Monroe-Style Mandolin Concert - Owensboro Symphony Academy

By Mandolin Cafe
September 1, 2007 - 9:10 am

Owensboro, Kent. — The International Bluegrass Music Museum will present their annual Monroe-Style Mandolin Camp Faculty Concert on Saturday, September 8 at 8:00 p.m. at the Owensboro Symphony Academy.

The Academy is located at 211 East Second St. in Downtown Owensboro just steps from the museum. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. Seating is limited to 100. Tickets to this once-in-a-lifetime event are $20, and can be purchased at the door or by calling 1-(888) MY-BANJO (692-2656).

Five world-renowned mandolinists comprise this year's Monroe-Style Faculty. Performing together in concert for the first time are Frank Wakefield (Greenbriar Boys), Mike Compton (Nashville Bluegrass Band), Roland White (Kentucky Colonels, Blue Grass Boys), Skip Gorman (Rabbit in a Log) and David Long (Little Country Giants.)

They will be joined by a former member of Bill Monroe's band, The Blue Grass Boys and editor of the Bill Monroe Reader, Tom Ewing. Ewing played guitar and was lead vocalist for the Father of Bluegrass during the last 8 years of Mr. Monroe's career before his passing in 1996.

Bluegrass music enthusiasts from around the world are attending this year's Mandolin Camp at the Bluegrass Museum. Here, they immerse themselves in the rarefied atmosphere of the museum while learning the stylizations, songwriting, and multi-cultural musical influences of Bill Monroe, the "Father of Bluegrass".

"We have had two health related cancellations so there are some last-minute spots available in an otherwise sold-out event" said Mike Lawing, Camp Director. If you would like to enroll as a camper, call Mike at 1-(888) MY-BANJO. Attendance is capped at 45.

The $500 camp package includes all classes, 3 meals, 2 nights of hotel rooms, the concert, a group picture and a road trip to Rosine, Kentucky, the birthplace and resting place of Bill Monroe. Tuition for local commuters who do not require hotel rooms is $400.