Lineup announced for Leon Kiser Memorial Tribute Show

Acclaimed bluegrass artist Larry Sparks will be the guest of honor and featured performer at the 22nd annual Leon Kiser Memorial Tribute Show at Northeast State Community College in Blountville, Tennessee, on Saturday, February 24.

The former lead vocalist for Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys formed his own band, The Lonesome Ramblers, in 1969. He has released more than 60 albums and was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2015. His awards include the 2004 and 2005 International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) Male Vocalist of the Year Award and the 2005 IBMA award for Album of the Year and Recorded Event of the Year for his album "40."

Each year, The Leon Kiser Memorial Tribute Show raises money for music-related nonprofit organizations, in memory of the late bluegrass artist Leon Kiser, who was the bandleader of the Holston Mountain Boys for more than 30 years. Kiser was also a prolific concert promoter in East Tennessee and Southwest Virginia.

"It's a great honor to be part of the Leon Kiser Memorial Tribute Show," Sparks said. "I think it is very important for me and other established artists to support programs that promote bluegrass music and help younger artists to develop their talent. We must all pull together to keep bluegrass alive. We can make some new paths but never forget the old paths and learn from them the real bluegrass music the way it should be played and sung from the heart."

This year's proceeds will benefit the Benny Sims Scholarship Fund and the Leon Kiser Scholarship Fund at East Tennessee State University (ETSU), as well as the ACMA Mountain Music Museum, which recently reopened in a new location in downtown Kingsport. The museum is owned by the nonprofit Appalachian Cultural Music Association (ACMA), which produces the Leon Kiser Memorial Tribute Show.

"It's great to see how the music community comes together for this event every year," said Tim White, who will emcee the benefit, along with Rick Dollar, the museum's director. "Performers volunteer their time and talent to raise money to raise awareness of mountain music and support promising young artists."

White, who hosts the nationally syndicated public television concert series "Song of the Mountains," will also perform at the upcoming benefit with his band, Troublesome Hollow. Other performers who are scheduled to appear include Earl "Hump" Doyle, the ETSU Bluegrass Pride Band, Raymond McLain, Morehead State University's Mountain Music Ambassadors, Kaitlyn Baker, the Kiser Family, Cork Lickers, Breaking Tradition, Cedar Valley, Kenny Morrell, Duty Free, Saplin' Grove, Brandon Lee Adams and Grant Maloy Smith, whose recent album "Dust Bowl - American Stories" has started to attract national attention.

The show will also pay tribute to the Old Hickory Tree Store in Bristol, which was a popular hub for live, regional bluegrass music for many years.

The Leon Kiser Memorial Tribute Show will take place on Saturday, February 24, at the Wellmont Center for the Performing Arts, Northeast State Community College, 2425 TN-75, Blountville, TN 37617, beginning at 7:00 p.m. Tickets are $15 in advance or $20 at the door. Tickets can be ordered at www.NortheastState.edu/tickets or by calling 423-354-5169. For more information about the show, visit www.Facebook.com/appalachianproductions/.

Photo Credit: Hugh Chamber

To post a comment, you must register and login.