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Area music fans will have a unique opportunity to help make history as a bluegrass/gospel music legend celebrates the 30th anniversary of his solo career with a live DVD recording session and concert at the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts.Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver will take the stage with cameras rolling at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 15, in the 1,500-seat, state-of-the-art center in Franklin. Lawson and his band are excited about shooting a live DVD of the concert and believe it will be “a really great experience” for everyone. “Opportunities like this don’t come around very often,” according to Lawson’s blog on www.DoyleLawson.com. “This will be only our third DVD in 30 years. We are so excited!” Lawson’s distinguished career spans over 40 years and more than 40 albums. Along with his band Quicksilver, he has earned numerous industry awards including seven consecutive “Vocal Group of the Year” awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association (INMA). He’s also received several Grammy nominations and four Dove Award nominations over the last decade. In fact, the National Endowment for the Arts honored Lawson in 2006 with a prestigious National Heritage Fellowship at its annual ceremony in Washington, DC. It’s the country’s highest honor in the folk and traditional arts, putting Lawson among a select group of performers including Bill Monroe, Earl Scruggs, and Doc Watson, among others. Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver Rounder records recently released Lawson’s latest album “Lonely Street,” which marked the 30th anniversary of his solo career, but he’s been a professional musician for nearly 50 years.Born in 1944 near Kingsport, Tenn., Lawson taught himself to play mandolin at age 11 by “listening to the radio, a few records, and watching the occasional TV show.” At 14, he decided he wanted to play professionally and added guitar and banjo to his repertoire. He landed his first professional job in 1963 at age 18 in Nashville as a banjo player with Jimmy Martin. “As far back as I can remember, I loved the sound of music. Just about everyone listened to the Grand Ole Opry, and our family was no exception,” said Lawson in his online biography. The group that impressed him the most was Bill Monroe and his Blue Grass Boys, whose music was “different, more intense.” “High lonesome was the term that we used for it. I could hardly wait for Saturday nights to arrive so I could listen,” said Lawson. “I decided early on that I wanted to play that kind of music.” Over the next 16 years, Lawson played in various bands until he formed his own in 1979. Rather than simply watching on television, Lawson has now appeared on the “Grand Ole Opry” and “A Prairie Home Companion.” At age 65, Lawson remains at the top of his game and continues to earn awards and accolades from the industry, media, and fans. “The adventure is still unfolding and nowhere near complete, but if the story of Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver were a novel, it would be hailed as a masterpiece,” according to BluegrassJournal. com. The site called Lonely Street a “razor-sharp display of bluegrass virtuosity.” The August 2009 cover story on TheBluegrassSpecial.com website calls Lawson “one of the most revered artists on the contemporary bluegrass scene.” The concert will certainly be a special treat for bluegrass and gospel music fans, according to Scott Bass, manager of the Smoky Mountain Center for the Performing Arts. But any music fan will appreciate the unique opportunity to see a legend as he records his concert for a live DVD. To order $15 tickets to the 7 p.m., Jan. 15 performance, visit GreatMountainMusic.com or call (866)273-4615. |
