Becky Hill & Ben Nelson Bring Banjo Beats

Becky Hill and Ben Nelson return to the Folk School to perform at 7 p.m. on MONDAY April 7.  They have been friends for over a decade and recently started crafting banjo and dance duets together. Ben grew up in southwest Virginia in a family of old-time musicians and now makes his home in the North Carolina mountains. Becky is musically rooted in West Virginia, where she studied with percussive dance luminaries and elder square dance callers. Their arrangements of traditional tunes from southern Appalachia re-envision percussive dance as a primary instrument to explore the nuanced conversation between melody and rhythm. The goal of the project is to celebrate the traditions of Appalachian old-time music and dance, while simultaneously pushing the boundaries of those traditions. They have performed on the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage, the Baltimore Old-Time Festival, Blackpot Festival and numerous others. Their concert will be presented all acoustic in the round, surrounding the performers. It will be a great visual show at a pleasant natural volume.