
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: FRIDAY, July 15, 1994                   TAG: 9407260039
SECTION: EXTRA                    PAGE: 1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: By GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

HILLBILLIES HOLD A HOOTENANNY

It's a three-hour drive from Roanoke to Wise but not that far when you consider you're driving through some of the prettiest scenery in Southwest Virginia.

If you've ever thought about paying a visit to the Virginia coalfields town, this Saturday is the day to do it, when they hold the fourth annual Hillbilly Nation Celebration at the Wise County Fairgrounds.

Headlining this year's concert is Southern Culture on the Skids, two of whose three members hail from Roanoke. Southern Culture, based in Chapel Hill, N.C., plays a mixture of blues, rock 'n 'roll and rockabilly that Rolling Stone magazine calls "surfabilly."

One writer has said that the band's music is "kinda like Kentucky Fried Chicken, except it's a lot greasier and makes you drool more."

Joining Southern Culture on the fairgrounds stage will be the Metropolitan Blues All Stars, Kiya Heartwood and Stealin' Horses, Bad Branch and the Possum Hollers.

The All Stars have been called one of the best blues bands in the country, and Stealin' Horses' Heartwood is said to be "a country girl with a rock 'n' roll attitude."

The concert will benefit WMMT, Mountain Community Radio, a listener-supported FM station, based in Whitesburg, Ky., whose signal straddles Pine Mountain between Kentucky and Virginia.

Advance tickets for the concert are available at a variety of Southwest Virginia, East Tennessee and Kentucky locations for $16. Tickets at the gate will be $20. For more information, call (606) 633-0108.

by CNB