Friday, April 14, 7:30 p.m.—RANDOLPH—Join Chandler Friday, April 14 at 7:30 p.m. to experience a captivating evening of music with Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, as they weave together the styles of gospel, chamber, blues music, and Appalachian murder ballads. Both musicians are innovators as banjo players and composers in their own eclectic avenues.
Béla Fleck, an icon and innovator of jazz, classical and world music, with more multi-category Grammy wins than any other artist (15 total), and Abigail Washburn, a formidable talent with triumphs in songwriting, theater, performance, and even Chinese diplomacy by way of banjo, turn out to be quite a fortuitous pairing with a deep, distinct and satisfying outcome.
Fleck and Washburn have played as a duo since they first met. Following the birth of their son, they decided that the best way to keep them all together would be to play together more. They took their duo on the road beginning August 2013, with their eponymous debut album, featuring only banjos and their voices, released a year later. The album debuted at no. 1 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart, and reveals their astounding chemistry as collaborators, as the two seamlessly stitch together singular banjo sounds (through an assortment of seven banjos spanning the recording) in service to the stories that their songs tell, with no studio gimmickry needed. Washburn and Fleck playfully embrace the notion that they’ve become a family band. And at home, on stage or on record, it’s their deep bond, on top of the way their distinct musical personalities and banjo styles interact, that makes theirs a picking partnership unlike any other on the planet.
Ticket prices range from $15 for students up to $75 for VIP seating that includes a meet and greet with the performers following the show.
Chandler Music Hall is fully accessible and equipped for the hearing impaired. Chandler Center for the Arts is located at 71-73 Main Street, Randolph. For tickets or more information, call 802-728-6464 or visit chandler-arts.org.
Photo courtesy of Chandler Center for the Arts
ABIGAIL WASHBURN AND BÉLA FLECK
