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The Allen Boys: Sacred Steel of North Carolina Concert

September 16, 2016 @ 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Free

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Sacred steel guitar uplifts its listeners. As pedal steel guitarist DaShawn Hickman says, “The music that we play makes you forget about everything that happened in the day and just have fun.”  The modern pedal steel guitar has its roots in Hawaiian lap steel, but African American House of God Churches transformed the playing style in the 1930s. Unlike in most other churches where a lead guitar or an organ drives a service, in this church the pedal steel guitar takes the lead—sometimes even mimicking singing. Beyond the church, sacred steel has grown popular thanks to the likes of Robert Randolph, The Campbell Brothers, and Calvin Cooke. Hickman grew up in the small, granite and wood House of God Church (Keith Dominion) in Mt. Airy. By age 7, he was practicing the steel, inspired by his mother, the church’s player-turned-minister. For more than a decade, Hickman has played with bassist Mitchel Fonville (Bottom Dropper), keyboardist Camron Moore (Smooth and Easy), and drummer Ranzy Moore (Big Foot) as The Allen Boys.

Today, The Allen Boys are North Carolina’s only touring sacred steel band. They bring their special sound to the lawn of Richardson Park at the Greensboro Historical Museum in this special outdoor concert—bring a picnic and a blanket and prepare to be moved by the music.

This event is supported by Fabric of Freedom, a series of arts programs that celebrate the diversity and cultural history of Greensboro, host city for the National Folk Festival (2015-2017). The series is presented by ArtsGreensboro and funded by a National Endowment for the Arts “Our Town” grant and co-sponsored by the AJ Fletcher Foundation and Lincoln Financial. For a full list of Fabric of Freedom events, visit https://nationalfolkfestival.com/fabric-of-freedom/.

Details

Date:
September 16, 2016
Time:
6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Cost:
Free
Event Categories:
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