The Liston B.
Ramsey Center for Regional Studies at Mars Hill University is pleased to
announce that tickets are on sale now at for a special evening with Madison
County master fiddler, Roger Howell, at the Altamont Theatre in downtown
Asheville, June 25, 7 pm.
The evening will
combine a screening of the documentary, “A Mighty Fine Memory: Stories and
Tunes from the Fiddler of Banjo Branch,” which was completed in October 2015.
The film tells the story of Howell's childhood and youth on Banjo Branch Road in
Mars Hill, North Carolina as well as his introduction and life-long commitment
to old-time music. It combines scenes from Howell's life with personal
interviews and a live concert featuring Howell backed by some of the region’s
finest musicians.
"A Mighty
Fine Memory" was funded in part by a cultural preservation grant from the
Blue Ridge National Heritage Area Partnership to the Ramsey Center in 2014.
The documentary was directed and produced by Bascom Lamar Lunsford
Festival Director, Hannah Furgiuele, filmed and edited by Rebecca Branson
Jones, and engaged many people from the community locally and regionally.
Howell is known
throughout the region for his skill as a musician, his generosity as a teacher,
and his prodigious memory, as demonstrated by his contribution of 532 fiddle
tunes comprising the “Roger Howell Memory Collection” to Mars Hill University’s
Southern Appalachian Archives. Howell’s performances and lessons are full
of stories about the people who taught him this music—the “old people” of his
youth. The many ways Roger Howell has immersed himself in the music of
this region since his childhood make his story one worthy of sharing with the
wider world.
Brian Sutton,
Grammy award winner and six-time winner of the International Bluegrass Music
Association's Guitarist of the year, said that Roger is his go-to source for
any background information on mountain music and fiddle tunes. Howell is
an invaluable resource for him and others in being the keeper of the history of
so many tunes that would have otherwise been lost. “Roger represents what
I hold near and dear about being a musician from western North Carolina,” said
Sutton.
Howell has
received numerous recognitions and awards for his performances and
contributions to the music traditions of Madison County and the region. He was
awarded the Bascom Lamar Lunsford Award at the Bascom Lamar Lunsford “Minstrel
of Appalachia” Festival in 1999. In 2015, he was honored with the Brown
Hudson Folklore Award by the North Carolina Folkore Society for his work
preserving and sharing the region’s musical traditions. Earlier in the
year, he won the highest recognition at the Fiddler’s Grove Festival in Union
Grove North Carolina when he was named “Fiddler of the Festival.”
Howell can often
be found playing at several local festivals and jams throughout the year.
The Bascom Lamar Lunsford “Minstrel of Appalachia” Festival is scheduled this
year for October 1 at Mars Hill University; The Asheville Mountain Dance and
Folk Festival will be on August 4-6 at the Diana Wortham Theatre, Shindig on
the Green happens every Saturday in downtown Asheville over the summer; and
Zuma Coffee in Marshall, NC, hosts Howell performing alongside ten-time Grammy
Award winner, Bobby Hicks every Thursday night.
Hicks, a local
legend in his own right, succinctly summed up Howell's legacy when, on the
film, he said, “In my opinion, he’s the best old-time fiddler around.”
Tickets are
available at: http://thealtamonttheatre.com/music/
or at the box office located at 18 Church Street in downtown Asheville.
Price is $15 in advance and $20 at the door. VIP tickets, at $30, ensure
seating in the first three rows. For any additional information about the event
or documentary, please contact Hannah Furgiuele at 828-689-1571 or hfurgiuele@mhu.edu.
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