Sammy Shelor is a proud native son of southwest Virginia still calling Meadows of Dan home. His granddad famously fashioned a banjo out of an old pressure cooker lid when Sammy was just four years old with the promise of a real one once he learned a couple of songs.
George Lowe has had a long time interest in global music of all stripes. As a former member of Richmond bands Ululating Mummies, Rattlemouth, and Hotel X, he took a particular shine to the music of Ethiopia’s club scene. He taught himself how to transpose the music he was hearing into charts his bandmates could play. Gathering musicians from some of the aforementioned groups, along with alumni of VCU’s celebrated jazz program, he formed the Afro-Zen Allstars in 2014.
We first enjoyed the thoughtful story songs of North Carolina son of a preacher man and Gulf War veteran Jonathan Byrd when he played our concert series solo nearly a dozen years ago. He’s spent the last two decades sharing his gift of telling small, simple, human stories in an eloquent and elegant way.
This show spotlights the New England collective known as Crocodile River Music, a talented and diverse collaborative dedicated to preserving and celebrating traditional African culture.
This edition of the show featured a refreshing hour with Tarheel songstress and cellist Shana Tucker and her engaging accompanist Christian Tambur. Together they brought us a tasteful sampling of what’s been dubbed ChamberSoul, that weaves jazz, folk, acoustic pop, and a touch of R&B into melodies that might echo in your head for days.