More to come…

…lots more as we cool down for October’s last gasp and look ahead to the eleventh month of this music-filled year.  Got a pair of Dailey & Vincent tix to give away too…read on!

For a freakin’ fine way to mark Pumpkin Day, how about getting dressed up as Junior Samples or Lulu Roman and heading to Shenanigans on MacArthur Avenue Saturday night for a Hee Haw Halloween with the scary-good Brad Spivey & the Honky Tonk Experience.  “Where O where are you tonight?”  Or the Taters stage a Halloween Spooktacular at Ashland Coffee & Tea on the same dang night.  What to do?

On Wednesday, Nov. 3rd, the Savoy Family Band who played our National Folk Festival here back in the early years, returns for a well-played night of Cajun tunes at the Cultural Arts Center at Glen Allen.

Friday night the 5th brings autoharpist/raconteur Bryan Bowers back to the east coast to play AC&T after a couple of JAMinc-arranged school performances at the Sabot Stony Point School and Mary Munford Elementary earlier in the day.  If you’ve missed Bryan at In Your Ear or Cross Roads Coffee House, don’t let that happen again…he’s a consummate entertainer.

Also beginning Friday, VCU’s guitar man John Patykula has cooked up Flamenco Festival II: Miguelito and Friends featuring the artistry of Michael “Miguelito” Perez to lead a celebration of the genre’s vibrant music and dance.  Check the Singleton Center’s website for all the specifics.

Yet another option might be the Scotland’s answer to the Chieftains, the Battlefield Band, playing their rich mix of Celtic tunes at the Williamsburg Regional Library on Friday night.

Saturday the 6th could be a great night to head out 64 West to Staunton and the beautiful Mockingbird Roots Music Hall for a special CD release show by the Honey Dewdrops and their special guests Robin & Linda Williams and valley luthiers Jeff Huss and Mark Dalton.  The Dewdrops, of course, are Scottsville's Laura Wortman and Kagey Parrish (with Richmond’s own Barry Lawson on bass and mandolin) whose growing fanbase has been eagerly awaiting their second CD These Old Roots.  I would so be there if it weren’t for having a long-ago purchased pair of tickets for the Hot Rize reunion show at the Birchmere the same night.  And rumor has it that Red Knuckles & The Trailblazers are on the bus too.  If any tickets are left you can find them here.  Yet another reason why I’m trying to figure how to split-screen my life.

 

So now for the freebies…Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent along with their hotter-than-hot band are headed our way on Wednesday, November 10th to play the Camp Concert Hall in U of R’s elegant Modlin Center.  Uptown bluegrass at its finest and a chance to hear some of the perfectly done Statler Brothers tunes from their hit Cracker Barrel tribute CD.  Buy tickets here or win them by being the fifth one to email me at mail@timtimberlake.com with the name of the guy in the middle in the above photo.

And the hits just keep on comin’.  On Thursday, the 11th you have another tough choice:  Canada’s velvet-voiced tunesmith Jesse Winchester returns to Ashland Coffee & Tea.  Now a Virginian, Jesse has only improved with age, both in interpreting his insightfully romantic lyrics and in engaging the audience with his winking wit.  So there’s that.  And there’s a chance to support a great cause and enjoy some brew, barbecue and world-class bluegrass as the Seldom Scene plays Windsor Farms…no kidding.  The Scene’s back for the Children Incorporated benefit at the Tuckahoe Women’s Club on Dover Road.  $50 all-inclusive tickets available here.

One more for now…our next JAMinc/In Your Ear studio concert is set for Friday, November 12 with versatile and gifted fingerstyle guitarist Duck Baker.  Duck grew up right here in River City and he’s taken his unique approach to the six-string around the world.  Don’t miss this chance to witness his warm and personal homecoming performance with the delish pre-show pot luck buffet.  Reservations going fast on our new JAMinc website.

Just got my hands on JAMinc board member and resident rock star Robbin Thompson’s new Live at The National CD and having been there for the actual concert early this year, I’m pleased to report that it faithfully captures the 30-year reunion of these well-seasoned veterans.  Velpo Robertson, Eric Heiberg, Rico Antonelli and Audie Stanley provide a solid foundation both instrumentally and vocally for Robbin’s throaty roar.  The intro to the final track “Bright Eyes” is gorgeous.  The DVD with lots of extras is just out too and they boys had so much fun, they’re planning another celebratory show at the National in early 2011.  If you missed the first, don’t miss the second.

 

I’ll leave you with the just-announced lineup for MerleFest 2011, one of the nation’s biggest and best roots music extravaganzas, this time with Doc Watson and all the usual suspects and Lyle Lovett, Tim O’Brien, the Wailin’ Jennys and the Doobie Brothers (with John Cowan?).  Also Cadillac Sky with their new front man Levi Lowrey.  (Where Bryan Simpson’s going is another story.)  It’s always the last weekend in April...make your plans accordingly.  TT

(Photo credits:  Honky Tonk Experience by Si Cottrell, Seldom Scene and Duck Baker from their websites.)