Kevin Prater Band to Perform at Next Bluegrass Monday
JONESBORO — The Kevin Prater Band will perform a concert Monday, Feb. 27, 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. KASU will literally “pass the hat” to collect money to pay the musicians. The suggested donation is $5 per person.
(From left) Adam Burroughs, Kevin Prater, Tom Timberlake, Jake Burroughs, Danny Stiltner.
Prater is from the tiny southeastern Kentucky town of Belcher, and he has a career spanning over three decades of performing what he calls “pure Kentucky” bluegrass music. He started his first band when he was only 10 years old, and he has played in various nationally touring groups, most prominently with the James King Band. Prater has travelled to 49 states and 23 countries to perform bluegrass music.
In 2009, Prater formed the Kevin Prater Band, creating a quintet dedicated to playing traditional bluegrass and gospel music along with some classic country music and vintage rock and roll.
Prater plays mandolin, and his band members include guitarist Tom Timberlake, fiddler Adam Burrows, bassist Danny Stiltner and banjo player Jake Burrows. All five band members sing, and the band is known for its tight vocal harmonies.
Musically, the Kevin Prater Band is influenced by bluegrass acts such as the Seldom Scene, the Country Gentlemen, the Stanley Brothers, the Osborne Brothers, and Doyle Lawson and Quicksilver. The concert in Paragould will be the first stop on a tour that will have the band performing shows in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida.
Additional information about the group, including videos of the band in concert, is available at www.thekevinpraterband.com.
Seating at the concert is first-come, first-served. Doors to the theatre will open at 6 p.m.
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”).
