The Blue Ridge Music Center is celebrating 20 years of summer concerts at its hillside outdoor amphitheater on the Blue Ridge Parkway with its Summer 2022 Concert Series.
Taking the stage on Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. is the Steep Canyon Ranger, sponsored by Visit Grayson County.
Performances start at 7 p.m. on Saturdays, with admission gates opening at 5:45 p.m. Ticket prices range from $20 to $40. Tickets, season passes (full, half, and Pick 3), and memberships can be purchased at BlueRidgeMusicCenter.org.
$40 adults, $20 for children 12 and younger
The Steep Canyon Rangers are Grammy winners, perennial Billboard chart-toppers, and frequent collaborators of the renowned banjoist (and occasional comedian) Steve Martin. Steep Canyon Rangers released three albums in 2020 on Yep Roc Records. The Grammy-nominated North Carolina Songbook is a recording of their live 2019 performance at MerleFest, in which they performed a selection of songs by the state’s songwriters (Ola Belle Reed, Doc Watson, James Taylor, Ben E. King, and others). The studio album Be Still Moses paired the band with Philadelphia soul legends Boyz II Men and their hometown Asheville Symphony to overhaul the song “Be Still Moses,” which was first recorded on their 2007 breakout album Lovin’ Pretty Women. The album includes re-imagined versions of Steep Canyon Rangers’ previously released original songs performed with an orchestra. Their most recent release of all original music, Arm in Arm, came out in October 2020.
The group is composed of Woody Platt on guitar and vocals, Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin/mandola and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums and vocals, and Barrett Smith on bass and vocals.
