KASU to Present “Arkansas Youth In Bluegrass” June 23
JONESBORO — KASU-FM, the broadcasting service of Arkansas State University, presents “Arkansas Youth in Bluegrass Night” for its next Bluegrass Monday concert June 23, at 7 p.m. at the Collins Theatre, 120 West Emerson Street, in downtown Paragould, Arkansas. Two groups will perform at the concert, including the Clark Family Trio and Clancey Ferguson and the Ragtags.
KASU personnel will literally “pass the hat” to collect money to pay the performers. The suggested donation is $5 per person.
The Clark Family Trio is mom Cindy and her two daughters, nine-year-old Sally Ann and 15-year-old Sophie. The group puts a very unique spin on songs from genres such as bluegrass, rock and roll, folk and country music. They have a wide repertoire, performing songs originally done by Bill Monroe, the Andrews Sisters, the band America, Neil Young, Ralph Stanley, Johnny Nash and Bobbie Gentry. Particularly noteworthy is their unique and beautiful family harmonies when they sing.
On their CDs and in their concerts, multi-instrumentalist Bill Nesbitt, an in-demand music teacher in Little Rock who offers lessons on a variety of stringed instruments, accompanies the Clark Family Trio. From 1990 until its disbanding in 2008, he was a member of the Arkansas bluegrass group the Old School Bluegrass Band.
The Clark Family Trio has produced two CDs. They are regular performers at the Ozark Folk Center in Mountain View, and they have played at Silver Dollar City in Branson as well as numerous other regional venues.
Clancey Ferguson is a 16-year-old vocalist and fiddle player from Mountain View. She is a two-time winner of the Arkansas Junior Fiddle Championship. She also won the 2013 Arkansas State Fair Overall Instrumental Soloist Youth Talents competition and was named “Musician Of The Year” by the Ozark Folk Center. She is a contract performer at the Ozark Folk Center, performing regularly for visitors both in the park and onstage.
Ferguson performs a very traditional style of bluegrass music. She has bluegrass superstar Rhonda Vincent serving as a personal mentor to her. Ferguson has appeared onstage on multiple occasions with Vincent, and Vincent sings on Ferguson’s newest CD.
Her band, the Ragtags, backs Ferguson. That ensemble includes Harry Clark, mandolin; Jacob Shular, guitar; Gresham McMillan, bass; and Tiffany Turner, banjo.
The Clark Family Trio and Clancey Ferguson have both appeared on the WoodSongs Old Time Radio Hour, a syndicated program heard on over 500 radio stations worldwide and seen on 40 television stations.
“I am thrilled to welcome these talented young performers to KASU’s Bluegrass Monday concert series,” said KASU Program Director Marty Scarbrough. “I have watched these musicians for several years, and I know that audiences will love their energy and talent. It is truly going to be a memorable night of music.”
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 catfish 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 Bibb Chiropractic, the Posey Peddler, Holiday Inn Express and Suites of Paragould, the Northeast Arkansas Bluegrass Association 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”).
Additional information and photographs are available at http://clanceyferguson.com/ and at http://www.clarkfamilytrio.com/
