Kevin Prater Band to Perform Concert at KASU-FM Bluegrass Monday
JONESBORO — The Kevin Prater Band will perform traditional bluegrass and a variety of acoustic music at the next KASU-FM Bluegrass Monday concert. The show will be Monday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. at the Collins Theatre, 120 West Emerson Street, in downtown Paragould.
Prater is from the tiny southeastern Kentucky town of Belcher, and he has an over four-decade career of performing what he calls “pure Kentucky bluegrass” music. He started his first band when he was only ten years old, and he has played in various nationally-touring groups, most prominently with the Grammy-nominated James King Band for 12 years. 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 Gary Isenhour, fiddler Mallory Hindman, bassist Jacob Northern, and banjo and dobro player Jake Burrows. Multiple band members sing, and the group is known for their tight vocal harmonies and their energetic stage shows.
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 & Quicksilver.
Additional information about the group, including videos of the band in concert, is available at thekevinpraterband.com.
The admission fee is $10 per person, payable by cash at the door the night of the concert. Everyone aged 18 and under will be admitted free. Advance tickets can be purchased at kasu.org/tickets. All ticket proceeds go to the musicians, compensating them for their performance.
All seating is general admission. Doors open to the theatre at 6 p.m., and seating is first-come, first-served.
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 held on the fourth Monday night of each month. They are presented with support from sponsors including the Paragould Advertising & Promotion Commission, 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 in Jonesboro broadcasting at 91.9 FM and streaming on a variety of online platforms. For more information, contact KASU Program Director Marty Scarbrough at mscarbro@AState.edu or 870-972-2367. Additional information is also available on the Bluegrass Monday Facebook page.
Mallory Hindman (from left), Jake Burrows, Kevin Prater, Gary Isenhour and Jacob Northern