Elizabeth LaPrelle and the Family Band to lead opening night concert for Home Craft Days

From staff reportsBIG STONE GAP, Va. — Appalachian music will take center stage with Elizabeth LaPrelle and the Family Band, Martha Spencer and the Wonderland Country Band, Tommy Bledsoe, Rich Kirby, Todd Meade and Tyler Hughes.The bands and musicians will help kick off the annual opening night concert as part of the 52nd Home Craft Days in Big Stone Gap starting at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20, in the Goodloe Center at Mountain Empire Community College. The show is held in partnership with Pro-Art. Admission is free.Elizabeth LaPrelle and the Family Band have been performing and recording music together for over 20 years, sharing the music they love to make in their living rooms and kitchens, the release from Pro-Art said. It's a real family affair, consisting of Elizabeth LePrelle as the frontwoman, sharing the stage with her mother, Sandy LaPrelle, uncle and aunt Jon Newlin and Amy Davis and most recently her husband, Brian Dolphin. The group allows their eclectic tastes to be their guide through a repertoire of ancient mountain ballads, old-time tunes, novelty songs and gospel harmonies.Elizabeth LaPrelle is exceptional in her devotion to and mastery of the ancient and deep art of Appalachian unaccompanied singing, the release said. According to Pro-Art, she "performs with a sense of conviction, honesty and emotional force that evokes the great Appalachian ballad-singers of generations past."Martha Spencer is a singer-songwriter, mountain musician and dancer from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. She grew up in the musical Spencer family and learned to play several instruments (guitar, fiddle, banjo, bass, dulcimer and mandolin) and flatfoot, or clog, at a young age. She performs and has recorded with various groups and has been involved with several roots music projects. She has played shows and festivals and led workshops across the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada and Europe.Tommy Bledsoe, Rich Kirby, Todd Meade and Tyler Hughes will also open Friday night's concert. Bledsoe and Kirby have extensive roots in Southwest Virginia's old-time music. The two have been instrumental in organizing music for Home Craft Days for over 40 years. Hughes is also part of the old-time group the Empty Bottle String Band. He also serves as the executive director of The Crooked Road: Virginia's Heritage Music Trail.The 52nd Home Craft Days celebration will be held Oct. 20-22 on the Mountain Empire Community College campus in Big Stone Gap, Virginia. Saturday and Sunday will feature performances every hour on two stages. The festival will include food, music and more. For more information, go to www.homecraftdays.org.Pro-Art is a nonprofit organization that aims to promote the arts and expand accessibility to cultural experiences for residents and students in Wise, Lee and Dickenson counties and the city of Norton in Southwest Virginia. For tickets or more information, go to www.proartva.org.If You Go What: Home Craft Days opening night concert with Elizabeth LaPrelle and the Family Band, Martha Spencer and the Wonderland Band, Tommy Bledsoe, Rich Kirby, Todd Meade and Tyler Hughes When: 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20 Where: Goodloe Center at Mountain Empire Community College, 3441 Mountain Empire Road, Big Stone Gap, Virginia Admission: Free More info: www.homecraftdays.org or www.proartva.org.What: Home Craft Days opening night concert with Elizabeth LaPrelle and the Family Band, Martha Spencer and the Wonderland Band, Tommy Bledsoe, Rich Kirby, Todd Meade and Tyler HughesWhen: 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 20Where: Goodloe Center at Mountain Empire Community College, 3441 Mountain Empire Road, Big Stone Gap, VirginiaAdmission: FreeMore info: www.homecraftdays.org or www.proartva.org.