Kathy Mattea Band
Kathy Mattea has been twice named Female Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association, and is an artist at ease both with country tradition and free-ranging innovation. In 1990, the West Virginia native won the first of her two Grammy Awards, earning the Best Female Country Vocal Performance award for her moving “Where’ve You Been,” co-written by husband Jon Vezner. She is among the most successful women in the genre’s history, yet her creative spirit has led her to explore musical territory extending well beyond its confines. Her recent recordings have intertwined Celtic, gospel, and bluegrass influences with the folk and acoustic music that have always served as her artistic anchor.
An early spokesperson and advocate for AIDS awareness and research, Kathy’s long history of activism has led her to bring public attention to several current environmental issues, including global warming and mining practices in her native Appalachia. Read more about Kathy Mattea and purchase her recordings at www.mattea.com.
Kathy Mattea is accompanied by Bill Cooley (guitar), Rick Blackwell (bass) and Jim Brock (percussion).
VOX
VOX is Carolina Voices’ most demanding, innovative and eclectic ensemble, performing repertoire of all genres, styles and formats. A collaborative choral venture between Carolina Voices and Central Piedmont Community College, the 32-member ensemble presents cutting-edge music, often in collaboration with the region’s finest artists from all disciplines. David Tang, Carolina Voices’ Artistic Director, conducts.
The Beggar Boys
The Beggar Boys, who take their name from an old English dance tune, have been performing Celtic and colonial music since 2002. Michael Albert plays fiddle, baritone fiddle, whistles, and vocals; Henry Lebedinsky plays fiddle, baritone fiddle, bouzouki, bodhran, organ and vocals; Larry Young plays fiddle and baritone fiddle. Combining both traditional and original tunes and texts, their repertoire represents the living tradition of folk music. The group has recorded two CDs, "The Darkest Midnight: A Celtic Nativity," and "Salem's Musik," an album of colonial music. To learn more about The Beggar Boys, visit their website at www.beggarboys.com.
Abigail Haynes Lennox
Abigail Haynes Lennox is a multi-genre soprano whose musical interests range from early plainchant to 19th-century mélodie to improvised avant garde. Originally from Bartlett, Tennessee, she earned a bachelor’s degree in vocal performance at the University of Michigan, and a master’s degree in voice at the Yale Institute of Sacred Music. She has performed as a soloist in Bach’s St. John Passion and Buxtehude’s Membra Jesu Nostri under Simon Carrington, in Mozart’s Vespers with Sir David Willocks and again with Sir Neville Marriner, and in Bach’s Weihnachts Oratorium and B Minor Mass with the American Bach Soloists under Jeffrey Thomas. Find out more about her at her website
Catrina Pegues
Catrina Pegues is a native of Charlotte, NC, an ordained minister, and has opened for many gospel greats, including Shirley Caesar and Yolanda Adams. She has produced two gospel albums and traveled internationally with Samaritan's Feet and other missions groups. In 2004, she was the grand prize winner, with a perfect score in the WSOC channel 9 "GIMME THE MIKE-Charlotte" contest.