Bluegrass Monday to Feature David Davis and Warrior River Boys
JONESBORO — David Davis and the Warrior River Boys will perform a concert of bluegrass music on Monday, April 24, at 7 p.m. at the Collins Theatre, 120 West Emerson Street, in downtown Paragould. The concert is part of the Bluegrass Monday concert series presented by KASU 91.9 FM.
From Alabama, David Davis is continuing a family tradition of singing and playing bluegrass music. In the 1930s, his father and two uncles played and sang in the style of “brother duets,” a forerunner of bluegrass music as it is known today. Following World War II, David’s Uncle Cleo was in the first incarnation of the Bluegrass Boys, the backing band for Bill Monroe, the man who invented the sound of bluegrass music.
Leading the Warrior River Boys since 1984, Davis has recorded CDs for the acclaimed Rounder record label, and the group currently records for the prestigious Rebel record label, one of the top producers of recorded bluegrass music. In 2010, Davis was inducted into the Alabama Bluegrass Hall of Fame.
The band appears at dozens of bluegrass festivals and venues across the country each year, and the group performs an outstanding style of hard-driving, traditional, entertaining bluegrass music.
The Warrior River Boys include Robert Montgomery on vocals and banjo. A member of the band since 2008, Montgomery has won dozens of bluegrass-picking contests, most noteworthy the 2004 National Old-Time Banjo Championship at Uncle Dave Macon Days in Murfreesboro, Tenn. He has been featured on the “Cumberland Highlanders” television program on RFD-TV, and he has appeared as a guest musician on CDs by Marty Stuart and Bobby Osborne.
Marty Hays sings and plays bass for the Warrior River Boys. With the band since 1995, Hays loves classic country music. He released his debut solo CD on Right Side Up records in 2013.
Phillip James plays fiddle in the band. He began playing music at age three, first appearing with his father’s band, “Back Porch Bluegrass”. Five years later, his family began performing together as “Fiddlin’ Phillip James and the James Family.” In addition to fiddle, James plays numerous other instruments. When he is not on the road with the band, James is an accomplished luthier who sells and repairs stringed instruments.
Guitarist and vocalist Stan Wilemon has had a long relationship with Davis and the band. He was in the group in the early 1990s, and later he performed with the Gary Waldrep Band before rejoining the Warrior River Boys. Wilemon is an acclaimed bluegrass songwriter, and many groups, including the Warrior River Boys, have recorded his compositions.
Additional information about the Davis and the Warrior River Boys is available at www.daviddavisandwrb.com.
Seating at the concert is first-come, first-served. Doors to the theatre will open at 6 p.m. KASU will literally “pass the hat” to collect money to pay the group. The suggested donation is $5 per person.
In addition to the concert, Terry’s Café, 201 South Pruett Street in Paragould, opens on Bluegrass Monday nights to welcome bluegrass music fans. The café serves a buffet meal beginning at 4:30 p.m. on the evenings of Bluegrass Monday concerts. Concessions will also be available at the Collins Theatre.
Bluegrass Monday concerts are held on the fourth Monday night of each month. These concerts are presented with support from the Northeast Arkansas Bluegrass Association, Bibb Chiropractic, the Posey Peddler, Holiday Inn Express and Suites of Paragould and KASU.
KASU, 91.9 FM, is the 100,000-watt public broadcasting service of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro. For more information, contact KASU Program Director Marty Scarbrough at mscarbro@astate.edu or (870) 972-2367. Bluegrass Monday is also on Facebook (search “Bluegrass Monday”).
