Traditional music powerhouse The Bing Brothers featuring Jake Krack will return to The Pocahontas County Opera House on Saturday, Apr. 1, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $10. Youth 17 and younger are admitted free of charge.
For more than 40 years, The Bing Brothers have played their hard-driving brand of string band music from Canada to Florida – from Spain to England, and from Australia, to Ireland and Scotland. Their sound has been formed in the West Virginia mountains, and they remain true to their roots. Yet The Bing Brothers are highly versatile, playing selections in old time and bluegrass, as well as traditional Irish songs and ragtime.
Banjo player Tim Bing is a 14-time West Virginia State Champion and Appalachian String Band winner. Fiddler Jake Krack has won the Galax Fiddler’s Convention Contest six times and is known as one of today’s top old time fiddlers. Mandolin player and band leader Mike Bing has been the glue that has kept the band together for over 40 years, and created The Allegheny Echoes Summer Workshops, which celebrate Pocahontas County and West Virginia music. Mike Bing has developed his own style of Mandolin which blends a solid rhythm chop and unmatched melody playing into the Bing Brothers style. Because of their contributions to West Virginia music, Mike and Tim Bing were the 2012 recipients of the West Virginia Culture and History’s Vandalia Award.
The Bing Brothers Band have kept the powerful rhythm of the band cranking with the additions of guitarist Bob Lieving and bassist Tim Corbett in 2002.
In 2010, Krack joined the band as they began to reach new levels. Since that time, The band has won First Place in the Old Time Band Contest at the Galax Fiddler’s Convention four times, at which Krack was also awarded First Place Fiddler six times and Best All Around Performer five times.
In March 2011, the group began recording live performances for the release of their “LIVE from Pocahontas County WV” recording, which was released the following year and received great reviews. The recording was the third release for The Bing Brothers Band. Also in 2012, the band toured Australia including performances at the 30th Yarra Junction Fiddler’s Convention in addition to their performances at festivals and venues in the United States.
In March 2015, the band was invited to perform on Broadway in New York City as part of The Irish Arts Center’s Celtic Appalachian Celebration. The band was part of two sold out performances of the event, and in June of 2015 they released the “Live from Broadway NYC” DVD.
In addition to performing, The Bing Brothers Band is involved personally with the Allegheny Echoes Workshops, which Mike Bing helped create. The workshops are held the last week of June in Marlinton. All of the band members are staff instructors. In 2016 the Allegheny Echoes Workshops marked their 20th anniversary.
Advance tickets are available at pocahontasoperahouse.org and at the Fourth Avenue Gallery in Marlinton. Tickets will also be available at the door the night of the concert.
Performances at the Opera House are informal, family-friendly and open to all. The entrance and main seating are accessible to persons with disabilities. Persons with disabilities are encouraged to attend; special accommodations can be arranged upon request by calling 304-799-6645.
The Opera House Performance Series is presented with financial assistance through a grant from the WV Division of Culture and History and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the WV Commission on the Arts. Support is also provided by Pocahontas County Drama, Fairs and Festivals and the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
