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Come and have fun on
Labor Day Weekend !
Festival of the Rivers
As the Three Rivers Come Together So Do The People
Hinton, West Virginia
This annual event, sponsored by the state, county, Summers County Schools and the City of Hinton, showcases West Virginia's Appalachian musicians,
including primitive and home-made instruments, bluegrass, gospel, folk, rock and R & B.
SCHEDULE
Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008
11 a.m. Grounds Open
Entertainers: Ed Africano, Afro-Caribbean Drumming; Margo & The Bluegills,
Country & Blues; Patrick O’Flaherty, Irish Roots Music; Mike Seeger, Tipple,
Loom and Rail: Songs from the Industrial South; Mary Dailey, Irish/Appalachian
Folk; Mike Seeger, Southern Banjo Sounds: From Africa to Appalachia.
Sunday, Aug. 31, 2008
11 a.m. Grounds Open
Entertainers: Johnny Jones, Hans Creek String Band, Ed Africano, Mike
Seeger, Early Southern Guitar Sounds; Mike Seeger, The Roots of Country Music: From
Barbara Allen to Wildwood Flower; The Rust Kings, Neo Country.
Mike Seeger
Featured Headliner for Festival of the Rivers
By Gregg Wingo
Legendary roots musician Mike Seeger
is the headliner for this year's fifth
annual free Labor Day Weekend music
event, Festival of the Rivers.
The third of a musically gifted set of
siblings, including sister Peggy and
half-brother Pete, Mike Seeger
established himself in his own right as a
prolific performer and a valuable
archivist of traditional American music
forms. From 1958 to 1979, he directed
the New Lost City Ramblers, a
performance collective devoted to the
musical artifacts of the traditional
American South.
In the eyes of many, however, Mr. Seeger is at his best in solo performances
when his wit resounds and his compassion inspires. He was exposed to traditional music through his mother and father, who worked with musicologists John and Alan Lomax.
Mr. Seeger is an accomplished musician and a distinctive singer who plays
autoharp, banjo, fiddle, dulcimer, guitar, mouth harp, mandolin, and dobro. His
influence on the folk scene is described at some length by Bob Dylan in his
recent book, "Chronicles."
Mr. Seeger will perform both Saturday night, August 30, and Sunday evening,
August 31. Sunday's seven o'clock performance will feature music from both
America's southern industrial history and the evolution of the banjo's sound from Africa to Appalachia. Sunday's five o'clock performance will feature material from his new CD release, "Early Southern Guitar Sounds," and the roots of country music from Barbara Allen to Wildwood Flower.
Patrick O'Flaherty
Irish Singer Performing on Labor Day Weekend
By Gregg Wingo
This year's Festival of the Rivers will feature Irish musician, Patrick
O'Flaherty, during its Labor Day Weekend music event. The free festival is held at
the City Sidetrack Park in Hinton.
Patrick O'Flaherty, a talented multi-instrumentalist, began playing the
harmonica as a young boy in Connemara. Raised in Galway's Gaeltacht on the Rugged
West Coast of Ireland, he is part of a select group of people whose native
language is Gaelic. Today Mr. O'Flaherty is acknowledged as one of the truly fine
practitioners of Irish mandolin and harmonica, and is also a highly respected
player of the button accordion and banjo. His professional music career has
spanned nearly three decades.
Patrick has played in a multitude of venues including the National Press
Club, the Smithsonian Mall on Solidarity Day, Notre Dame University, the National
Geographic Concert Series, the Milwaukee Irish Festival, and the New Orleans
Jazz and Heritage Festival. He has also performed for a variety of notable
audiences including Pope John Paul II, President Reagan, President Herzog of
Israel, and Speaker of the House, Tip O'Neill.
O'Flaherty tours as a solo act and with the Poor Clares, a nationally charted
group, and the Celtic Folk. During his performance on Saturday, August 30, he
will play several instruments and sing in both Gaelic and in English. The
show will include songs and stories from his homeland and information about each
of the instruments played.
To learn more about Patrick please visit his website www.poflaherty.com .
Beginning at 11 am and ending at 9 pm daily, the Saturday and Sunday event at
Hinton's City Sidetrack Park, "Festival of the Rivers 2008", remains FREE to
the public. The festival features something for every member of the family and the Water Slide will be open each day from 11 am till 7 pm. Hinton's "Jewel of the Hills" features traditional, regional, and international music performed by musicians from around the world.
Anyone wishing to be considered for this year's festival should contact event
and publicity coordinator, Gregg Wingo, at gwingo@usa.net or call
(304) 646-3960.
The free festival is located in Downtown Hinton located at the confluence of
the Greenbrier, Bluestone, and New rivers. As the "Gateway Community" for the New River Gorge National River, the community and festival are near both the National Park Service's New River Visitors Center on Interstate 64 and the breathtaking beauty of Sandstone Falls.
Individuals or companies interested in vending at the festival should contact
vendor coordinator, David Williams, at davesele@hotmail.com or call
(304) 890-4602.
The vendor fee is $50 for both days or $25 for one day. The fee must be paid in advance and spaces are limited.
The free festival is sponsored by the Flannagan-Murrell House, Inc. (FMH), a
501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation dedicated to using the arts for the benefit of
the people of Hinton, Summers County, and West Virginia in general. FMH is
maintained through community support and staffed by volunteers.Flannagan-Murrell House, Inc. (FMH) was founded in 1990 with the purpose of
preserving the oldest extant house in the Hinton National Historical District.
A group of concerned citizens of Hinton and Summers County banded together
and obtained a loan to purchase the abandoned house in order to save it from
being razed. Cost of annual membership in the organization is $15 for an
individual, $25 for a family, or $50 in in-kind donations or services. FMH also
offers lifetime memberships for $1000 and welcomes support for the continuing restoration of the building and program development in the arts.
For more information
e-mail Fred Long at hinton1000@aol.com or call 466-0005.
City Sidetrack Park August 30, 31, 2008
