The Dirk Powell Band will play “Appalachian Tunes: Traditional and Contemporary” in a performance at Berea College on Oct. 27 at 8 p.m. in Phelps Stokes Chapel.

The Stephenson Memorial Concert is free and open to the public.

Powell and his band are known for playing old-time and bluegrass music in styles that unite traditional and historical forms of Appalachian music with modern sensibilities.

Drawing from his Southern Appalachian roots, Powell learned to play a wide variety of instruments including fiddle, banjo, and accordion. Powell has a foundation in the classical realm, having begun piano study at age eight before switching to Baroque harpsichord at ten. Then in his early teens, he formed a musical bond with his grandfather, James Clarence Hay of Ashland, Ky., and discovered a personal resonance with the music of his southern mountain heritage which extends back more than nine generations.

A leading expert on traditional Appalachian fiddle and banjo styles, he has played music for Anthony Minghella’s film "Cold Mountain,” Edward Burns’ "The Brothers McMullen" and Spike Lee’s "Bamboozled,” as well as “Riverdance: The Show” and several documentaries. He has worked with many well known musical artists as well, including Sting, Jewel, Tim O’Brien and producer T-Bone Burnett.

Most recently, Powell has collaborated on a fusion of Appalachian music and Hip Hop with Richmond, Va. Producer/rapper Danja Mowf for the film “From the Holler to the Hood,” which looks at tension between guards and inmates in the new maximum security prisons in Appalachia.

Solo and together with his band, Powell has released three albums: “If I Go Ten Thousand Miles,” “Hand Me Down,” and “Dirk Powell and Tony Furtado.”

For a complete listing of Berea College Convocations for 2005-06, visit online at www.berea.edu/convocations.