Americana In-the-Round: Free Live Music at the Main Library

I love live music. There's no crying in baseball, and there's no faking in live music. To sound good, you simply have to be good.

So with that, StarCityFAME is excited to be going to the Roanoke Public Main Library on Jefferson Street tomorrow night (June 16th) where Emerging Artists will be presenting "American In-the-Round" on the Patio from 6PM to 8PM.

The performers are folk and country artists of the down-home-bred type, a genre called "Americana." We will be catching three such performers, who will be taking turns throughout the night with songs answering songs back and forth until time runs out. That's a neat way to share stage billing.

I looked up each artists' websites to check out their music and was pleasantly surprised at the maturity of songwriting and singing talents they possess. I'm really looking forward to tomorrow's show!! (Hey, I'm a 80's hair-band fan, okay? It's taking me a while to get acclimated to the folk-bluegrass-country thing down here in SW Virginia. Wanna see my spandex?)

Emerging Artists' Program Developer River Laker has given StarCityFAME the green light to run footage of the event. I am hoping we can get great audio as that has been a bummer for us due to the authorizations needed for tapping into a live sound board. Perhaps we may get that okay this time around. Now THAT would be AWESOME!! (Keeping my fingers crossed...)

Here is a line-up of tomorrow night's artists (Bio's posted courtesy of their websites):

Jonathan Byrd - http://www.jonathanbyrd.com/

A native of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Jonathan grew up singing in the Southern Baptist church, where his father preached and his mother played piano. After four years in the Navy, he returned to Chapel Hill to play in rock bands in that legendary underground music scene. A friend of Jonathan's invited him to an old time fiddle festival in the mountains of southwest Virginia, where his writing began to change. Assimilating the sounds of southern traditional music, Byrd wrote new songs in an ancient style.

Doug and Telisha Williams - http://www.dandtw.com/

With their open, inviting personalities and intriguing stage presence, the duo is quickly growing their fan base. First timers at their live shows feel like old friends and part of the family after just a song or two. A single set of their music can bring audience members to their feet in applause, to their knees in prayer, and back to the bar to buy another beer.
Married and living in southwest Virginia, they tour constantly around the South and up into the North, crossing ever-widening boundaries with every step.

Danny Schmidt - http://www.dannyschmidt.com/

Austin, TX-based singer/songwriter Danny Schmidt is a writer's writer, with a lyrical depth drawing comparisons to Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, and Dave Carter. Upon winning the prestigious Kerrville New Folk award in 2007, Sing Out Magazine tagged Schmidt "the best new songwriter we've heard in 15 years." Just one man sitting alone on stage with his acoustic guitar and his poetry, in the timeless troubadour tradition, his musical influences draw from deeply-rooted Appalachian mountain gospel to haunted English balladry, from syncopated Piedmont country blues to vagabond 60’s protest folk-stumpery. But it all boils down to just great songwriting, in a singular style all his own. Not to be missed.

Okay kids... and grown-ups... See you there!!!
(Remember: The evening's performance is FREE!!! There will be refreshments, also. WHOA!!!)

Record-Breaking Roanoke Wine Fest 2009 Best Ever!!!

OMG!! Nothing to do in Roanoke??? I hope I never hear anyone say that! Especially from spring to late fall, there are so many things going on that a person needs to plan ahead to hit several events in one day!

It looks like this year's Roanoke Valley Wine Festival at Elmwood Park had the best attendance, according to an announcement made while I was floating around. They actually ran out of wine glasses two hours before the end of the event! I had a blast. I know everyone there did, too. It was hot as all hell, but the weather cooperated (again!) and so we avoided the T-Storms in our forcast today.

What I really love about our Downtown events is that our Arts organizations and our local specialty vendors get together and pull off the most fabulous entertainment, practically on a non-stop basis. (The Wine Festival is a Center in the Square affair, sponsored this year by SunTrust, Gentry Locke, WSLS, Q99, and Roanoke's Premier Arts and Leisure Guide, City Magazine.) While most outdoor events are family-oriented, Wine Fest volunteers verified patrons' ID for age in order to issue a wrist band allowing one to taste or purchase wine.


Once inside the park, people gathered around numerous tents of local and area wineries to sample a variety of Virginia brands. (Eleven wineries participated this year.) The wait at each tent took about five minutes, but it was worth it. Typically, a few people get to the table and begin having their glasses splashed with a short sip of a winery's repertoire. You may be trying out five or six kinds of a vineyard's crafted "adult grape product," while your host describes the wine they are serving you. Naturally, you may buy a full glass, or bottles, of their wine once a particular wine impresses your taste buds. I bought a bottle of white from Hickory Hill Vineyards of Smith Mountain Lake, VA - a dry unoaked Chardonnay. (See top photo.)

Wine Seminars were presented by Gordon Kendell and John Blackburn. Musical entertainment for the day came from two bands, Crawford, Reed, Burton & Ball, and headliners, The Encore Band. The Wine Festival started at 11am and hopefully our presenting wineries brought enough bottles to last until 5pm.

Local, local, local!!!
We had a good representation of our area's fine specialty and gourmet artisans at this year's Wine Festival. A few were out-of-towners, but most of them are from right here and they all generously support our local Arts and events organizations. I know many of them personally. They give of their revenue as well as their time to make a lot of the things that we Roanokers and visitors enjoy here a reality.

A few Local Retailers represented at the Wine Festival today (that you should know about):


One of my favorite shops is Baylees's Best Chocolates, owned and operated by Bayla Sussman, who has a shop at West Village in SW County. Her homemade recipes are to die for! If you love dark chocolate, welcome to your new addiction... Baylee's Best is always fresh daily. Don't think about it, just order everything behind the counter. THAT'S how good it is!


Dogtown Pizza, run by Rachel Armistead, Jon Roberts and Scott Smith, are also relatively new - and have created a whole new Pizza Experience: A "Traveling Wood Fired Oven." The oven looks like an igloo - for real!! Dogtown's website has a line-up of all the events they're at. They call themselves "the party.. on wheels." Well, now you have something really unique to look at while you watch your pizza being made. If that impresses you, here's the best thing about them: the ingredients are organic and LOCAL!!


I also ran into a T-shirt vendor's tent displaying something really different: A ROA-NOKE T-shirt that plays on the Coca-Cola logo... Well, Roanoke is definitely the "Real Thing!" Star City Clothing Company makes these Tees. (Edit: Yes, they have a website! Click on their name to go there!) I especially love their tag line, which says: "Show Off your Roanoke Pride! Wear it on your sleeve, or at least on one of our T's!" Look for them in your journey around town and at events.

So please patronize Local Business, whether you go Downtown or to Salem or to the perimeters of Roanoke County and its neighboring towns. Shop locally in these economic times, and also all the time... We live, work, and do business in Roanoke to keep it strong. Our shopkeepers and service providers live here too.

Okay, my friends. Here are some more pictures I took today at the Wine Festival. If you were there, you just might find yourselves in one of them. If you weren't - GET OUTSIDE AND GO TO A DOWNTOWN EVENT THIS WEEK!!!

The Wineries and Vineyards:












More Yummy Vendors:




Random Pics...




Oh, yeah!! The Karl was there!!



And Yours Truly, with a new Wine Fest Friend!!

Roanoke Local Colors Celebrates its 19th Year!!

This past May 16th, we once again witnessed the amazing Local Colors Festival at Elmwood Park in beautiful Downtown Roanoke, VA. Led by Founder and Executive Director of Local Colors, Pearl Fu, this annual festival is an internationally recognized cultural event. It is also one of the largest and most anticipated events held in Roanoke.

Pearl began Local Colors 19 years ago and it has grown from four participants in the parade to 89 countries this year. The opening ceremony, before the Parade of Nations, saw each country's members lining up all around the amphitheatre area and winding around the park in vibrant hues of their representative nations' customary and traditional garb, carrying the flags of their native or ancestral lands - a glorious sight to see and acknowledge that people the world over feel priviledged to make a new life here in the greatest land on earth and still can be proud of their heritage as well.

Ms Fu explains on its organization's website, "Local Colors highlights the ethnic and cultural diversity of the Roanoke Valley. It has opened the minds and hearts of many, enriching the quality of life for all who have been part of it."

The annual Local Colors has been documented as a Local Legacy and awarded an Outstanding Event in Southwest Virginia by the Library of Congress. It draws crowds of up to 30,000 - which is an amazing feat for a one day festival - and it is easy to see why. Under the directorship of Ms Fu, this event is spectacular! She personally "enlists" new entries continually throughout the year (and I feel obliged now to consider joining too as a representative of Hungary).

There were many world dancers, singers, and musicians on stage after the Parade of Nations. This year, Local Colors incorporated an International Fashion Show to the repertoire. Visitors were entertained for six hours as well as educated in facts of each nation's backgrounds while the weather cooperated as if out of respect for such an enormously important day to Roanokers and fans from all over.

Star City FAME ran footage of much of the day's celebration and thank Ms Fu for granting camera access to the Local Colors Festival. Below is a short video collage of the Parade of Nations and we will bring you more highlights of this beautiful event shortly, so stay tuned!!

See you around Roanoke!!

Festival in the Park - Memorial Day Weekend

First, Happy Memorial Day to you all!! Thank you U.S. Veterans everywhere - and you are everywhere on this planet keeping us safe here at home. Thank you for your past and present sacrifices, which are heroic and successful efforts - always!

This weekend in Roanoke, EventZone is bringing us its 40th Festival in the Park to celebrate Memorial Day with a BANG!! We have been so fortunate not to have the rain that was expected the whole weekend, and the festivities are continuing without being rained out. (Hopefully, we'll be spared today too!)

The good people at EventZone graciously allowed me at Star City FAME and Hans Moore of AhhaPictures to run around Elmwood Park and film some of Saturday night's highlights of the festival. Many thanks to Debbie McClure and Larry Landolt, VP and Executive Director respectively on the EventZone Board of Directors, for giving us permission to run footage. We will be presenting the video here and on YouTube as fast as we can edit it... so stay tuned for that!!

ALSO - EventZone is always looking for volunteers to help with their many events and festivals throughout the calendar year. The people of Roanoke have so many opportunities to be of service to our wonderful city. By assisting with EventZone functions, they are strengthening Roanoke's desirable offerings to visitors and area dwellers alike. Plus, it is hands-down the most fun you can have while volunteering!!

So far, this weekend has brought us acts from around the nation and locally. Beginning on Thursday, May 21st, Cox and Q99 sponsored 12 O'Clock Knob, the Jordan Harmon Band, and tribute band Bruce in the USA. WDBJ7 and Star Country presented Grant Randolph and the Allstar Band, Jamie O'Neal, and Jason Michael Carroll on Friday. Saturday's show, which Hans and I attended and shot video (for all you folks!!), featured Blues Agents, Az Izz, and Dickey Betts and Great Southern, sponsored by Bud Light and WROV.

Last evening, I volunteered at the stage for a super terrific show, sponsored by radio station Star Country 94.9FM. It was "Unplugged" and very personal! Trent Tomlinson opened the show, followed by the fabulous Heidi Newfield, and closed with Jimmy Wayne.

(Trent Tomlinson - Image courtesy Katiedid at wikipedia.org)(Heidi Newfield - Image by Brian Tipton, courtesy comt.com)(Jimmy Wayne - Image by Brian Tipton, courtesy cmt.com)

Roanoke is always pleased to be visited by wonderful artists - and I'd like to thank them all for bringing their tour through our fine Valley, as we are particularly supportive of the Arts here in Roanoke.

Tonight, to close the Festival's Memorial Day weekend shows, Kroger, Oakey's, and Q99 will sponsor local studio (and now performing) act Aamen, Anders and Brown, and 1964: The Tribute. Hope you can make it to the Park!!

... see you around Roanoke!!

David Simpkins and Friends at the Earth Day Festival

David Simpkins is a Roanoke & New River Valley Singer-Songwriter, seen here with fellow local artists Greg Trafidlo (guitar/ vocals) and Britt Mistele (vocals). Together they played at this year's Earth Day celebration in the historical Grandin Village area of Roanoke, VA.

When we left the Heart of Virginia's grand opening over at Grandin Gardens just a few minutes before, I was heading up to Memorial Ave. As I pulled up to the traffic light, I noticed David and Friends playing on the corner at the mini amphi-theatre. I just had to park the car and grab the Star City FAME video camera for this one, folks!!

Anyone who's seen David's set around Roanoke or the New River Valley knows that he writes some of the best Americana folk music going. He's a pro performer whether he's playing solo or backed by the area's most talented singers and players. The guy rocks. (I must warn you that it's highly likely you will be humming his tunes long after hearing him play. For best results, though, take a CD or two home so that you get it right each time.)

David has been interviewed for podcast by the Roanoke Times and often talked about favorably in the press. His music is broadcast in mediums from commercial to public to internet radio stations. You can pick up a copy of David's CD Long Story Short from CD Baby or download the mp3 version from there as well. Please visit David's website for more info on his life and music, upcoming gigs, and booking contact.

David Simpkins will be appearing at Third Street Coffeehouse next Friday as one of the "Songwriters in the Round" performers on May 29th, 2009, in Roanoke, VA. This special performance is given annually by the Southwest Virginia Songwriters' Association. David is the SVSA's President this year. Britt Mistele is currently its Vice-President, and Greg Trafidlo is its Treasurer.

Enjoy the video! See you around Roanoke!!!

At The Heart of Virginia Foundation, Every Day is an Earth Day

When we asked founders Nancy Hunter and Tommy Edwards if they wouldn't mind us coming to find out about the Heart of Virginia Foundation, we didn't expect to have this much fun over a really serious cause. Although we shot this short interview on Earth Day, the fact that the Heart of VA's new Center for Integrated Arts is housed at Grandin Gardens and offers programs which involves its participants in art, poetry and music makes every day an "earth day" experience.

Their Mission and Campaign page of their website explains it best, "The mission of the Center for Integrated Arts is to advance public awareness and increase opportunities for our community to experience the wellness and healing benefits of expressive arts and therapies. Group and Individual Programs will be person-centered and accommodate special needs. The center may incorporate and integrate existing programs and organizations that are in alignment with or mission, as well as, offer new programs that will allow for organic growth a greater understanding of sustainable living in the 21st century and beyond. Opportunities will include, art and music therapies, fine arts education and instruction, performing arts, media arts, healing arts, physical arts, meditative arts, drama, dance, live performances, exhibits, support groups, mentoring programs and various other community activities."

Please visit The Heart of Virginia Foundation's website for more information, whether it be for you, someone you know, or to find out how you can be of valuable help to your friends and neighbors. And it is a neighborhood, a community, and a piece of the global village - back in my time (oh, at least a century ago) we called it "a small world."

What the Heart of VA does, however, is in no way small. It is nothing short HUGE, as is Tommy and Nancy's heart and dedication to their movement in providing a key answer to the stigma of mental illness through their concerted efforts and the fruits of its highly needed volunteerism.

PS: The band that is playing in the background and on camera at the Grandin Gardens in this footage is called The Flying Rugs. Please check them out on My Space by clicking on their name above. Their music is Americana-Folk Rock and we were delighted to have their wonderful talent included in the video!!

Earthquake Roanoke-Style

Hi Y'all! This graphic to the left is courtesy of WSLS of Roanoke, VA. I don't think we had much of anything over which to take a picture or a video of regarding this morning's earthquake - Thank Heavens!!!

However, the US Geological Survey has upped our inital level from a 2.6 magnitude to a 3.0 magnitude earthquake. (I did not feel anything this morning, but that may be due either to working in Entertainment - which means late nights and passing out dead - or to living out in North County, close to Botetourt... I dunno).

In the WSLS report today, Dr. Martin Chapman at the seismological observatory at Virginia Tech stated, “A magnitude three earthquake like we had today would be about a thousand times bigger than a magnitude zero earthquake."

Indeed, that is cause for excitement, both scary and otherwise, if you were awake to have felt it. I lived in Central New Jersey all my life before coming here in 2005, and experienced only one such small earthquake (for which I had been awake). The bed shook, as I recall. It also sounded like a distant rumble of thunder yet you knew it was very nearby as it permeated the darkness of night and did not have the distinct echo of actual far-away thunder. It could be felt through the membranes of your very marrow. Spooky...

I did notice something unusual last night, though. My house is not prone to settling, yet every so often, there were creeks and pops a little around the time before the hour of this quake, which is officially stated to have happened at 4am. I was awake up until about 3am. (Sort of awake, reading a book after a long day of editing and mixing a local songwriter's live CD.)

Well, let's all be glad this wasn't anything more dramatic than something to talk about today. In fact, I had no idea until Ms. Pearl Fu of Local Colors mentioned it on stage at this year's Annual Local Colors event at Elmwood Park in Downtown Roanoke this morning.

By the way, we went out to shoot footage of Local Colors. We'll bring you the video and a blog post on it early this next week. (I ran 3 hours of tape very easily. There was SOOOO much cool stuff that went on, I just couldn't shut the camera off!!)

Hopefully, this quake isn't a pre-shock and will remain a one-off for now. The bigger quake today was definitely the Local Colors festivities!!