Here’s a roundup of news briefs from around Southwest and Southside:
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Harvester adds three shows
The Harvester Performance Center in Rocky Mount has added Morgan Wade, Robert Cray and the Michigan Rattlers to its spring line-up.
Floyd-born country-rock artist Morgan Wade will perform Tuesday, May 2, as part of her Crossing State Lines Acoustic Tour. She will be joined by opener Harper O’Neil. Wade’s single “Wilder Days” has topped lists across the country including Rolling Stone, Time, New York Times and Billboard, and hers has been proclaimed “a once-in-a-decade debut.”
Tickets start at $52 and go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
Five-time Grammy winner Robert Cray and his band will return to the Harvester on Thursday, April 20, at 8 p.m.
The Robert Cray Band has released over twenty albums and has sold millions worldwide. Cray, himself, has been inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and earned the Americana Music Awards Lifetime Achievement for Performance.
Tickets start at $47 and go on sale Friday at 10 a.m.
Folk-rock band Michigan Rattlers will be at the Harvester on Thursday, April 6 at 8 p.m.
The band was named one of Rolling Stone’s “Ten New Country Artists You Need to Know” in 2016.
Tickets begin at $27 and are on sale now at harvester-music.com.
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Glencoe Museum in Radford to host exhibit and panel discussion on slavery in Appalachia
The Glencoe Mansion, Museum & Gallery in Radford will host a panel discussion on slavery in Appalachia as part of its new exhibit of the same topic, “Slavery in Appalachia,” on Friday, January 27. The exhibit has been made possible through a grant from the Virginia Humanities.
The evening will begin at 5:30 PM with a panel discussion at the City Council Chambers, adjacent to the Glencoe Mansion location. The panel consists of five historians and members of the community who have explored the history of slavery in the region and its effects. The panelists are Dr. Theresa Burriss, Director of Appalachian Studies at Radford University; Sarah Carter, community historian and Glencoe Mansion Board Member; Howard Eaves, Sr., President of the Wake Forest Community Action Club; Dr. Michael Hickman, President of the Board of the Calfee Community and Cultural Center; and Dr. Daniel Thorp, Associate Professor of History at Virginia Tech.
Following the Panel Discussion will be the unveiling of the exhibit itself at Glencoe Mansion at 6:45 PM, which will be accompanied by an opening reception. Both events are open to the public, and there is no admission charge. The exhibit will be on permanent display at the Glencoe Mansion. During the month of February, it will be on display on Level One (Gallery Level) of the museum.
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Consultant hired for Blue Ridge Music Center study
The Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has selected Fourth Economy, a Pittsburgh-based economic development consulting firm, to guide a comprehensive effort to improve and expand the regional impacts of the Blue Ridge Music Center. This work is made possible by a $50,000 Strong Parks Strong Communities grant from the National Park Foundation.
The Blue Ridge Music Center, located near Galax, at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway, is operated by the National Park Service and celebrates the music and musicians of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Since 2012, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation has coordinated the center’s onsite and offsite musical programming, including Midday Mountain Music, an annual summer concert series, Milepost Music, and concerts held in local communities.
Through this planning effort, the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation seeks to engage larger and more diverse audiences; increase the variety and volume of the center’s financial resources; and increase tourism spending in the surrounding communities, the foundation said in a statement.
Open May through October, the Blue Ridge Music Center is a national park facility, a major attraction along the Blue Ridge Parkway, and a venue partner of The Crooked Road: Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail and the Blue Ridge Music Trails of North Carolina. The Blue Ridge Parkway/National Park Service maintains and operates the facility and staffs the visitor center. The center’s music programs are managed, coordinated, promoted, and produced by the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. For more information, visit BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org.
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Park Service seeks firewood vendors
The National Park Service is seeking vendors to sell firewood at the following Blue Ridge Parkway Campgrounds:
- Otter Creek Campground, Milepost 61, 69 sites
- Rocky Knob Campground, Milepost 167, 109 sites
- Doughton Park Campground, Milepost 239, 135 sites.
Vendors must operate from mid-May through October and sell certified heat-treated firewood through honor system sales. Vendors will be responsible for regularly supplying firewood to the campground and the managing sales revenue.
A Commercial Use Authorization (CUA) must be obtained for this activity. For more information about this business opportunity, email blri_concessions@nps.gov.
Information about CUAs is also available on the park website at: https://www.nps.gov/blri/planyourvisit/commercial-use-authorization-permits.htm