FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: March 18, 2008
For more information:
Bob Edwards
Public Relations Department Assistant
Glenville State College
Glenville, West Virginia
(304) 462-7361x7610
Glenville, WVâIf you are a bluegrass enthusiast, you will want to be at Glenville State College on Friday and Saturday, April 11th and 12th. The GSC Fine Arts Department will be hosting a weekend of bluegrass with a mandolin workshop on Friday and the âBattle of the Bluegrass Bandsâ on Saturday.
GSC junior Luke Shamblin of Elkview, West Virginia, and sophomore Joshua Chapman of Sissonville, West Virginia, are organizing the entire project as part of their the GSC Music 210 Bluegrass Band Marketing class. âWe hope to make this a quality event with good prize money and professional judges. It looks like we will have a good turn out for the initial âBattle of the Bluegrass Bands,â then see it grow in the coming years,â said Shamblin. Both Shamblin and Chapman are in the GSC Bluegrass Certificate Program.
The weekend will kick off on Friday evening at 7:00 p.m. with a mandolin workshop featuring bluegrass music legend Jesse McReynolds. Called the âMandolin Man,â McReynolds is best known for his innovative and hard to duplicate style of picking the mandolin. McReynolds has been a member of the Grand Ole Opry for over forty-two years. He performed with his brother Jim, as Jim & Jesse until Jimâs death in 2002. McReynolds will conduct a mandolin playing workshop that is open to the public for an admission fee of $10. After the workshop, there will be performances by the bluegrass professionals who will be judging the âBattle of the Bluegrass Bandsâ on Saturday.
The âBattle of the Bluegrass Bandsâ will take place on Saturday, April 12th from noon to 11:00 p.m. in the GSC Fine Arts Auditorium. The competition is open to any bluegrass band that would like to enter. Around a dozen bands are expected to perform. The entry fee is just $25 per band. Cash awards will be given to the winning bands.
Admission to the âBattle of the Bluegrass Bandsâ is $10 in advance and $12 at the door. The ticket price includes a beans and cornbread dinner. An impromptu jam session will also take place during dinner.
For more information about the mandolin workshop, the âBattle of the Bands,â tickets, or to enter a band, contact Buddy Griffin, GSC Bluegrass Program Director at (304) 462-4130.
