A Halloween homecoming is in store for an Ellijay musician who’s been traveling the country with bluegrass group Appalachian Road Show.
The group, which includes Ellijay banjo player and singer Barry Abernathy, will perform at the Ellijay First Baptist Church Fall Festival Monday, Oct. 31. The event will be held in the church parking lot from 5:30-8 p.m. Halloween night.
Appalachian Road Show was formed in 2018 by Abernathy, a former member of progressive bluegrass group Mountain Heart and Doyle Lawson’s Quicksilver band, and mandolinist Darrell Webb, formerly of J.D. Crowe and The New South and Rhonda Vincent and The Rage among others.
The eclectic, spirited brand of acoustic music played by the five-piece group, which also includes ex-Mountain Heart fiddler Jim VanCleve, guitarist Zeb Snyder and bassist Todd Phillips, has since earned them a reputation as “the thinking man’s string band.”
“We want to bring to light the culture and lifestyle of the Appalachian music we grew up in,” said Abernathy. “When we are playing together on stage or in the studio, we can look at each other and just smile because you can feel that everybody is just loving it and pouring their whole heart into everything they do. That means so much when you are doing this for a living.”
Appalachian Road Show was gaining steam as a touring act prior to releasing its second album, “Tribulation,” in early 2020. That stride was slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic, but only temporarily, Abernathy noted.
“We were just about to put the ‘Tribulation’ record out when the pandemic hit,” he added. “It was scheduled for release on March 27, 2020, which ended up being the day they shut the country down.”
On their new album, “Jubilation,” the group lends their rich harmony singing and top-drawer picking to such tracks as “La La Blues,” by modern bluesman Pokey LaFarge, and “Ballad of Kidder Cole,” a foot-stomping, true-life tale by Felix Eugene Alley, a songwriter from VanCleve’s home of Haywood County, N.C.
Abernathy said there’s a more upbeat spin to much of the new material, making it somewhat of a flipside to “Tribulation,” a concept album about early Appalachian settlers.
“We kind of went down a rabbit hole with “Tribulation” where we wanted to get across the hard times of Appalachian people, how they made a living and the plight they had. We intended to make this album a bit different. Coming out into the light is kind of the thing with this one,” he added. “It’s hard to make bluegrass and old-time music all happy, but there’s a lot of happier stuff on ‘Jubilation’ that’s still Appalachian themed.”
The album’s introductory narration — something that’s become an Appalachian Road Show calling card — is provided by Dolly Parton, a fan and now two-time collaborator of the group. Abernathy, VanCleve and Webb sang on Parton’s album “Run Rose Run,” which came out earlier this year.
“We sang harmony on a cut of hers called ‘Dark Night, Bright Future.’ She returned the favor by doing a voice over on this record, which we were really excited about,” Abernathy said. “We’ve done a voice over or two on every record, which kind of sets the tone for the whole thing.”
Abernathy, who first hit the road as a working musician at age 23 with IIIrd Tyme Out, said the past year has been one of his busiest to date. Last year, the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) named Appalachian Roadshow Instrumental Group and New Artist of the Year. In 2022, the group is making up for travel time lost during the pandemic with a string of live dates scheduled.
“This has been the best year I’ve ever had playing music for a living. It’s been a really good one,” Abernathy said.
The First Baptist Church Fall Festival and concert by Appalachian Road Show are free to attend and open to the public, confirmed Alice Holt, the church’s preschool director.
The event will feature games for kids and food trucks, and attendees are welcome to come dressed in their Halloween costumes, Holt said.
“Even during the concert, these things will be happening at the same time. We’ll have the concert going in the side parking lot. In the big parking lot, we’ll have games, a dunking booth, food trucks and every age group fun,” she added. “It’s a free event, and the only purchase items will be from the food trucks.”
Holt said live music will be something new for the long-running fall festival.
“We wanted to try something different this year that everybody could come to. With Barry being from here, we thought we’d give (a concert) a shot because he doesn’t often get to play here in Ellijay. We were really grateful to be able to cover the cost of the concert for everybody,” she added.