Songcatchers music series at the Cradle of Forestry launches July 2

Press release:

Two-time Florida Banjo Champion and recording artist, Mary Z. Cox and award winning North Carolina fiddler, Tim Gardner, will open the Cradle of Forestry in America’s annual Songcatchers Music Series Sunday, July 2.

Now in its 15th year, the series is held each Sunday afternoon in July, beginning at 4:00 p.m. It honors traditional mountain music and the talented performers who preserve it, share it, and make it their own. The Songcatchers Music Series is an official event of the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina, http://www.blueridgemusicnc.com/.

Concert-goers can expect to hear tunes from North Carolina, West Virginia and Florida played on banjos, fiddle, guitar, and banjo ukulele. Blues, banjo/ fiddle duets, ukulele madness, and songs will be delivered in a fun and friendly performance.

Mary Z. has taught clawhammer banjo and mountain dulcimer from coast to coast including banjo for a decade at the John C. Campbell School in Brasstown, North Carolina. Her articles on banjo and dulcimer have appeared in Banjo Newsletter and Dulcimer Player News. For more details visit www.maryzcox.com.
Tim Gardner has been around traditional music since his early childhood, when he would travel to festivals with his parents, old-time music community pillars Lo and Mary Gordon. He began learning the fiddle at the age of seven, inspired by Kentucky fiddler J. P. Fraley, whom he met at the 1986 Galax Fiddlers Convention. Since then he was won high honors in fiddling at a number of events, including the historic Fiddlers Grove competition in Union Grove, NC. His recording, Timmetry, conveys his skill and understanding of different fiddling styles. He also plays clawhammer banjo and guitar and builds Cedar Mountain banjos. For more about Tim visit www.cedarrmountainbanjos.com.

Concerts take place in the Cradle’s covered outdoor amphitheater and move indoors if the weather is stormy. The stage show begins with warm-up music at 4:00. The main performers play from about 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. Local old-time musicians are often on-site to play informally at 3:00 p.m. before the concert.

Concert-goers are welcome to arrive early and enjoy indoor and outdoor exhibits, two interpretive trails, the Giving Tree gift shop, and food from the Café at the Cradle. The site, including the amphitheater, is wheelchair accessible. The Forest Discovery Center will be open until 6:00 p.m. on Songcatchers Sundays.

The series continues with Crooked Pine on July 9, Laura Boosinger and Josh Goforth July 16, Amy and Bob Buckingham July 23, and Pretty Little Goat July 30.

Admission for all shows is $6.00 for ages 16 and older; $3.00 for youth 15 and under and America the Beautiful and Golden Age pass holders. The Cradle of Forestry is located on Hwy. 276 in the Pisgah National Forest, six miles north of Looking Glass Falls and four miles south of the Blue Ridge Parkway. For more information call 828-877-3130 or go to www.cradleofforestry.org.