Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 28, 1993 TAG: 9305270018
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By SETH WILLIAMSON SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Long
Blacksburg's annual Summer Arts Festival will feature 10 weekly concerts, which begin tonight and continue through July.
Tonight's inaugural concert is from No Strings Attached, a hammer-dulcimer-based acoustic group with seven albums. It's one of the area's most popular bands.
Each Friday-night concert will begin at 6 and last until 7:30. All concerts will take place on the Henderson Hall lawn, next to College Avenue in downtown Blacksburg.
As in previous years, the key word is casual: Concertgoers are encouraged to bring picnic dinners, blankets and lawn chairs. If it rains, the music will move to the Squires Student Center.
June performers will be Stan Kingma's Virginians, June 4; the Blacksburg Community Band, June 11; the jazz combo Round Midnight, June 18; and Broadway & Beyond, June 25, with selections from musicals and operetta.
The July lineup features traditional Dixieland jazz from the Riverboat Ramblers, July 2; popular music and show tunes from Katherine Breske and Friends, July 9; eclectic acoustic music from the Blue Sky Band, July 16; German "oompah" music from the Sauerkraut Band, July 23; and a preview of the community musical production of "Oklahoma!" July 30.
No Strings Attached has established a reputation as one of the more innovative acoustic-eclectic bands on the East Coast. When the quartet formed 12 years ago, it concentrated almost exclusively on Celtic music, but it is now just as likely to do Dave Brubeck jazz as Irish reels.
"You might call what we do `pseudo-ethnic music,' because we do some stuff that sounds like music from certain countries but it's not, really," said founder Wes Chappell, who plays hammer dulcimer, mandolin, bouzouki, flutes, whistles and percussion.
"Some of it's legit ethnic and some of it is close but no cigar. Mostly we do instrumentals, but there are some humorous vocals here and there. These days we'll take on anything from Irish music to jazz. For example, we're doing this obscure Coasters song called `I'm a Hog for You, Baby,' " he said.
Other members are Randy Marchany on hammer dulcimer and keyboards; Pete Hastings on guitar and harmonica; and Bob Thomas on string bass, bass clarinet and bass saxophone.
No Strings Attached has become one of the mainstays in the artistic stable of Turquoise Records, a Kentucky-based bluegrass and acoustic label. The group's first two compact discs for Turquoise were "Take Five" and "Coffee at Midnight," which featured such typical No Strings titles as "Reggae Jackson," "Roumanian Rhumba" and "The Boys of Balisodare."
The band's newest effort for Turquoise, due in stores next week, is titled "Blue Roses." Chappell said the new release has "more of a Latin feel than the past ones."
The Blue Sky Band has been together for three years and features a more overtly country- music flavor than No Strings Attached. Composed of two architects, an optical engineer, a school teacher and a doctoral candidate in agronomy, the band is fronted by architect Marianne Lentz, described by bass player Rusty May as an "overcommitted overachiever."
May describes the band's sound as "eclectic acoustic music with a country accent." Its repertoire includes Hank Williams classics such as "Your Cheatin' Heart" and "Jambalaya," Bob Wills tunes such as "San Antonio Rose," and material from more contemporary artists such as Lyle Lovett and Dan Seals.
Much of the credit for the Blue Sky Band's country sound goes to Bill Adams, a Floyd County teacher who is one of the better steel-guitar players in Western Virginia. Adams plays pedal steel, lap steel and dobro.
The Summer Arts Festival '93 is jointly sponsored by Virginia Tech and the town of Blacksburg. The celebration also includes films, theatre productions and gallery exhibits.
The free film series is presented by the Tech Union in the Haymarket Theatre in the Squires Student Center. "The Prince of Tides" will be shown June 2, with later titles to include "Fern Gully," "Mo' Money" and "My Cousin Vinny."
Tech's Theatre Arts-University Theatre has prepared three productions for the festival. Scheduled first is the so-called bio-musical "Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill," the life story of jazz singer Billie Holiday, by Lanie Robertson. The show opens June 8 at the Squires Studio Theatre and plays at 8 nightly through June 12.
Other productions are Tom Stoppard's "The Real Inspector Hound," beginning June 22, and Tennessee Williams' "Suddenly Last Summer," which opens July 5.
Special events produced by the town include the Montgomery County Historic Festival on June 12 at Smithfield Plantation. A traditional Independence Day celebration will include a parade July 3 and fireworks July 4 at Lane Stadium. The annual Steppin' Out festival is scheduled for Aug. 5-7.
Many of the same concert performers will be heard in other New River Valley locations throughout the summer. The schedules for Boom Park in Narrows, the Jackson Park Gazebo in Pulaski and the Bissett Park Gazebo in Radford have not yet been finalized.
More information about the festival is available at 231-5200 or 231-5921.
by CNB