Bluegrass Guitarists Tim O’brien & Bryan Sutton Performing at Berea College, Thursday, Oct. 14

11/29/10

Tim O’brien and Bryan Sutton will perform at Berea College on Thursday, Oct. 14, 2010. The concert is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. in Phelps Strokes Chapel, which kicks off the 39th Celebration of Traditional Music. As part of 2010- 2011 Stephenson Memorial Concert Series, the event is free and open to the public.

Tim O’Brien is one of the spearheads of contemporary bluegrass. As co- founder and lead vocalist of Hot Rize and Red Knuckles & the Trailblazers, O’Brien served as a bridge between the traditional sounds of the hill country and the modern styles of bluegrass in the 1980s.

O’Brien acquired his first guitar at the age of 12 and was steered toward country music. Meeting with future Hot Rize band-mates Pete Wernick and Charles Sawtelle, O’Brien formed his first bluegrass band, the Drifting Ramblers. Since then, he has collaborated with a number of country and bluegrass players and became well known as a solo artist and songwriter.

Bryan Sutton, who came from Asheville, NC in 1973, started playing the guitar at the age of 8. In 1995, Sutton joined Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder; the band was awarded the Bluegrass Grammy award in 1998. He has been on albums as diverse as the all-instrumental Hats off: a Tribute to Merle Haggard and alternative country singer Hayseed’s critically acclaimed Melic.

For complete listing of all Berea College Convocations for 2010- 2011 year, visit www.berea.edu/convocations.

CONTACT:

For more information, please contact Jeanette Davidson at 859.985.3466 or jeanette_davidson@berea.edu.