Carnegie Hall’s 2013-2014 Mainstage Concert Season opens Friday, Sept. 20, with country music legend, Ricky Skaggs and Kentucky Thunder. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. with access to the Mainstage Lounge, hosted by Bella The Corner Gourmet, beginning at 6:45 p.m. Tickets are on sale now by calling 304-645-7917 or online at www.carnegiehallwv.org.
A life full of music. That’s the story of Ricky Skaggs. By age 21, he was already considered a “recognized master” of one of America’s most demanding art forms, but his career took him in other directions, catapulting him to popularity and success in the mainstream of country music. His life’s path has taken him to various musical genres, from where it all began in bluegrass music, to striking out on new musical journeys, while still leaving his musical roots intact.
Ricky struck his first chords on a mandolin over 50 years ago, and this 14-time Grammy Award winner continues to do his part to lead the recent roots revival in music. With 12 consecutive Grammy-nominated classics behind him, all from his own Skaggs Family Records label (Bluegrass Rules! in 1998, Ancient Tones in 1999, History of the Future in 2001, Soldier of the Cross, Live at the Charleston Music Hall, and Big Mon: The Songs of Bill Monroe in 2003, Brand New Strings in 2005, Instrumentals in 2007, Salt of the Earth with The Whites in 2008, Honoring the Fathers of Bluegrass: Tribute to 1946 and 1947 in 2009 and Ricky Skaggs Solo: Songs My Dad Loved along with Mosaic in 2010), the diverse and masterful tones made by the gifted Skaggs come from a life dedicated to playing music that is both fed by the soul and felt by the heart.
Marking Ricky’s 50th year in music was the release of Country Hits Bluegrass Style (2011), a compilation of many of Skaggs’ #1 country hits and fan favorites played in a bluegrass style. Combining his country and bluegrass roots along with Ricky’s impeccable tenor voice, his eight time IBMA Instrumental Band of the Year, Kentucky Thunder, and some of Ricky’s original award-winning country band alumni together with special friends added to the magic of this release. Long awaited by country and bluegrass music fans alike, Music To My Ears (2012) was an exciting offering featuring fresh, new bluegrass tunes co-written by Skaggs. 2013 projects include the release of his autobiography “Kentucky Traveler: My Life in Music” and new album Cluck Ol’ Hen – Ricky Skaggs & Bruce Hornsby LIVE.
Ricky Skaggs has often said that he is “just trying to make a living” playing the music he loves. But it’s clear that his passion for it puts him in the position to bring his lively, distinctively American form of music out of isolation and into the ears and hearts of audiences across the country and around the world. Ricky Skaggs is always forging ahead with cross-cultural, genre-bending musical ideas and inspirations.
Carnegie Hall’s 2013-14 arts programming is presented with financial assistance from the WV Division of Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the WV Commission on the Arts and the following sponsors: Headliner sponsor Gina McClure, Daywood Foundation, Greenbrier County Commission, Hamilton Family Foundation, Hollowell Foundation, One Foundation, UNCLE LARRY’S FUND, Gov. Tomblin and the WV Legislature, City National Bank, The Pinnacle Group/Tony Mamone, CBS 59, Carnegie Hall Foundation, Carnegie Hall Guild, Greenbrier Valley Medical Center, S. J. Neathawk Lumber Company Inc., The General Lewis Inn, Sarah and Jim Umberger, Workers United MARJB & 863, Mike and Judy Campbell, Casasanta, Harvey and Naomi Cohen, Mary Laub Cowan, Colonial Ford/Hyundai, Dinsmore, EvriChart, Greenbrier Technologies, James H. Harless, Eugene and Annie Jeffus, Cindy and Bob Jones, Levine Family Foundation, Paul and Ann Moran, REV III LLC, BB&T, Doug Bicksler, CPA, Elizabeth Blatt, Vivian Conly, Michael and Sharon Cope, Mike Donahue Management, Edward Jones/Katie Eads, First National Bank, First Energy Foundation, Frontier Communications, Libby and Greg Johnson, MeadWestvaco, Marie G. Nickell, Josh and Judith Polan, Dr. and Mrs. Tom Potterfield, Richmond & Company, CPA, A.C., Stroebel & Johnson, David and Pam Wigglesworth, Wolf Creek Gallery, Yarid’s, Cheryl and Michael Adelman, Lois H. Cole, Polley and Bill Cunningham, Ann and Larry Davis, Greenbrier Home Inspections, Greenbrier Valley Urology/Joe Moshy, Chris Hall/State Farm Insurance, Mrs. E.D. Knight, Mary and Paul Lindquist, Bob and Jill Modlin, Red Oaks Shopping Center, Suzanne Perilli Hancock, Arnold and Lynn Brody, Donald Chadwick, Country Road Realty, LLC, Dr. and Mrs. Thomas O. Dotson, Robert 7 Laurel Doherty, Edith’s, Bob Foster and Mary Leb, Greenbrier Medical Arts Pharmacy, Swan James, Dr. Jane A. Johnson, Carol and Allan Olson, R & V Pranulis/Wolf Creek Printery, Robert C. Byrd Clinic, James and Rosanne Shupe, Studio 40/Mary Chappell, Wyon Wheatley, Mark Blumenstein and Terry Wontrobski.
