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2 Blue 2 Blue is the acoustic duo of Larry Olson and Rupert Oysler. They began playing music together during the folk music revival of the 1960’s and played throughout the North and Southeast. Interested in the roots of American Folk Music, they settled in the Appalachian mountains in the 1970’s where they played and taught music. Eventually they split paths to follow their own careers. Larry developed into an award-winning singer/songwriter, while Rupert rose to international recognition as a country and blues harp stylist on the diatonic harmonica. Now Rupert and Larry have moved to the Carolina Beach, NC, and rejoined forces as 2 Blue. They focus on their original love of acoustic blues, featuring guitars, harmonicas and vocals. To this they have added original songs, and the jazz standards of the 30’s and 40’s. Their eclectic blend, years of experience, and laid-back approach bring you the finest in contemporary acoustic music. Linda Carroll Linda Carroll sings and plays autoharp. Join Linda and guests on the front porch overlooking the North Fork of the New River and in the main house, all with a spectacular view of the fall colors! Growing up in Southwest Virginia. Linda’s first musical experiences were acapella sing-alongs in the family car during day trips. By the age of 10 she was singing the lead – primarily in gospel tunes – with her mother singing alto, her dad singing bass and her two older brothers singing tenor. At age 11 she discovered the autoharp in the Sears Wish Book, asking for and receiving one for Christmas that year. She was finally able to accompany herself when she sang alone. She did not read music, but learned to play by ear. Linda still accompanies her singing with the autoharp. Her musical covers include folk ballads, British Isles tunes gospel and contemporary artists such as Lucinda Williams and Mark Knofler. A long-time favorite is Hank Williams (the first one). Occasionally she still sings acapella and often reveals her passion for the working class by the songs she selects. She keeps her music simple: a stool to sit upon (replacing the car seat), an autoharp for the harmonies and a weathered heart that feels the music more deeply than when she was a child. " North Carolina’s Historic Inns and Their Recipes." The Great Chad Lawson playing Jazz Piano & Dawn O’Brien reads excerpts from recently published “ North Carolina’s Historic Inns and Their Recipes. Charlotte North Carolina residents author Dawn O’Brien & Jazz Pianist Chad Lawson come to Ashe County… Dawn O’Brien will read excerpts from her most recent book, the New Edition of “ North Carolina’s Historic Restaurants.” River House Inn and Restaurant is covered in the book as well as other local restaurants: Shatley Springs Inn – Crumpler, The Best Cellar Restaurant – Blowing Rock, Crippen’s Restaurant – Blowing Rock, and The Mast Farm Inn and Restaurant – Valle Crucis. Dawn will be on hand for discussion and book signing. MusicSmythe Family If you missed them at the 2nd Annual River House Winefest on the New don’t miss this one family of multi-talented, multi-instrumentalists. The MusicSmythe families’ focus is on the music of 20th Century America, from the late 30’s through the 70’s. They specialize in the musical styles of the great girl groups: the Andrew Sisters, the McGuire Sisters, the Crystals, the Vandella’s and the Supremes. They perform swing tunes, jazz standards, early Rock n Roll, Blues, R & B, and Gospel. MusicSmythe has performed in venues from Wilmington, NC to Atlanta, Ga , and all along the eastern seaboard. "Doo-Wop til you drop" Popular Asheville band performs at River House country inn and restaurant on the North Fork of the New River in the mountains of Ashe County North Carolina. The Dorchesters are resurrecting vintage doo-wop, bringing you authentic renditions of timeless classics (and a few that should have made it big the first go-round!) The Dorchesters tribute 1950’s vocal groups. Fronted by lead vocalist Kelly Barrow (a.k.a. Vendetta Cream,) this Asheville based band delivers each song with the romantic sincerity and innocence that won hearts a half century ago. Robin Voiers to appear as "Zelda" Robin Voiers will portray Zelda in the play by William Luce, based on the writings of Mrs. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Born in Montgomery, Alabama, July 24, 1900, Zelda Fitzgerald was a symbol of the Jazz Age, a legend created by her famous husband, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Though she played the role of the “compleat flapper,” she was altogether different from that sentimental stereotype. A talented author herself, she succumbed to schizophrenia and became a “graduate of half a dozen mental institutions.” The play occurs when she is forty-seven years old on the day before her tragic death in a fire at Highlands Hospital in Asheville, North Carolina. During the play, Zelda relives the laughter and tears of her struggle for identification apart from Scott. Robin Voiers is a highly acclaimed regional actress. In addition to modeling, television commercials, and choreography, she has starred with numerous theater groups in the Southeast. She is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Florida State University with degrees in English literature and dance. She danced with the thirteenth American Dance Festival at Connecticut College and performed professionally in New York City and Washington, D. C. before teaching dance at the Universities of Georgia and Maryland. She has also taught English, drama, humanities, art literature, and French and has received several poetry awards for her own work. Directed in each of her one-woman plays by her husband, William, Mrs. Voiers opened her first show in March, 1986, at Reynolda House in Winston-Salem. She has since portrayed her heroines in hundreds of performances throughout North Carolina and the Southeast and as far distant as the Dallas Repertory Theatre in Texas, the Imogene Theatre in Milton, Florida, the Little Theatre in Albany, Georgia, and the Mt. Clemens Community Theatre in Michigan. In addition to Zelda, Mrs. Voiers’ repertoire includes: The Belle of Amherst, based on the writings of Emily Dickinson; Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory, Maria Callas in Master Class; Margaret Sanger; and Love Letters co-starring husband William Voiers. Wet Paint to make a splash on Mother’s Day Bet and Rob Mangum will show pottery from their Turkey Knob Studio, and make music for Mothers Sunday at River House. Since 1974, when they settled in Alleghyany County, the Mangums have employed various clays and pottery tecniques including wheelthrown, handbuilding, sculpture and tiles. Their art is collected worldwide. The Mangums, whose band is called "Wet Paint," both performed with the "Courthouse Ramblers" and they enjoy various themes of musical expression from olde-time to bluegrass, gospel, folk and rock. There is very little in Art and Music that they don’t love and draw inspiration from. Jazz Piano & North Carolina’s Historic Inns and Their Recipes. What’s Old Is New Again: New Edition Available of North Carolina’s Historic Restaurants: A product of author Dawn O’Brien’s interest in historic preservation and love of food, North Carolina’s Historic Restaurants & Their Recipes features recipes from restaurants housed in structures at least 50 years old. The combination travel guide and cookbook presents the wide range of tastes found in some of North Carolina’s most unique restaurants, from family-style dining at Shatley Springs Inn in the northwest corner of the state to the elegant presentations at the McNinch House in Charlotte, where salads include edible orchids and salmon flown in from Norway. O’Brien explored restaurants across the state, from The Cottage, a 1916 bungalow at Carolina Beach, to the Fryemont Inn, a bark-sided inn built in Bryson City in 1923. She was able to get recipes from each establishment. After reworking and testing them for use in her home kitchen, she has included two or three selections from each restaurant. Each entry also includes background on the building, interesting or intriguing facts O’Brien uncovered on her visits, and hints on house specialties and customer favorites. Dawn O’Brien is a graduate of the University of North Carolina and Wake Forest University. She is the author of The Insider’s Guide to Charlotte and Down the Road in the Carolinas and the creator of Blair’s successful Historic Restaurants series. She was also the creator and host of the PBS series A Taste of Adventure, which was broadcast nationally in 1987. O’Brien worked as a TV news reporter, as a writer and producer for documentaries and teen TV programs, and as a magazine and pamphlet writer. Since 1977, she has been a freelance journalist. She also wrote and presented Taste of Adventure, a six-episode TV series based on her historic restaurants books. O’Brien’s most recent book, the fourth edition of North Carolina’s Historic Restaurants and Their Recipes, tours 50 historic restaurants throughout North Carolina and includes two to three recipes from each restaurant, which O’Brien herself has tested. O’Brien lives in Charlotte, NC. She is the author of Insiders Guide to Charlotte and Down the Road in the Carolinas. Chad Lawson Trio Gentle, impassioned, deliberate, nimble of hand…Chad Lawson has slipped into the awareness of jazz enthusiasts as deftly as he and his trio, The Chad Lawson Trio, slipped into their integrity-rich renditions of Harold Arlen compositions on their 2002 release Dear Dorothy: The Oz Sessions (Summit Records). With a personal background textured enough to embody a gleeful 5 year old who bounced off the walls at the mere mention of Sha-na-na, a vibrant classical training that began at the age of 6, the paradoxical perfection of a stint with a cover band that rocked everything from Steely Dan to CCR paired with a tenure in a blues unit that served as the fitting soundtrack to his ensnarement between the insatiable demands of two worthy lovers, the familiar conversance of the classical and the haunting call of jazz - it can be confirmed that Lawson is a musician of refreshing depth, classic struggle, and unpredictable range. Between the rock band and blues years of his early 20’s, came admittance and a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA. Armed with the composing, scoring, improvisational, technical, and performance fruits that a rigorous jazz training bears, Chad was well equipped for the unanticipated attention WNCU’s Jerry Carter and The Gavin Report heaped on his first trio’s 1998 release Chad Lawson Trio (Lawson Productions). A collection of tunes originally meant to be a Christmas present for his mother, this recording featured the notable original composition A Moment for Joe written in her father’s memory. The sessions, gigs, work, and hustle post Chad Lawson Trio proved to be even more fortuitous for Chad because they put him in the presence of his present partners in jazz. On a brief east coast tour with Babik Reinhardt, he made a lasting connection with bassist Zack Page. A bit later, during a gig in his home of Charlotte, NC, he hit it off with drummer Al Sergel. Defying geography and the demands of three individually burgeoning careers, Chad and the fellas recorded Dear Dorothy and solidified a personal and musical relationship that has taken them from New York’s K’ave’haz Café, DC’s Twins Jazz, and Heidi’s Jazz Club in Coco Beach, to the Bethlehem Music Festival, the Hilton Head Jazz Festival, and Club Rhapsody in Okinawa, Japan. Capturing the attention of music insiders, television, Starbucks, the Arlen estate, and Kawai piano makers, Chad and the trio have been respectively seen and heard on Jazzweek.com, Sony Pictures Television Inc.’s Dawson’s Creek, and as part of the Starbucks play list. The trio’s invitation to participate as the rhythm section in performances both stateside and abroad as part of the Arlen estate’s 2005 celebration of Harold Arlen’s birthday has been a real boon to their professional profile. As Lawson continues in the melodic, innovative, and lush tradition of those players he so admires, it’s not that you’ll actually hear Tommy Flanagan, Hank Jones, Keith Jarrett, or the ironic delicacy of full time piano player and part time pugilist Red Garland in his playing, you’ll hear something deeper. You’ll hear the undeniable uniqueness of an artist who recognizes and responds to the uniqueness of others. From the dutifully astute expression of Chad’s playing on Chad Lawson Trio straight through to the ripeness experienced in Dear Dorothy, the authority and finesse he displays on the trio’s 2004 release Unforeseen (Summit Records) both defies expectation and portends wonderful things to come. Chad Lawson is in perpetual bloom. Listen as it all unfurls. Laditude From cocktail jazz to Top 40, Motown, Beach, Country and all of your favorites, Laditude plays everything for everybody. Ken and Amy Laderoute have played on the road for 14 years. In that time, they’ve played major resorts to the largest and most prestigious social clubs, society, corporate and fundraising events in the U.S. and Canada. Even before they knew one another they’re careers began coincidentally in 1975. they met when their mutual manager flew Amy to Niagara Falls to audition for Ken’s band “The Boss.” They joined forces and continued to tour and perform together for 6 years. They recorded two albums and several singles, two of which hit the Top 40 charts in Canada. Amy and Ken have worked with some top entertainers, music production firms, and recording companies in North America. In her younger years, Amy Laderoute studied classical piano for 6 years and won a scholarship to the Fred Waring School of Music in Pittsburgh, Pa. At 17 she landed a job as lead vocalist for “Crosswind” a band from Ohio. She played and performed in major cities throughout the U.S. During one of many tours, in her hotel room, while watching the Tonight Show, Amy saw John Davidson talking about his dream of having a camp for aspiring young singers. Amy sent in a demo tape and was chosen out of nine thousand applicants to attend. Ken Laderoute taught himself to play guitar at 12 years old and began playing weddings and dances with his father’s band in the Toronto area. The oldest of five, his father, mother and siblings were united by a common love of making music together. They called themselves “Father’s Children” and grew to become popular in the area. While filming a documentary, Bob Burt, a renowned television producer for the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., heard of the family band and invited them to record a demo of the family band at CBC Studio 6 on Jarvis street in Toronto; a successful venture that helped in Ken’s career. Ken taught classical guitar at the Cambridge Academy for the Arts and served as the musical director for several productions of the kitchener/Waterloo Canadian Theatre. After Ken and Amy met in Niagara Falls they created a duo called OUI. They toured continually with their home base in Waterloo, Ontario. After eight years, they moved to Boone, North Carolina. Laditude’s main intention is to have fun and extend their enthusiasm to the audience. Every song is high-energy, unique and most of all, danceable! Jim Early Book Signing Jim Early will be signing copies of his book, Reflections - The Memories and Recipes of a Southern Cook. Check out a taste of Jim’s recipes. We’re serving up 3 from this book that will tantilize your tastes! Three Cheeses, Green Onion and Garlic Roasted Pine Nut Dip Key Lime and Pistachio Nut Dip Better Than Sex Chocolate Pie Jim Early is a trial lawyer and Superior Court mediator. He lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and has three children. Jim is also the author of what many call the definitive book on North Carolina barbecue, The Best Tar Heel Barbecue Manteo to Murphy. He speaks nationally and internationally to fellow lawyers and business personnel on quality of life issues and stress management. Jim is an experienced hunting and fishing guide and leads parties to venues such as Alaska, Montana, the Bahamas, Scotland, South Dakota and Africa. Jim is also a gourment cook and has taught numerous cooking classes for local colleges, businesses, etc. and his meals run the gamut from black tie to kicked back around a campfire. Jim shares proceeds from his current books with Special Olympics North Carolina and Feed the Children. Reflections - The Memories and Recipes of a Southern Cook Jim’s latest book contains 30 all new original dips and spreads created by Jim that capture flavors from memorable culinary encounters from Richmond to Dallas to Key West. Some of these treats were the offerings of chefs in four or five star restaurants, others came from the loving hands of Southern cooks in private homes - large and small. In each instance the person preparing the food conveyed, spoken or unspoken, "You are my friend and I have prepared this especially for you. Enjoy." To capture these moments Jim carefully handcrafted each dip until he achieved the taste and bouquet of flavors he sought. These gourmet dips and spreads are the work product of over 2,700 hours and approximately $18,000.00 in ingredients and development. With the exception of liqueurs, the ingredients for these dips can be readily found in most well stocked grocery stores. To create recipes for classic Southern desserts where none existed, Jim spent untold hours with lovely ladies in their eighties and nineties who attempted to recall how their mother, grandmother, great aunt, etc. made a certain dish. After many hours of research for each dessert, Jim prepared large spreadsheets to determine lines of commonality of ingredients and then attempted to guess from descriptions such as "a handful," a "coffee cup" and "a little tin scoop" the amount of each ingredient. Stretching his culinary skills, Jim then concocted prototype desserts until he reached a baseline dessert that pleased his pallet and captured the dish he sought. He then prepared this dessert three times consecutively to determine if it met baseline standards. After clearing this bar, Jim then added his special touches and created a uniquely wonderful array of "special" Southern classics. David Holt, Grammy award winning storyteller and musician, has this to say about Jim’s book, "Jim Early’s Reflections: The Memories and Recipes of a Southern Cook is the gold standard for dips and desserts. These dips let your guest know you really care about them and want to serve something special. Gourmet cook Early has dug deep in Southern culture finding the most delicious recipes and then adding his own ingenious touches. If you care about fine dips and desserts–you have struck the motherlode." Printing Sponsored by BB&T, Portions of the Proceeds will go in Support of Feed the Children. Acoustic Heritage "Acoustic Heritage" features Debbie Grim Yates, Tim Yates and Mark Rose, with special guest Lenora "Len" Rose. A potter from Konnarock, Va., Debbie Yates has been a performer in the old-time music scene for more than 15 years. She is well known for her many years with the Konnarock Critters—playing all across the country as well as touring England. She has conducted dozens of music workshops and been in great demand as a private teacher. Debbie’s dynamic, precise style of clawhammer banjo and fiddling and her tasteful way with a song are admired by audiences as well as other musicians. Tim Yates has had more than 20 years of experience as a guitarist and bass player with his family band, The Yates Brothers. In addition, he has toured the United States with Wyatt Rice and Santa Cruz, The Jimmy Goudreau Bluegrass Unit and the Tony Rice Unit. His guitar workshops are always well attended. Tim blends the traditional styles of his Taylor Valley, Va., heritage with the hot licks he’s picked up along the road. When he starts to play, everyone knows there’ll be musical fireworks. Mark Rose, from Mouth of Wilson, Va., has played bass with traditional old-time bands for more than 20 years. He played and sang with The Courthouse Ramblers for many years and currently plays swing and big band music with the trio The Hytone Hepcats. Mark is also in demand as a "fill-in" bass player for bluegrass and old-time bands in the area. He recently played on a recording with Bob Vasille, formerly of Acoustic Attitude. Mark has also taught old-time bass techniques to middle school students in the Sparta, N.C., Junior Appalachian Musicians (JAM) program. Len Rose, also from Mouth of Wilson, has been singing since early childhood—everything from church music to rock and roll to songs from the musical stage to bluegrass. Her interest in traditional mountain music was revived in the early 1970’s. She was a founding member of The Courthouse Ramblers, where her vocal abilities and rhythmic percussion were featured. Len sang backup and harmonized on the "Green Bottle Dawgs" CD, an eclectic blend of acoustic bluegrass and original tunes. Damon DiMarco In the months following September 11th, 2001, a New York writer interviewed survivors from the Trade Towers, firemen, policemen, volunteers, activists, and the bereaved . . . The stories he was told have now been published in Tower Stories: the Autobiography of September 11th from Revolution Publishing, with a foreword by Tom Kean, Chairman of the 9/11 Commission. In the same tradition as the Roosevelt Administration’s Slave Narratives and the Pulitzer-Prize winning work of Studs Terkel in his best-selling The Good War, Tower Stories records the voices of history so that the truth about the most heinous terrorist attack on American soil – and how our nation dealt with it – will survive. “The interviews contained in this book are seminal to our American history. . . Reading them,you get the sense that there was just enough time between the Towers’ collapse and the click of the recorder for people to catch their breaths and plant their feet on firm ground. Then they began to speak, directly and candidly. They spoke from their hearts, and I can’t think they gave a single notion toward the idea that their words would be preserved forever. It was too confusing and painful a time to fumble with the weight of such ideas. Truth rings out in every word. I hope this book remains in print for a very long time to come, because everyone should read it. Our children should read it. With regard to 9/11, we - as a people - cannot allow a myth to take root. We must ground ourselves in the reality of our pain if we have any hope of moving forward. And move forward we must. . .” From the foreword by Tom Kean, Chairman of the 9/11 Commission. Portions of the book’s proceeds have been pledged to Secret Smiles, New York. For more information on Secret Smiles, visit www.secretsmiles.org. Tower Stories will be available in book stores everywhere in late August of 2004. Advanced orders can be placed now on Amazon and BarnesandNoble.com. Bett and Rob Mangum Since 1974 Bet and Rob Mangum have been making pottery and music from their studio/home in Alleghany County, NC. Their pottery is expressed with varied techniques (and clays) from wheelthrown, handbuilding, sculpture and tiles, their art has been collected worldwide. As the pottery business has grown and become more secure, Rob and Bett have found more time to pursue their love of music. Like the pottery they enjoy various themes of musical expression from: olde-time, bluegrass, gospel folk, and rock. There is very little in Art and Music that they don’t love and draw inspiration from. It is their hope that this is obvious in their work and play. Rob and Bett met over 25 years ago; they both performed with the “Courthouse Ramblers.” Jeff Little "Fall back," and celebrate Halloween (please come in costume, if you wish) Jeff Little, "The Piano Man from the Blue Ridge," returns to the Inn for another great performance. There will be a costume judging with prizes such as a weekend getaway, cooking classes during the off season, a canoe trip for two with boxed lunch, dinner for two at the inn and etc... Hors d’oeuvre and Halloween theme beverages will be offered before dinner! Chefs George Gambill & Josh Miller will be stirring their brew from the River House kitchen. "Jeff Little tore the place apart with his wondrously quick and articulate piano style. He is tricky and playful, yet always intelligent and richly melodic." -The Boston Globe "Jeff Little is a remarkable musician, steeped in the tradition of his native Blue Ridge, yet also a virtuosic and eclectic innovator." -Nick Spitzer, National Public Radio "Jeff Little delivered impressive unaccompanied versions of both "Orange Blossom Special" and "Whole Lot of Shakin’ Goin’ On." Just as Doc Watson once adapted fast tricky fiddle tunes to the guitar, so has Little to the piano." -The Washington Post "I heard Jeff on National Public Radio’s Folk Masters and was blown away. It was like hearing Jelly Roll Morton, Doc Watson or Earl Scruggs for the first time. You have to wonder how so much sound can come from one instrument." -J.D. Dooley, Watauga Democrat "Piano Man from the Blue Ridge” Jeff Little is a remarkable musician, steeped in the tradition of his native Blue Ridge, yet also a virtuosic and eclectic innovator. We have at various times envisioned a Folk Masters program devoted to fiddle tunes on other instruments, with Jeff guaranteed a spot. Little’s involvement with fiddle tunes dates to his growing up in Boone, North Carolina, where his father ran a music shop. As a child he regularly heard the musician who set the national standard in country folk music for picking fiddle tunes on the guitar, Doc Watson. His music helped shape Jeff s unique approach to playing tunes on the piano. Watson is still a close friend-Jeff plays a number of performances with him each year. If Jeff is a piano professor today, it’s partly because he attended Doc’s college of musical knowledge for many years. The Little family’s music shop in Boone is perhaps partially responsible for Jeff’s mastery of several styles. His father played jazz and older popular music on the tenor banjo-not the five string associated with bluegrass. Today, Jeff is conversant with traditional jazz, rockabilly, blues and a certain amount of Allman Brothers tinged rock. With mouth-rack harmonica and vocals, he can also be a oneman show. Little’s virtuosity stems from having started playing at age five and having played professionally since age fourteen - all in a region where the aesthetics of old time country call for speed, precision and clarity, as well as adherence to the traditional repertoire. The level of musical ability and devotion to regional style in this area where Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia meet is unrivaled in the United States. Jeff Little has internalized this strong foundation to perform around the world including such countries as Sri Lanka, Oman, France and Tanzania. In addition to his performances on National Public Radio he also has been featured at the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. With Few exceptions - Moon Mulligan, Jerry Lee Lewis, Floyd Kramer - the piano has not been a lead instrument in country, especially old time country. Jeff Little may just change that. Solid Stride Dave amd Sherry Hoffman will perform and show their pottery. Kosinski Watercolors & Oil Paintings Paintings of Jerusalem, the Holy Land & the Blue Ridge Mountains. Original Paintings, Prints and Art Journal available for purchase. Dinner Theatre "Love Letters" Love Letters – is a play, or rather a sort of play, which needs no theatre, no lengthy rehearsal, no special set, no memorization of lines, and no commitment from its two actors beyond the night of performance. It is designated simply to be read aloud by an actor and actress of roughly the same age, sitting side by side at a table in front of a group of people of any size. Meet Andy Ladd and Melissa Gardner. Robin and Bill Voiers reside in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Mrs. Voiers is a widely acclaimed regional actress. Mr. Voiers, a veteran stage actor, director and producer, has collaborated with his wife Robin in theatre productions, starring with her in Bell, Book, and Candle, Anastasia, and Light Up The Sky, and directing her in each of her one-woman shows: The Belle of Amherst – based faithfully on the letters, journals and poems of Emily Dickinson. Zelda – the symbol of the Jazz Age; a legend created by her famous husband F. Scott Fitzgerald. A Christmas Memory – a dramatization of Truman Capote’s classic short story of his young life in rural Alabama during the Great Depression. Damels in Distress – four character sketches of the heroines in Cinderella, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Rumplestilskin. The Voiers have been performing “Love Letters” annually at River House for 5 seasons; a popular event for River House regulars! “Don’t Miss It.” Classical Guitar & Flute Musical Duo Doug James & Dr. Nancy Schneeloch-Bingham, ASU Solid Stride "Solid Stride," a piano and bass duo, is the latest in a long history of musical collaborations for David and Sherry Hoffman. Both graduated from Manhattan School of Music and in their three decades in Grayson county they have been involved in numerous musical projects including forming, conducting and accompanying the Highland Camerata from its inception through the first ten years. This community chorus recently celebrated it’s 25th anniversary. More recently they were members of the New River Chamber Singers. They currently work full time in their home pottery studio on the outskirts of Independence. As a trombonist, David studied with the principal trombonist of the New York Philharmonic and worked professionally in New York, both in classical (such as being an extra with the NY Philharmonic and touring with the Stuttgart Ballet) and commercial styles (including touring with the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra and the Les and Larry Elgart Band). Upon arrival in Grayson County in 1972 he took up the bass to play bluegrass and soon found that it worked well with Sherry’s ragtime piano, which eventually lead to "Solid Stride". He has also played with numerous local musical theater productions, and in accompaniment roles with the Highland Camerata. Sherry studied piano with Artur Balsam at Manhattan School of Music, did graduate work with Kenneth Huber at Virginia Intermont College and participated in Master Classes with Leon Fleisher. She taught private piano lessons, performed solo and chamber recitals, and worked as a piano technician-tuner for over a decade before taking up pottery full time. She has toured as staff accompanist for the Community Artist’s Residency Program, accompanied the Highland Camerata, played for numerous New River Opera Theater productions as well as the New River Chamber Singers. Recently she has appeared in "Tickling the Ivories" piano concerts, sponsored by the West Jefferson Arts Council. Another performance in this series is scheduled for August 28 at the West Jefferson Civic Center. Solid Stride’s program at The River House will be a sampler of popular pianist-composers and their varied styles, beginning at the turn of the last century with the ragtime of the Scott Joplin era and its rebound in the ragtime revival music of the 1970s. Gershwin has his own branch of this pianist’s family tree. The early stride piano of the likes of J.P.Johnson and Fats Waller, and the driving blues of Jelly Roll Morton branch into the jazz styles of Art Tatum and beyond to the likes of Oscar Peterson, Bill Evans, Marion McPartland to mention a few. It’s a uniquely American heritage, full of history and memories recorded in rhythm and swing.