News/Thoughts

New Band Dripping With Talent

Super groups are inevitable in every genre’ I suppose, but it seems most exciting when a group of bluegrass guys and/gals, who all have regular gigs in some other fashion, find themselves together forming a new band. Sometimes it is on the side, and sometimes it becomes the main thing.

When Jerry Salley began putting together a new bluegrass/Americana label, Billy Blue Records, he needed some new acts to populate his roster. It just so happened there was a new group in the horizon – new in name and approach – not so new in talent. Darrell Webb and Barry Abernathy had been working on a new venture together and it was time to launch their new project – the Appalachian Road Show.

“Barry and Darrell bring a rich history to their vision for Appalachian Road Show,” Salley said. “This band is exactly the type of first-rate musicianship that a new label seeks in order to take flight.”

“We’re just really excited about it,” Darrell told us recently. “I’ve known Barry for quite a long time and we’ve been playing music together off and on for the last 20 years. I’ve really wanted to do this kind of project with him for a long time.”

The venture is called the Appalachian Road Show. “It really describes what we’re trying to do with it,” Darrell said. “It’s the music, and the culture and the history of the Appalachian people. It also describes where Barry and I come from; we’re both from mountain communities. (Barry from Georgia, and Darrell from Southern West Virginia) “You can’t get more mountain that that,” Darrell quipped.

“We really want this to be more than just a music concert. The audience will also get a bit of a music history tour too,” Darrell said. “We’re going to go through every kind of culture of the music that’s been created, like old time, acapella gospel, and fiddle tunes. The album turned out great and it’s probably one of my favorite things I’ve done in the past 20 years.”
To find out more, visit
www.appalachianroadshow.com