A stringband of two—mandolin master Mike Compton and veteran banjoist/guitarist Joe Newberry—pay homage to pioneering American musicians such as The Monroe Brothers, Robert Johnson and The Carter Family with an artistry unmatched in today’s bluegrass world.

Both masters of the bedrock instruments of old-time music, they collaborate with a vision that is both modern and ageless. Their combined pedigree spreads over four million regular listeners of A Prairie Home Companion radio show, to the millions of devoted fans of the Grammy-winning Oh Brother, Where Art Thou and Down from the Mountain soundtracks. Compton and Newberry will perform in benefit for WSLR community radio on Saturday, January 7 at the Fogartyville Community Media and Arts Center.  Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door.  Advance tickets are available at www.wslr.org.  The Walker Brothers will open the show at 8pm.  Tyler, the youngest Walker Brother, attends Florida State University and plays in an acoustic jazz/bluegrass band in Tallahassee. Currently Cory plays banjo with Chris Henry and the Hardcore Grass and Jarrod plays guitar and mandolin and sings in the Claire Lynch Band.
 
Mike Compton is a Grammy award winner, IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year nominee, a steady sideman for John Hartford from 1994 until Hartford’s death in 2001, and mandolinist for the Nashville Bluegrass Band. Mike is inarguably the world expert on Bill Monroe-style bluegrass mandolin, and is also steeped in old-time fiddle tunes, early string band music and Delta blues. He’s entertained from Carnegie Hall and the White House to our house, and we couldn’t be happier that he’s back visiting us again in NYC.
 
Known far and wide for his powerful banjo playing, Joe Newberry is a prizewinning guitarist, songwriter, and singer to boot. In addition to his work with Mike, Joe plays with old-time music legends Bill Hicks, Jim Watson, and Mike Craver, performs with guitarist Jon Shain, and is a frequent guest on Garrison Keillor’s A Prairie Home Companion. He won the songwriting prize for “Gospel Recorded Performance” at the 2012 IBMA Awards for his song Singing As We Rise, and was co-writer, with Eric Gibson, of the 2013 IBMA Song of the Year for They Called It Music.

photo from David Beaton