News Article

Bluegrass Monday Concert to Feature Edgar Loudermilk Band in May

JONESBORO – The Edgar Loudermilk Band will present a concert of bluegrass music at the next KASU-FM Bluegrass Monday concert. The concert will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 20, at Collins Theatre in Paragould. 

Edgar Loudermilk won the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music of America’s Bass Fiddle Performer of the Year award the past two years. He has also been nominated for over 25 other music industry awards for his songwriting, his recordings and his live performances. 

Loudermilk has been a professional bluegrass musician for over two decades. Prior to forming the Edgar Loudermilk Band in 2015, he was a member of Rhonda Vincent’s band The Rage and a member of Marty Raybon’s backing band. He then spent seven years performing with Russell Moore and IIIrd Tyme Out. 

He has had multiple No. 1 bluegrass hits, both as a performer and as a songwriter for other artists who have recorded his compositions. The band records for the prestigious Pinecastle Records recording label. 

Banjo player Anthony Howell was nominated for the International Bluegrass Music Association’s 2022 Momentum Award recognizing young, rising stars in the bluegrass music industry.   

He won the 2023 National Bluegrass Banjo Championship and state banjo championships in multiple states. Howell has previously appeared at Bluegrass Monday concerts as part of the group Williamson Branch. 

Zach Autry plays mandolin for the band. He’s a third-generation bluegrass musician who co-writes many of the band’s original songs with Loudermilk. 

Seventeen-year-old Jake Goforth plays guitar in the group. He is known for a viral video from when he was 11 years old in which he plays guitar alongside bluegrass superstar Dan Tyminski. He has also appeared on stage with Rhonda Vincent, the Gibson Brothers and Sideline.  
 
Admission to the Bluegrass Monday concert is $10 per person, payable by cash at the door the night of the concert. Tickets can be purchased at www.kasu.org/tickets. Proceeds go to the musicians, compensating them for their performance. Those 18 and under can enter for free. 

Seating is general admission and first-come, first-served. Doors open to the theatre at 6 p.m. 

The Bluegrass Monday concert series is a non-profit presentation of KASU-FM, providing music fans with an affordable and outstanding evening of entertainment. These concerts are typically held on the fourth Monday night of each month, but due to the Memorial Day holiday, this month’s concert is on the third Monday.   

These concerts are presented with support from sponsors including the Paragould Advertising & 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. 

Left to right, Zack Autry, Edgar Loudermilk, Anthony Howell, Jake Goforth.