Bluegrass Band Fast Track to Perform Bluegrass Monday in October
In photo, left to right: Steve Day, Randy Barnes, Dale Perry, Shayne Bartley, Duane Sparks
JONESBORO – The band Fast Track will perform traditional bluegrass music at the next KASU-FM Bluegrass Monday concert. The show will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 28, at Collins Theatre, 120 West Emerson Street in Paragould.
The five members of Fast Track have over 170 years of combined experience as professionally touring bluegrass musicians. When musician David Parmley decided to retire, his backing band, Cardinal Tradition, decided to continue as a group without him as Fast Track.
In the five years since, Fast Track has produced three bluegrass albums and an album of exclusively bluegrass gospel music.
Banjo player and vocalist Dale Perry played with the legendary group the Bluegrass Cardinals in the 1980s. For over a decade, he was part of Doyle Lawson’s band Quicksilver, and he is also a past member of the Lonesome River Band.
Perry has been nominated for four Grammy awards and has won seven International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) awards and many more honors from the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America (SPBGMA).
Fiddler and vocalist Steve Day is a former member of the bands of Ronnie Reno and Gary Brewer. Day is a three-time nominee for SPBGMA’s Fiddle Player of the Year award. He also appeared on the Grand Ole Opry with Bill Monroe and his Bluegrass Boys.
Mandolinist and vocalist Shayne Bartley is a multi-instrumentalist who has been part of the bands Lost and Found, Don Rigsby’s Midnight Call, American Drive, the Charlie Sizemore Band, the Rarely Herd, The Karl Shiflett and Big Country Show, and numerous others.
Guitarist and vocalist Duane Sparks is best known for his time spent in Joe Mullins’ band the Radio Ramblers. While part of that group, he won five IBMA awards and two SPBGMA awards.
Bassist and vocalist Randy Barnes is also a former member of the Radio Ramblers. He has played in the bands of Rhonda Vincent, Marty Raybon, Lou Reid, Larry Stephenson, and Josh Williams.
Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased with cash at the door the night of the concert or online at www.kasu.org/tickets. Proceeds go to the musicians, compensating them for their performance. Those 18 and under can enter for free.
Groups of eight or more may request reserved seating by contacting KASU’s Marty Scarbrough. Otherwise, the theatre doors open at 6 p.m., and seating is first-come, first-served.
Acoustic musicians are invited to participate in a bluegrass jam session at 5 p.m. in the Joe Wessell Building, adjacent to Collins Theatre. A section of seats will be reserved for jammers and their guests so they may continue to play until the start of the concert.
The Bluegrass Monday concert series is a non-profit presentation of KASU-FM, providing music fans with an affordable and outstanding evening of family-friendly entertainment. These concerts are held on the fourth Monday night of each month.
Concerts are presented with support from sponsors: Paragould Advertising and Promotion Commission, Affordable Medical, Bibb Chiropractic Center, Gardner-Milner Law Firm, the Posey Peddler, Hyde Park Café, Holiday Inn Express and Suites of Paragould, and KASU.
KASU is the public media service of Arkansas State University, broadcasting at 91.9 FM and streaming on a variety of online platforms. For more information, contact Marty Scarbrough, KASU program director, at mscarbro@AState.edu or 870-972-2367. Additional information is also available on the Bluegrass Monday Facebook page.
