Laurelyn Dossett
listen now children a story I’ll tell …

Hello friends … after a road trip that took me from an Alabama lake week with the extended Dossett family to the swashbuckling pirate shows in Manteo and Cary with the NC Symphony, I am safely ensconced in North Carolina and looking forward to some shows closer to home.

Good things are in the works, read on …

Tuesdays at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen are going strong! Here are the next few weeks:

• Tuesday, July 19 — Laurelyn with Scott Manring
• Tuesday July 26 –Laurelyn with Scott Manring
• Tuesday August 2 — Molly McGinn

August

Appalachian String Band Festival
I am off to get my annual fix of old-time music at the Appalachian String Band Festival in Clifftop, WV (so much for being safely ensconced in NC).

August 1 – 4
Clifftop, WV

The Best of Our State
Check out this weekend package of performances and presenters at the historic
Carolina Inn for The Best of Our State. I’ll be singing with Scott Manring on Friday night.

August 5-7
Pinehurst, NC

November and “The Gathering”

Much to my delight and wonder, the North Carolina Symphony has commissioned me to write and perform a set of songs for the November 25-26 Holiday Pops concerts.

I have finished the song cycle, called “The Gathering,” and arranger Aaron Grad is finalizing the score for symphony and string band.

Joining me will be Rhiannon Giddens Laffan on vocals and fiddle, Joe Newberry on banjo and vocals, and Mike Compton on mandolin and vocals.

Tickets for these three performances will go on sale August 8.

Recording in the studio

In preparing for the symphony shows, the four of us decided to go ahead and record a string band version of these songs, as well as other original and traditional winter holiday songs.

We record with Joe (“JoeBass”) DeJarnette in August; I’ll keep you posted.

CD or DVD copies

Levon Helm’s Ramble at the Ryman, recently released on cd and dvd, has a great live rendition of “Anna Lee,” a song I wrote for Triad Stage’s Brother Wolf about a hundred years ago. If you are a Levon fan, a music fan, you will love this recording.

It’s on sale here.

I almost dropped my Gibson over this one.

Grayson Currin recently wrote a review of Levon’s new release, “Ramble at the Ryman,” and had this to say about the “Anna Lee” cut off the live album.

Not every bit of Ramble at the Ryman is noteworthy … But the highlights are essential testaments to Helm’s gravelly tenderness as a vocalist, whether on his natural, narrative delivery of “A Train Robbery” or his mix of mourning and hope on this spare, show-stopping version of “Anna Lee.”

Grayson, thank you. If I’ve never swooned before, I am right now. Meantime, I hope you all celebrate Levon’s birthday and buy this recording. He is one of those rare musicians who inspires everyone to be more authentic — as a person and a musician. He just gets better with time. Happy Birthday Levon.

Meantime, I need to stop swooning and pick up this guitar and get back to writing. Does anyone know where I left my feet on the ground?

Ramble at the Ryman is available now on Amazon.com

Vinyl

Live audio CD

.mp3 download

The Haw River Ballroom Opens May 27

Haw River Ballroom Hard Hat Gala, Saxapahaw, NC
ONE NIGHT ONLY! donations at the door for the Haw River Assembly
8 pm to 10 pm, Saturday, May 7

A special sneak peak at The Haw River Ballroom with a behind-the-scenes Hard Hat Gala featuring the Haw River Supergroup, a consortium of local musicians singing songs about the river (Think ‘Down By The Riverside” Beta).

About the new Haw River Ballroom:

Nestled in the former Dye House of Saxapahaw, the Haw River Ballroom will feature live music & performances, film series, innovative lectures, dances, weddings and events with multi-level mezzanines, decks and a coffeeshop overlooking the river.

Lucky 32 Tuesday Night Special
6:30 to 9:30 pm

May 3  Molly McGinn and Scott Manring
May 10 Laurelyn Dossett and Scott Manring
May 17 Martha Bassett and friends
May 24  Laurelyn and Scott
May 31  Laurelyn and Scott

In June, Rhiannon Giddens will be touring with the North Carolina Symphony as part of their “Around the World in 80 Minutes” concert.  And in July, Molly McGinn and I will be dusting off our pirate hats and singing songs from Bloody Blackbeard with the NC Symphony’s “Pirates!” show.