Banjo Masters to Perform in Frankfort, KY on Friday, August 14, 2009

Aug. 12, 2009 - PRLog -- Frankfort, KY-- A concert featuring master banjoists Brett Ratliff, Jackie Helton, Jesse Wells, Sarah Wood and John Haywood will take place at the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History  in Frankfort on Friday, Aug. 14 from 5:30 p.m. to 9 p.m.  

The concert, hosted by John Harrod, is the second in a series of concerts by master musicians who play stringed instruments, including the guitar, banjo and fiddle.  This concert is dedicated to the memory of Mike Seeger who died Friday, Aug. 7. Seeger, a musician and steward of American traditional music, assisted the Kentucky Folklife Program in selecting the artists for this event and was scheduled to co-host the concert.

The series is presented as part of "Made to be Played: Traditional Art
of Kentucky Luthiers," an exhibition dedicated to showcasing the art of
making and repairing stringed instruments. The exhibition is sponsored
by the Kentucky Folklife Program, a partnership of the Kentucky
Historical Society and the Kentucky Arts Council.

From 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., guests will have the opportunity to meet
luthiers Warren May, of Berea, and Ricky Neat, of Russell Springs, who
will be on-hand to discuss and answer questions concerning stringed
instrument crafting, maintenance and repair.

The concert, which begins at 7 p.m., will feature Kentucky master
banjoists who are accomplished in a variety of styles.  The events are
free with the price of admission. The last concert by master guitarists
drew a crowd of about 300 people.

Brett Ratliff, who released "Cold Icy Mountain" in June 2008, comes to
KHS from Van Lear, Ky., and will move the audience with chilling ballads
and foot-stomping banjo songs. Helton participated in a masters panel at
Morehead Old-time Fiddlers Convention in July and is a well-respected
mentor to banjoists across the state. Jesse Wells is the Kentucky Center
for Traditional Music's Education Coordinator, and an old-time music
scholar. He is accomplished in multiple stringed instruments and
continues the musical legacy of his family. Sarah Wood, of Flatwoods, is
an old-time banjo player, ballad singer and student at Morehead State
University. In addition to being a talented and sought after visual
artist, John Haywood is a banjoist who plays solo as well as with Rich
and the Po'Folk and the Travelin' Snakes.

John Harrod, the concert's host, documents and records old-time music
throughout the commonwealth. He is an accomplished Kentucky fiddle-tune
scholar and plays guitar and sings lead vocals for Kentucky Wild Horse.

"Made to be Played" features the rich and fascinating history of
Kentucky luthiers-people who make or repair stringed instruments-and
tells the stories of Kentucky master luthiers and their handcrafted
guitars, fiddles, banjos, mandolins, dulcimers and other original
stringed instruments. The exhibition will remain on display until
closing festivities on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Purchase your tickets early, and tour the Old State Capitol. Then come
back for evening events and to tour the exhibitions at the Center for
Kentucky History. Admission, which includes all exhibitions on the
Kentucky Historical Society history campus, is $4 for adults, $2 for
youth (6-18) and complimentary for children five and under. KHS members
receive complimentary admission.  

"Made to be Played" was developed through a grant from the National
Endowment for the Arts and is on display thanks to the generosity of the
Dupree family, in memory of Clara Galtney Dupree. The exhibition is
dedicated to the memory of Homer Ledford, a Kentucky luthier and
musician who was renowned for the quality, beauty and uniqueness of his
works.  

To find out more about programming and artifacts related to "Made to be
Played," visit www.history.ky.gov/luthiers.

About the Kentucky Historical Society

An agency of the Kentucky Tourism, Arts and Heritage Cabinet, the
Kentucky Historical Society, since 1836, has provided connections to the
past, perspective on the present, and inspiration for the future.  KHS
operates the Old State Capitol, the Kentucky Military History Museum,
and its headquarters, the Thomas D. Clark Center for Kentucky History.
Since 1999, the thirty-million-dollar Center has welcomed more than one
million visitors.   For more information about the Kentucky Historical
Society and its programs, visit the Web site at www.history.ky.gov.

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Media Contact:
Laura Coleman
Public Relations and Marketing Specialist
Kentucky Historical Society
100 West Broadway
Frankfort, KY 40601
502.564.1792 x.4419
laura.coleman@ky.gov

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