Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Jontavious Willis will lead this year’s RiddleFest Seminar on October 21, 3-4 PM, at the Burnsville Town Center. Renowned for his blues artistry, Willis explains the origins and character of traditional country blues, focusing on the Piedmont blues that was Lesley Riddle’s genre. He will also explain from his own experience as a songwriter how the blues is evolving in the 21st century. The Seminar, sponsored by NC Humanities, is free and open to the public. RiddleFest is produced annually by Traditional Voices Group as a tribute to Lesley Riddle, an African American musician from Yancey County NC, who influenced the development of early country music through his collaboration with A.P. Carter and the Carter Family.
Traditional Voices Group is pleased to announce the lineup for RiddleFest 2023, October 21, 7-9 PM at the Burnsville Town Center. Our headliner will be Jontavious Willis, an up-and-coming Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter from rural Georgia, who is renowned as a musician of Piedmont blues. Blues artist Taj Mahal says, “Jontavious is a great new voice of the 21st century in the acoustic blues. I love the way he plays.” The concert openers are Sam McKinney with Rhonda Gouge and Keeping Time from Mitchell County. Rhonda was recently named a North Carolina Heritage Award recipient. Together McKinney and Gouge play a wide range of acoustic music, including, but not limited to, bluegrass, country, traditional mountain music, blues, story songs and murder ballads, and traditional gospel songs. Join us for an evening of the best country blues you will hear anywhere.
