Farm and Fun Time featuring Laurie Lewis, Shay Martin Lovette

Date: Thursday, January 11, 2023

Time: 7:00 p.m. ET (Doors open at 6:30 p.m., guests are asked to be seated by 6:55 p.m.)

Location: Performance Theater, Birthplace of Country Music Museum

Tickets: :$40

BUY TICKETS HERE!

Hosted by Kris Truelsen and his Farm and Fun Time House Band, the program is a re-imagining of the classic WCYB Radio program of the same name that aired in the 1940s and 1950s. WBCM Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun Time broadcasts live before a studio audience and recorded for television syndication on Blue Ridge PBS, East Tennessee PBS, and PBS North Carolina. It can be accessed on 100.1 FM in the Bristol area, or online at BirthplaceOfCountryMusic.org and on Radio Bristol’s free mobile app. Viewers may also tune in to watch through Radio Bristol’s Facebook page.

About Laurie Louis

“Her voice is a rare combination of grit and grace, strength and delicacy. Her stories always ring true.” ~ Linda Ronstadt

“To ask how Laurie Lewis’s music is relevant in this day and age, in the broader folk, Americana, and bluegrass scenes as a whole, would be similar to asking how a brick in a home’s foundation is relevant to its structure. Her influence, her reach and her artistic intent are quiet stalwarts on which so much has been built.” ~ Justin Hiltner, Bluegrass Situation

For nearly four decades, Laurie Lewis has gathered fans and honors for her powerful and emotive voice and her versatile, dynamic songwriting. She is a sought-after recording producer and an equally skilled teacher and mentor.

And she is an inspiration and a ground-breaker – across genres, across geography and across gender barriers.

Laurie has shown us how a woman can blend into any part of the classic bluegrass singing trio, and she showed us how a great voice could move fluidly between bluegrass and other types of music. She showed us how a female fiddler could emulate the strength and grit of the early bluegrass musicians. She has shown how a Californian can appeal to traditional bluegrass audiences, as well as winning acclaim in the worlds of Americana and folk music.

She has shown us how to lead bands of talented musicians – learning from them while helping them make their best music. And she has shown us how to thrive in a constantly changing musical environment – without ever sacrificing her art.

Although she has played roots music since her teenage years and performed in various bands from her early 20s, it wasn’t until she was 36 that Laurie decided to venture out on her own. Her solo recording, Restless Rambling Heart, introduced the national music audience to Laurie’s talents and versatility. The CD, produced by Tim O’Brien, features seven originals and showcases her stunning vocal range and control.

Since that time, Laurie has twice been named Female Vocalist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association, and won Song of the Year for her rendition of the now-standard “Who Will Watch the Home Place?” She has collaborated on numerous other award-winning recordings.

While steeped in the bluegrass tradition, Laurie’s songwriting demonstrates her ability to surpass the limitations of that genre. Her works reflect her wide range of influences: from old time and country to Tin Pan Alley, jazz standards and early rock ‘n roll.

Her songs have been recorded by Kathy Mattea, Patsy Montana and the First Ladies of Bluegrass, led by Missy Raines, among others.

Poet, essayist, novelist, and environmental activist Wendell Berry has asked her to set some of his poems to music.
Laurie has been nominated for GRAMMYs for her own projects and has been prominently featured on others’ GRAMMY-winning works.

About Shay Martin Lovette

The tale of wayfaring songwriter Shay Martin Lovette is shaped by an enduring creative pursuit, an inseparable connection with the natural world, and a deep appreciation of the nonpareil musical voices of the past. Two years after his noteworthy debut, “Swift Drifter,” Lovette brings forth his sophomore record “Scatter & Gather,” a collection of songs that signal an undeniable shift in the gravity of his writing and arranging. Written mostly from a remote, creek-side cabin, the songs reflect Lovette’s role as a versatile harmonica-wielding, wordsmith, drifting between the formulas of folk, indie, and homestyle roots music.

Lovette’s songcraft has elicited high praise from American Songwriter, The Bluegrass Situation, No Depression, Under The Radar Magazine, Glide Magazine, and New Commute.