We are excited to present the return of master musician Joe Newberry for our next Music At The Abbey bluegrass and old-time music party at 8:00 PM on Saturday, January 11th 2020. You won't want to miss this opportunity to wrap up your holiday season with us here in Bowie, MD for an evening of terrific music and company.
Known far and wide for his powerful banjo playing, Joe Newberry is a prizewinning guitarist, songwriter, and singer to boot. In addition to his duo work with Mike Compton and with April Verch, Joe performs with guitarist Jon Shain, and is a frequent guest on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion. He won the songwriting prize for "Gospel Recorded Performance" at the 2012 IBMA Awards for his song Singing As We Rise, and was co-writer, with Eric Gibson, of the 2013 IBMA Song of the Year for They Called It Music.
Joe's songwriting is characterized by the same clean, elegant style as his banjo playing, and his songs are often recorded by artists in the folk and bluegrass world. The Gibson Brothers' version of his song "Singing As We Rise," featuring guest vocalist Ricky Skaggs, won the 2012 IBMA "Gospel Recorded Performance" award. In 2013, Joe shared co-writing honors with Eric Gibson for the IBMA Song of the Year, "They Called It Music."
Joe was a frequent guest on Garrison Keillor's A Prairie Home Companion, and was a featured singer on the Transatlantic Sessions tour in the United Kingdom with fiddler Aly Bain and Dobro master Jerry Douglas, and at the Transatlantic Sessions debut at Merlefest in 2017. In addition to performing solo, Joe plays in a duo with mandolin icon Mike Compton, and also performs with the dynamic fiddler and step-dancer April Verch.
A noted teacher of traditional music and song, Joe has taught at numerous camps and festivals, including Ashokan, Pinewoods Camp, Vocal Week and Old-Time Week at the Augusta Heritage Center, the Australia National Folk Festival, the Blue Ridge Old-Time Music Week, and the Bluff Country Gathering. For many years he served as coordinator of Old-Time Week at the Augusta Heritage Center in Elkins, WV. He also teaches at weekend vocal workshops around the country with singing partner Val Mindel.
Joe grew up in a family full of singers and dancers. He took up the guitar and banjo as a teenager and learned fiddle tunes from great Missouri fiddlers. He came to North Carolina as a young man and quickly became an anchor of the incredible music scene in the state. Still going strong more than 30 years later, he does solo and studio work, and plays and teaches at festivals and workshops in North America and abroad.
This year's DC Bluegrass Festival is a one-day event on Saturday, March 28th, featuring performances on stage and open jamming. It all kicks of at noon with the Mid-Atlantic Bluegrass Band Contest, which will be open for entries soon -- watch for our announcement.
The Hazel Dickens Song Contest for 2020 is open for entries for just 3 more weeks. First, second and third-place winners receive cash prizes ($500/$250/$100) and will be announced on February 16, 2020. And our 1st place winner is invited to perform the winning song at the Festival.
