegrass band that has appeared on the Grand Ole Opry more than a hundred times, a Southern-tinged blues band and local singers Aaron Burdett and Eric Congdon join returning headliners The Fritz for this year’s Rhythm & Brews concert series downtown.

The free concerts take place in the Azalea parking lot on King Street between Third and Fourth avenues in downtown Hendersonville. Shows are May 21, June 18, July 16, Aug. 20 and Sept. 17. Shows start at 5 p.m. with the singer-songwriter showcase, followed by the opening act at 6 p.m. and the headliner at 7 p.m.
Here’s the lineup of headliners:

May 21: Allen Thompson

Take a look at Allen Thompson’s record collection and you’ll see names like the Grateful Dead, Crosby, Stills, Nash, & Young, the Black Crowes and the Band—groups that feel more like musical communities than straightforward rock bands. The same sense of community anchors the Allen Thompson Band, a rootsy outfit from Nashville.
The group set up shop in East Nashville, a blue-collar neighborhood east of the Cumberland River, and began fleshing out Thompson’s songs, which sampled equally from country, roots-rock, southern soul, and Appalachian folk music. Lower Broadway, with its neon lights and crowded honky-tonks, was just a 10-minute drive from the band’s practice space, and Music Row—ground zero for Nashville’s conservative-minded music industry—was almost as close. Still, as far as Thompson was concerned, those areas might as well have been in another country.

June 18: The Fritz

The Fritz, a five piece rock band, from Asheville weaves into each composition the personality of the band and the crowd. While their music may range from hard driving soul to progressive rock, there is always a common thread of passionate energy. Whether live or in the studio, The Fritz continues to create an energetic dance party every time. In March of 2013, The Fritz released its second studio effort, “Bootstrap” — a collection of songs the band wrote over the past four years while traveling the Southeast.
Empire Strikes Brass returns as the opening act.

Empire Strikes Brass plays on June 18

July 16: Mountain Heart

Called “the best bluegrass-rock-country-soul-gospel-anything goes hybrid band” by the a bluegrass website, Mountain Heart has been synonymous with cutting-edge excellence in acoustic music circles since the group’s creation in 1999. Widely known throughout the music industry for continually redefining the boundaries of acoustic music, the band has gained legions of loyal fans both as a result of their superlative musicianship, and more notably, their incomparably exciting live performances.
As one of the most highly awarded ensembles ever assembled, members of the band have been nominated for Grammy, ACM and CMA and the band as a whole has been nominated for or won multiple IBMA awards. The band has appeared on the stage of the Grand Ole Opry more than 130 times and shared the stage with such acts as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Montgomery Gentry, Merle Haggard, George Jones, Brad Paisley, Alison Krauss, Tony Rice, The Avett Brothers, Levon Helm and John Fogerty.

August 20: Big Muddy

A combination of blues, soul, Southern rock and country music, Big Muddy brings well over a hundred years of musical experience to every show. Members of the band have been playing music all of their life and have played with everyone from Doc Watson, Delbert McClinton, The David Grisman Quintet to blues legend Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown. With an ability to jump from a steaming Little Feat cover to an original Larry T. Wilson tune, Big Muddy brings a little of that Flori-Bama sound to Hendersonville.

Sept. 17: Aaron Burdett, Eric Congdon

Aaron BurdettSinger-songwriters Aaron Burdett and Eric Congdon wrap up the season with R&B’s first hometown showcase. A native of Saluda and graduate of Hendersonville High School, Burdett serves song-driven Americana. Burdett shares an intriguing perspective on the world around us, connections to places and people, and the simple pleasures of life through his heartfelt, thoughtfully crafted songs. His original Americana music blends folk-rock, bluegrass, and blues into a new sound that’s at once totally original and also comfortingly familiar. His honest songwriting pours in between hammer-on chord changes and rolling crosspicking rhythms, all the while keeping at the forefront his own unique sound and authentic voice.
Eric CongdonGuitarist Eric Congdon has a low-key virtuosity. His finger-picking guitar style radiates both skill and charm and his instrumental material incorporates everything from blues to bluegrass. Whether playing solo or with a small ensemble, Congdon’s forceful yet delicate style doesn’t flaunt as much as it insinuates.
Congdon counts Tommy Emmanuel and Rev. Gary Davis among his influences, but he started with one of the best guitarists ever. “I love Chet Atkins, and digging into his music is how I learned about Tommy Emmanuel and a lot of other players,” he said. “And it was just a process of digging and listening to albums and watching videos.”