Grandpa Jones, while not from Mountain View, called this town his home for a number of years later in his life. His music and humor has influenced a whole generation of musicians. Join us as we celebrate the life and musical legacy of Grandpa with performances by his wife, Ramona Jones and other special performers. This year we are celebrating Grandpa’s 100th birthday!
This is a weekend of special performances by Ramona Jones and the Jones Family Band. Special Guests include: Guitarist Dave Holt (former sideman w/ Doc Watson) on Friday, August 30 and Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition on Saturday, August 31. Doors open at 6 pm and the show starts at 7 pm.
Friday, August 30 with David Holt:
Four-time Grammy Award winner David Holt is a musician, storyteller, historian, television host and entertainer dedicated to performing and preserving traditional American music and stories. Holt plays ten acoustic instruments and has released numerous award winning recordings of traditional mountain music and southern folktales.
David is recognized as one of the nation’s foremost folk musicians and storytellers. For 35 years he has been collecting and performing the music of the old time Southern mountaineers. His passion for traditional music and culture has fueled a successful performing and recording career.
There is something special about experiencing a solo performance with David. He weaves songs, humor and stories together with awe-inspiring musicianship. Audiences are intrigued with a wide array of instruments, both familiar and unusual, from banjo and slide guitar to hambone, spoons, bones, jaw harp, and even paper bag. The Asheville Citizen Times says, “David Holt could ring music out of a stump.” Vogue magazine called him “the best minstrel and storyteller.” After performing for over a million people David is a consummate entertainer who knows what audiences enjoy.
Saturday, August 31 with Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition:
To watch Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition is to witness living traditional and bluegrass history. Ronnie has had one of the most colorful, diverse and distinguished careers in the music industry. On the country side, he has toured as an opening act and band member for Merle Haggard, toured with Mel Tillis, done studio work for Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty and Willie Nelson, and written hits for both Haggard and Twitty. On the bluegrass side, he spent several years providing part of the trademark harmonies of the Osborne Brothers. Bookending those personal milestones is a career based in family that has provided modern music with some of its most noteworthy moments.
Ronnie recorded the first of his own albums for MCA in the ‘80s, releasing singles like “Homemade Love” and “The Letter,” before teaming up with his father and younger brothers Dale and Don Wayne for a few years until his father’s death in 1984. At that point, the Reno Brothers recorded six albums and toured together for 15 years, setting a new standard of excellence in the Reno Tradition and completing the circle that had been set in motion when he was a boy. The songs and arrangements of this period have been carried into the Reno Tradition tours of today, which are nothing less than musical journeys through the music of Ronnie and his family members, as well as of the legends Ronnie has played and recorded with over the years.
Ronnie’s life in music has seen his wide-ranging accomplishments earn him any number of honors. He created, produced and starred in his own cable TV program, “Reno’s Old Time Music Festival,” which could be seen in 28 million households and earned a nomination for the prestigious Cable Ace Award for Best Musical Series. Ronnie has received the Distinguished Achievement Award from the International Bluegrass Music Association, and has served on the board of directors of the International Bluegrass Music Museum in Owensboro, KY and the Kentucky Center for Traditional Music at Morehead State University.
Never one to rest on his laurels, Ronnie continues to travel and take bluegrass music to fans everywhere. Few families can boast the kind of accomplishments to which Ronnie is heir, and few entertainers carry the tradition forward to audiences with a greater balance of integrity and entertainment value than Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition.
