John Harden Pope

Pianist and vocalist John Harden Pope takes American folk material, old jazz tunes, or most anything that sound “rootsy” and turns it into his own style of “Roots Jazz”. Original songs figure into the mix as well as tunes from Jelly Roll Morton, Tom Waits, Bessie Smith, Bob Dylan, Mose Alison, Thelonious Monk, and the Beatles. Come hear jazz, blues, folk and gospel get mashed up in the same pot! When properly blended the results can be powerful. John will be bringing his own piano (a real one) and will be joined by acoustic bassist Owen Reynolds.

Clack Mountain String Band

Inspired by the people and place that surrounds them, CMSB is connected by a common vein that injects a high level of energy into each song. "Folks often ask us to describe the kind of music we play and I guess from a commercial stand point you can call it 'old time' or 'string band' music, but to us it's just music," says Ratliff. Melody lines are played out on the fiddle with accompaniment from the knock down banjo and pushed by the vigorous rhythms of the guitar and doghouse, known as 'Rowan County Rhythm.' Their vocal harmonies are also very distinct and tend to blend seamlessly not only with each other but also with the music.

Jamie Laval

ONE OF THE premier Celtic violinists on the international music scene today, Jamie Laval creates rapt audiences with his intensely passionate performances of traditional music of Scotland, Ireland, Brittany and Quebec, rendered with hints of classical refinement and ethnic music from around the world.

Jamie is heralded as “One of North America’s finest practitioners of traditional Scottish music” (San Jose Mercury News) and “The next Alasdair Fraser” (Press and Post). The Asheville Citizen-Times writes, “One of the hottest fiddlers out there…this act has been turning heads wherever it plays.”

Jonathan Maness and the Roots Music Revue

There are some exciting things happening in Knoxville these days. Experienced sideman Jonathan Maness has found himself in fertile creative soil at the foot of the Smoky Mountains. With two years of steady touring work under his belt in 2006, Jonathan continued to work for the Nashville based bluegrass act Valerie Smith and Liberty Pike as his wife, Melony began her Master's at UT.

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