What started as a one-time gig at a local farmers market has turned into a bustling performance schedule for the Empty Bottle String Band.
Featuring Stephanie Jeter on autoharp, Kristal Harman on guitar, Tyler Hughes on banjo, Alex Moore on bass and Ryan Nickerson on fiddle, the Empty Bottle String Band has appeared regionally at Bristol's Rhythm & Roots Reunion, Jonesborough Days, Bristol's Pickin' Porch and the Southwest Virginia Museum, and on WDVX's "Blue Plate Special."
The Bottles will perform twice this weekend -- at 10 p.m., Friday at Acoustic Coffeehouse in Johnson City and at 7 p.m., Saturday during the monthly Song of the Mountains concert at the Lincoln Theatre in Marion, Va. -- followed by a show at noon, Jan. 19 at the Floyd Country Store in Floyd, Va.
This young, energetic group of old-time musicians met through East Tennessee State University's Bluegrass, Old Time and Country Music Studies program. They are dedicated to the performance and preservation of traditional Appalachian songs, ballads and tunes, and treat their audiences to lesser-known songs they've dug up from the archives as well as fresh interpretations of standards in the old-time repertoire.
The Bottles are inspired and influenced by the music of The Skillet Lickers, The Coon Creek Girls, Roscoe Holcombe, The Carter Family, Ola Belle Reed, Uncle Dave Macon, Cousin Emmy and The Blue Sky Boys, among others.
For more information, find the group on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EmptyBottleStringBand. To sample their music, visit www.reverbnation.com/theemptybottlestringband.
| Citizen Kane at Scully's | |
| Citizen Kane rocks the crowd at Scully's in Johnson City on Friday, November 26th with new lead singer Rusty Honeycutt. |