Ricky Skaggs to perform in Boiling Springs, NC on Oct. 28<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\nWill Jones will serve as an opening act for Ricky Skaggs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/a><\/p>\nGWU student Lindy Bryson set to open for Ricky Skaggs on Oct. 28<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Performance by Master Bluegrass Musician Set for Oct. 28<\/i><\/p>\n \u2014 GWU President William Downs<\/p>\n<\/div>\n BOILING SPRINGS, NC, USA, October 3, 2023 \/EINPresswire.com<\/a>\/ — Gardner-Webb University officials are pleased to welcome 15-time Grammy winner Ricky Skaggs<\/a> as the inaugural headline performer in the Brinkley Amphitheater. The concert is set during GWU Homecoming festivities on Oct. 28 at 5 p.m. General admission tickets<\/a> are $35 and go on sale July 28. Tickets are available now. This concert is made possible in part with a grant from the Town of Boiling Springs TDA. WNCW 88.7 FM is a media sponsor. <\/p>\n Skaggs, along with Kentucky Thunder, will bring his legendary style and energy to Boiling Springs and launch a venue that will host a variety of arts and entertainment for years to come. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is precisely how we wanted to open our new amphitheater\u2014a nationally recognized musician bringing his tour to our campus on one of the biggest days of the year (Homecoming),\u201d applauded Gardner-Webb President Dr. William M. Downs. \u201cPersonally, I can\u2019t wait\u2026I\u2019ve been watching the new venue take shape each and every day, and now we can mark our calendars for what will certainly be a memorable inaugural concert. This is a great win for GWU and for our community.\u201d <\/p>\n Opening for Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder will be Will Jones, who grew up in Virginia listening to the twangs of mandolin, banjo and fiddle played by his dad. Jones was a fast learner and by the time he was 7 years old, he played lead guitar in his father\u2019s regional touring band. Jones\u2019 music is described as country with a sharp bluegrass edge that\u2019s undeniable in the timbre of his voice and the storytelling in his songwriting. <\/p>\n Gardner-Webb student Lindy Bryson<\/a> will have the honor of being the first musician to perform on the Brinkley Amphitheater stage as she opens for Jones. Bryson started singing in church when she was 3 years old and has loved music ever since. Her new song. \u201cMuddy Waters,\u201d won first place in the Don Gibson Singer Songwriter Competition. <\/p>\n The 800-seat Brinkley Amphitheater is named for David and Marie Brinkley, longtime University donors who provided the lead naming gift. Additional support for the outdoor performance complex came from a $500,000 budget appropriation from the North Carolina General Assembly, with endorsements from the Boiling Springs Town Council and the Cleveland County Board of Commissioners. Several other university donors have also generously provided financial contributions towards this project.<\/p>\n A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Bluegrass Hall of Fame, Skaggs struck his first chords on a mandolin over 60 years ago. By age 6, he was playing mandolin on stage with bluegrass pioneer Bill Monroe and appeared on TV with Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs at 7. By age 21, Skaggs was already considered a \u201crecognized master\u201d of bluegrass, one of America\u2019s most demanding art forms. His life\u2019s path has taken him to various musical genres, from where it all began in bluegrass music, to striking out on new musical journeys, while still leaving his musical roots intact. <\/p>\n Skaggs emerged as a professional bluegrass musician in 1971, when he and his friend Keith Whitley were invited to join the legendary Ralph Stanley\u2019s band the Clinch Mountain Boys. He then went on to record and perform with progressive bluegrass acts like the Country Gentlemen and J.D. Crowe & the New South, whose self-titled 1975 Rounder Records debut album was instantly recognized as a landmark bluegrass achievement. He then led Boone Creek, which also featured Dobro ace and fellow New South alumnus Jerry Douglas. <\/p>\n But Skaggs turned to the more mainstream country music genre in the late \u201870s when he joined Emmylou Harris\u2019s Hot Band, replacing Rodney Crowell. He became a recording artist in his own right in 1981 when his Epic label debut album, \u201cWaitin\u2019 for the Sun to Shine,\u201d topped the country charts and yielded a pair of #1 hits. Overall, his productive stay at Epic Records would result in a total of 12 #1 hits. Additionally, he garnered eight Country Music Association Awards\u2014including the coveted Entertainer of the Year trophy in 1985. <\/p>\n Skaggs\u2019 1997 album, \u201cBluegrass Rules!,\u201d released on his newly-formed Skaggs Family Records label, marked a triumphant return to bluegrass\u2014which he\u2019s solidified ever since with a series of Grammy Award-winning albums, recorded with his amazing bluegrass band, Kentucky Thunder (eight-time winners of the IBMA \u2018Instrumental Group of the Year\u2019). Skaggs\u2019 label has also served as a home for similar bluegrass and roots music-oriented artists including The Whites. <\/p>\n ####<\/p>\n There are handicapped seating areas at the top level and at the ground level of the amphitheater.<\/p>\n Auxiliary aids will be made available to persons with disabilities upon request 10 working days prior to the event. Please call 704-406-4270 or email disabilityservices@gardner-webb.edu with your request.<\/p>\n Noel T. Manning, II Bluegrass Legend Ricky Skaggs comes to Gardner-Webb University<\/p>\n \n
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