We’re going out across the mountains this week and partnering with City Lights Bookstore in Sylva to showcase local musicians through our series of stripped-down performances for the web. This week Chris Cooper (guitar), Josh Mason (percussion) and Jeff Redman (bass) of Noonday Sun perform “That Song.”
Cooper has worked as a guitar instructor since the mid-1990s and has been performing in western North Carolina since 2004. He has toured regionally as lead guitarist in the live bands of singers Ashley Chambliss and Angela Faye Martin. Mason and Redman have been playing together for nearly two decades, including a stint as Bele Chere performers and Orange Peel Battle of the Bands victors while in rock band Big House Radio.
The trio began playing together as Noonday Sun (sometimes with additional members) after meeting at a Jackson County music benefit called Play For Peace in 2009. Noonday Sun regularly performs in Jackson County and throughout the region, including two recent performances opening for Grammy nominee Jeff Sipe. Cooper released his solo album, Lines, in 2011, which was recorded at Western Carolina University and features several local musicians. The album has been played on WNCW’s Local Color and is available for purchase on CD Baby or via chriscoopermusic.com.
If you’re heading west, you can catch Noonday Sun at Doyle’s Cedar Hill Restaurant and Tiki Bar in Murphy tomorrow night starting at 8:30 p.m. Cooper’s recent relocation to Asheville also means the band will be performing more AVL gigs in the near future. Check their Facebook page for updates.
City Lights Book Store is an independent bookstore located right off Sylva’s downtown Main Street. They have been locally-owned, selling new and used books, gifts, journals and maps, since 1984. For more information on City Lights visit citylightsnc.com or on Facebook
Check back each week for a new video from Mountain Xpress featuring Asheville and WNC musicians.
Noonday Sun perform “That Song” at City Lights Cafe in Sylva. (Carrie Eidson/ Mountain Xpress)
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