Jim Lauderdale was born April 11, 1957, in Troutman, N.C. His father was a minister and his mother was a music teacher and choir director. He played drums in the school band and after graduation decided to become a solo performer in New York. He impressed record producer Pete Anderson while in the Los Angeles production of Pump Boys and Dinettes and was recorded for the compilation A Town South of Bakersfield, Volume 2. He then sang backing vocals for various artists including Carlene Carter and Dwight Yoakam.

Even in Nashville, a city teeming with singular talents, Jim Lauderdale is unique. He came to Music City, for example, not as a kid off the Greyhound with stars in his eyes, but as a singer and songwriter who had already begun a promising career. He is among Nashville’s “A” list of songwriters, with songs recorded by artists such as: Patty Loveless, George Jones, The Dixie Chicks, Solomon Burke, Mark Chesnutt, Dave Edmunds, John Mayall, Kathy Mattea, Lee Ann Womack, Gary Allan, Blake Shelton, Vince Gill, and George Strait. He also contributed several songs to the successful soundtrack of the George Strait film, “Pure Country.” Not content to just write hits for the stars, he’s toured with the likes of Lucinda Williams, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Rhonda Vincent and Elvis Costello, among others.

Jim’s musical influences include the legendary Dr. Ralph Stanley and George Jones. These influences and his unique sense of melody and lyric help forge a sound that is truly his own. He is a two time Grammy winner, winning his first in 2002 with Dr. Ralph Stanley for Lost in the Lonesome Pines (Dualtone). His next one came for his second “solo” bluegrass album, The Bluegrass Diaries (Yep Roc 2007) at the 50th Grammy Awards. His first CD with Dr. Stanley, I Feel Like Singing Today (Dualtone/Rebel 1999) received a Grammy nomination as did his first solo bluegrass CD titled Bluegrass (Yep Roc) from 2006. His current release, Patchwork River (his second collaboration with Grateful Dead lyricist, Robert Hunter) is currently on the Americana radio charts.

As a performer his credits include production, writing and collaborating on albums such as, Wait ‘Til Spring (SkyCrunch/Dualtone 2003) with Donna the Buffalo, and Headed for the Hills (Dualtone 2004) his first total project with Robert Hunter. The remainder of Jim’s 18 albums include: Planet of Love (Reprise 1991), Pretty Close to the Truth (Atlantic 1994), Every Second Counts (Atlantic 1995), Persimmons (Upstart 1998), Whisper (BNA 1998), Onward Through It All (RCA 1999), The Other Sessions (Dualtone 2001), The Hummingbirds (Dualtone 2002), Bluegrass (Yep Roc 2006), Country Super Hits, Volume 1 (Yep Roc 2006), Honey Songs (Yep Roc 2008), Could We Get Any Closer? (SkyCrunch 2009) and Patchwork River (Thirty Tigers 2010).

Pundits in the know took note early on of Jim’s appeal. Jim Macnie suggests correctly on allmusic.com that, “If every Nashville singing star had to cut at least one Jim Lauderdale song, country wouldn’t be the Chumpville that it is these days.” The Nashville Scene classifies him as “a hip country chameleon.” And Entertainment Weekly lauds his ability to make his songs “ache, bend, snort, and moan in a way no one else does.” All of this suggests that Jim isn’t an artist you can file easily into any one category, and while this is certainly true, one other aspect of Jim’s artistic identity rings even truer than his defiance of easy pigeon-holing – his sheer legendary output of world class material.

“It’s been a particularly great period for me,” says Lauderdale. “Thanks to the records - I’m performing more and more, which I love. And I love that I can play the Opry one weekend, a jam-band festival the next and then a bluegrass festival the following week. That’s really inspiring to me and I think there’s a real thread there. The roots are the same for all of them and that’s the music I’m interested in.”

The truth is that Jim has always had that ability of writing music that reflects his originality while at the same time maintaining a sense of total authenticity. Because his mission is to write songs that excel on their own, rather than shape them to the standards of any one genre, he has been able to come up with material that can be adapted to almost any kind of interpretation. “I recognize that my diversity can create a challenge for those that need to categorize me,” he admits, “where even though I might have Ralph Stanley singing with me, there’s also some singer/songwriter stuff and some country stuff — so which bin does it belong in at the record store? That’s just not for me to decide. That kind of question has nothing to do with making music.”

Jens Kruger, born and raised in Switzerland, is a lifelong musician.  At the age of four, he started playing the harmonica. Then, he learned to play was his mother’s accordion, accompanying his brother, Uwe, who played his father’s guitar.  He loved listening to his father’s albums and wanted so badly to play the banjo. When he was ten years old, he received a tenor banjo and he began to play Dixieland jazz, hoping that that one day “Foggy Mountain Breakdown” would somehow flow from the instrument.  A year later, Jens and Uwe made their first public appearance, and two years later Uwe bought Jens his first five-string banjo. 

At age 16, Jens and Uwe left home and traveled throughout Europe calling themselves the Rocky Road Band, attempting a living as street musicians. Their adventure paid off in the form of a record contract with CBS. In 1982, at the age of 19, Jens crossed the Atlantic with an opportunity to play with Bill Monroe. Monroe introduced Jens to the Grand Ole Opry, as the first known European banjo player.  After living with Monroe for the summer, Jens returned to Switzerland with Bill Monroe’s encouragement to develop his own musical style and repertoire. For four years, Jens spent days and nights learning tunes from all the records he could find.

In 1986, Jens and Uwe reunited to form the Appalachian Barn Orchestra, the forerunner of today's Kruger Brothers.  In 1997, the Kruger Brothers were invited to perform at Merlefest. From 1997 to 2003, Jens (together with his brother Uwe Kruger and third band member Joel Landsberg) traveled from Switzerland to the United States countless times to perform. While in the United States, they stayed with friends, Robert and Brenda Shepherd, who became as close as family.  It was in the basement of the Shepherd home where Jens and his brother practiced countless hours, composed many pieces, and learned more about the culture of North Carolina. In 2003, Jens permanently relocated with his family to North Carolina. He built a home on a beautiful Wilkes County mountain for his wife Christa, and daughters, Mirjam and Anja. 

While in the United States, Jens has performed with Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, John McEwen, Willie Nelson, Ron Block, and Ricky Skaggs, to name only a few.  He is a champion of music and enjoys all aspects of the industry – composing, performing, and producing. Jens has composed a variety of musical artworks. During 2006 and early 2007, Jens Kruger worked to orchestrate his original compositions as well as music from the Kruger Brothers.  The amazing composition that resulted was Music from the Spring: A Romantic Serenade for Banjo, Guitar, Bass & Orchestra.  Jens was recognized for his work on the Music from the Spring project by the National Endowment for the Arts with an award for Artistic Excellence and The Kruger Brothers have performed the piece with symphony orchestras across the United States.  The project also inspired a very special outreach program, developed for performances and presentations in schools and community settings, called "Strings Attached."  In 2010, Jens, together with The Kruger Brothers, composed a piece for a string quartet entitled Appalachian Concerto.  When asked to describe this composition, Jens explained, “It is about my personal journey – coming to the United States with my family.  It’s my romantic idea of how Appalachia was settled. I am not a historian, but I like to imagine and tell the musical story of how immigrants found this beautiful land and how things came to be.”    

As part owner of Double Time Music, Jens is incredibly involved in the production side of music.  Double Time Music is a world class recording and production studio. The focus is set on musician friendly tracking and a commitment to providing excellence in sound and the logical consequence was to team up with top sound equipment. Double Time Music is the first company in the USA to introduce the sound systems of Germany's Manufacturer KLING & FREITAG and has become the ambassador and a distributor for the German company.  Jens Kruger produced the 2010 International Folk Chart’s Song of the Year, Peace will Rise by Si Kahn.  He also produced Si Kahn’s album Courage which was recognized as the 2010 Album of the Year by Folk DJs.   

Banjo Virtuoso Jens Kruger realized the need for a new tone ring that would enhance the extreme low frequencies that support and complement banjo tone. This required a fresh approach to tone ring manufacturing.  Together with the Swiss Ruetschi Bell Foundry, Double Time Music produces the Jens Kruger FT-36 banjo tone ring. Jens Kruger also holds the world-wide patent for the invention of the Eagle Tone Ring. 

With his natural talent for instrument development and enhancement, Jens began a professional relationship with friends Greg and Janet Deering, owners of the Deering, The Great American Banjo Company in California.  Jens designed the Jens Kruger Banjo and has become a spokesman and Research and Development Director for Deering Banjo, the world’s greatest banjo company.

Jens plays many stringed instruments with amazing skill, and like the Kruger Brothers, Jens' style and virtuosity cannot be characterized with a word or phrase.  But those who have heard Jens play the banjo know that he is truly a master of his art. As a composer, Jens' comprehension of music in all of its forms is becoming well known among his peers, colleagues, and the Kruger Brothers' growing audience.

It is somewhat difficult, or maybe impossible to categorize the style of music that Jens performs with his banjo.  Petra Jones, of the Banjo Newsletter, wrote in the publication’s July 2006 edition, “Every once in a while, a banjo player comes along who challenges the boundaries of what you believe the instrument is capable of. Swiss-born Jens Kruger is just such a player. His music is neither bluegrass nor old-time, but dips into both, along with classical, country and his roots in European folk."  Jens himself noted, “I believe that I have found in America a true place of endless opportunities. I am thankful that my contribution to the culture is appreciated.”

“If anyone would have told me when I first started making this here crafting that it’d be the headache it is sometimes, I would have throwed every knife I have away and quit,” Willard Watson said in a 1970s interview. “But I’m into it now. I’ve got so many places that wants just exactly what I make, and I’m the only man now that makes exactly what I make. There’s not nigh another craftsman that makes them walking mules. There has been a few craftsmen who make the pecking chickens, but they’ve all been rougher’n’ a cob.”

Willard Watson, a first cousin to famed guitarist Doc, was widely known as a flatfoot dancer, storyteller, banjo player, and especially a woodcarver. By his own estimation, he was a man that “can’t hardly be whipped by a piece of wood.” His contraptions celebrated his rich imagination and close-to-earth values, as well as his delightful sense of play. “I stayed in the woods twenty years or better,” Willard said. “If I could take it I’d go back to the woods yet. It was borned in me. I always loved to work in the woods, loved good timber.”

Willard traveled around the region to fairs and festivals to sell his goods, along with is wife, Ora, who was an expert quilter. The two were regular participants at the North Carolina State Fair in Raleigh, and they presented at the National Folk Festival and Newport Folk Festival. Their work is included in the Smithsonian Institution. Willard prided himself in doing good work. “If I go to make anything it’s got to suit me and then it’ll suit the public,” Willard said. “Now that’s just what kind of fellow Willard is.”

Willard’s banjo playing is documented on a variety of recordings, including the Clawhammer Banjo albums on County Records. There is footage of Willard dancing on a film of old-time music from the Newport Folk Festival in the 1960s, with Clark Kessinger playing fiddle. Willard’s cheerful sense of humor, stories, and wood carvings left a deep impression on Watauga County and the surrounding region.

Emmylou Harris has been hailed as a major figure in several of America’s most important musical movements of the past three decades. A steadfast supporter of roots music and a skilled interpreter of compelling songs, she also has been associated with a diverse array of admiring collaborators.

Harris’ contributions to country-rock, the bluegrass revival, folk music, and the Americana movement are widely lauded, and in recent years she also has carved out a sound that is uniquely her own. Her 1995 Wrecking Ball was a watershed album for her, combining several world-music elements with acoustic instruments, driving percussion, and a folk/ roots flavor. The new style would evolve on a number of Harris’ subsequent releases, including 1998’s Spyboy, 1999’s Western Wall (a collaboration with Linda Ronstadt), and 2000’s Red Dirt Girl, which was praised as a showcase for Emmylou Harris’s songwriting talent.

“I don’t know how to explain this ‘late blooming’ as a writer,” Harris comments. “I did start out as a writer. There’s that first, thankfully forgotten, album [1970’s obscure Gliding Bird]. I wrote most of the songs on that. Then I think maybe when I got into singing these really classic songs as an interpreter, the level of songs I was singing was so high, to me, that there was probably a little bit of intimidation at work. And I was very happy interpreting. I didn’t feel like anything was missing.”

Harris cites Bruce Springsteen’s 1982 Nebraska as a turning point and an inspiration. At the time, she was feeling artistically “tired” and wanted to challenge herself in a new direction. The result was her acclaimed, self-penned album, The Ballad of Sally Rose. After 1995’s Wrecking Ball, producer Daniel Lanois insisted she write songs for her next album, too.

“Once I’m into the songwriting mode, I just chisel and chisel and chisel away. But sometimes there are these wonderful moments when a song just comes in a snap. That’s like the reward that you’ve earned for all the agony on all the other songs,” Harris says “I don’t know that I have a particular method. When I’m home, I go into that room every day. Strum on the guitar. Try some tunings. Scatter notes around everywhere. I don’t use a computer. I sing into a cassette player and write things down. Towards suppertime, I’ll take a break and watch some TV. Then after everybody has gone to bed, I’ll go back to work until two or three in the morning. Sometimes I’ll go upstairs, because I keep guitars up there, too.”

That she finds time to write at home at all is a wonder. Between 1998 and 2000, for instance, Harris issued a live album with her band Spyboy, worked with Willie Nelson on his much applauded Teatro CD, won her ninth Grammy Award for her Trio II reunion with Linda Ronstadt and Dolly Parton, produced the Gram Parsons tribute album, and issued her much-anticipated Ronstadt collaboration Western Wall.

Between 2000 and the present, she has appeared on the O Brother Where Art Thou Soundtrack and its spin-off Down From the Mountain tour, collaborated with the Chieftains on their Down the Old Plank Road album and TV special, recorded a duet album with Mark Knopfler, performed concerts on behalf of a Landmine Free World, penned liner notes for a Dolly Parton tribute CD, recorded a duet with Rodney Crowell for a Louvin Brothers tribute CD, performed on the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s Will the Circle Be Unbroken III CD, and sang backup on albums for Sheryl Crow, Tracy Chapman, the Dixie Chicks, Patty Griffin, Patty Loveless, Delbert McClinton, Jim Lauderdale, Pam Tillis, and Nanci Griffith, among others.

Emmylou Harris is invited to perform everywhere from the massive Bonnaroo jam-band rock festival to bluegrass concerts: “That just delights me,” she admits. “It proves what I’ve always thought: that people are eclectic in their tastes, just like me. Most people don’t listen to only one kind of music. For the most part, I think people just want to hear good music.”

That is a credo she has lived by throughout her career. Harris took up guitar as a teenager inspired by the folk music of Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, Judy Collins and Peter, Paul and Mary. Starving-artist stints in Greenwich Village and Nashville led to regular club work in Washington D.C. Country-rock visionary Gram Parsons discovered her there and brought her to Los Angeles to become his duet partner in 1972.

“I lucked into this whole thing,” she comments. “One little millimeter would have made the difference. If my babysitter hadn’t been at that Flying Burrito Brothers concert and given Gram my phone number, if Gram hadn’t come into my life, who knows what would have become of me?”

After apprenticing Parsons, she emerged as a solo star with Pieces of the Sky in 1975. The album electrified the country-music world, becoming the first of her eight consecutive gold or platinum records. Today, Emmylou Harris is regarded as a key figure in a movement that united rock audiences with country traditionalists. She made country music “hip” and brought it to a vast youth market for the first time.

Etta Lucille Reid Baker was born in Caldwell County, NC in 1913.  She was the product of a musical family and learned to play guitar at a young age from her father, Boone Reid.  Her style of playing, often referred to as the “Piedmont Blues”, made her the foremost practitioner of acoustic finger picking on the guitar.  Fame came to Etta later in her retirement years when she decided to pursue her musical career. Prior to her death in October of 2006 at the age of 93, Etta Baker had achieved international recognition for her artistry as a traditional blues picker.

“B” Townes, a native of Danville, VA, has been a resident of Wilkes County since 1973 in the employment of Wilkes Community College.  He holds degrees from NC State University, Wilkes Community College, Appalachian State University, NC A and T University, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University VPI in Horticulture, Agricultural Education, Environmental Science, Community College Education and Community College Administration.  He resides in the community of Boomer with his wife, the former Martha Ham. They have two children, William and Charlotte. As a family they manage one of the first Stewardship Forestry Farms awarded in Wilkes County and they have placed their property in a conservation easement. The Townes’ family is a member of Little Rock Baptist Church. 

“B” began his career at Wilkes Community College as a Horticulture Instructor in the Life Sciences Department.  He was instrumental in developing the program and received a national award for Excellence in Instruction and Programming from the National Council for Horticulture Therapy.  Mr. Townes involved the college for five years by participating with his students in the Southern Living Show. The college won several awards for garden displays at the annual event in Charlotte.

Through his efforts a $1 million fundraising campaign for the WCC Gardens was launched in 1985.  Since then construction and endowments have exceeded all goals. As an outgrowth of the garden campaign, he developed the idea of MerleFest  (now in its 23rd year) which is one of the foremost acoustic music events in the country. The festival now draws over 65,000 participants from all over the world and has a local economic impact ranging from $12 to $15 million.

Townes currently serves as the Vice President of Development for Wilkes Community College.  His responsibilities include serving as Executive Director of the Wilkes Community College Endowment Corporation which to date has raised over $23.7 million in assets for the college.  In addition, Townes oversees the college’s festival and events, marketing, public relations and external funding efforts. He serves on the Walker Events Board and has been responsible for leadership that has seen membership grow exponentially.  He has been responsible for land acquisition, which has resulted in doubling the size of Wilkes Community College. Through his efforts the Endowment Corporation has been involved with campaigns for the Performing Arts, Endowed Scholarships, building acquisition including the Beacon Hill facilities and its renovation to childcare and healthcare and renovations to the John A. Walker Community Center.

“B” is the past president of the Wilkes YMCA Board of Directors; Director of the NC Festival Association; is past president of the State Public Relations, Marketing and Information of Community Colleges; past President of Edgemont Ltd.  He is a former member of the North Wilkesboro Lions Club, teacher for Boy Scout merit badge college, past president of the Piedmont Nurserymen’s Association, and recipient of the National Award for Excellence in Programming in Horticulture Therapy. He is active in  land preservation and serves as President of the Blue Ridge Rural Land Trust board which serves 7 counties. He was recognized as the “Citizen of the year” by North Wilkesboro Rotary for his service to the community and he and his family were selected as “marshals” for the annual Christmas parade. He and his son thru hiked the 2,175 mile Appalachian Trail in 2005. Townes serves on the North Carolina Mountains to the Sea Board of Directors which is responsible for construction and maintenance of the 1,000 mile trail across North Carolina.

In 2002 he was recognized as “volunteer of the year” by the Greater Winston Salem YMCA for his efforts in spearheading the capital campaign to build a new YMCA in Wilkesboro. He also was awarded the George Williams service award by the YMCA of Greater Charlotte for his leadership and work with the Camp Herring Ridge development in 2005. He currently serves on the Charlotte YMCA Camping Services Board.

Townes was chosen to be a participant in the North Carolina Community College leadership program.  He most recently was involved with developing and coordinating the fundraising for the college’s Master Facilities Plan. Phase One, which included what is now Lowe’s Hall, was a $9.4 million campaign. Currently, Townes is involved with the planning of Phase Two which includes a 50,000 square foot Health Technologies building for the college.

In 2007, Townes was elected to the NC Council for Public Policy and Research Board for a three year term. He served as Chair of Wilkes Vision 20/20 in 2008 and is President Elect for the Wilkes County Chamber of Commerce.

According to Dr. Gordon Burns, President of Wilkes Community College, “the college community is proud of “B” Townes’ accomplishments and consider him a tremendous asset.  Under his leadership, the college has realized significant growth in the activities for which he is responsible. The WCC Endowment Corporation has transferred over 23.7 million dollars in assets to the college.  Walker Events has seen a growth in season ticket patronship from an average of 400 to over 1,000 participants. “B” has been the driving force behind the development of MerleFest, which now has an annual documented economic impact of over $12 million for our community.  Our endowed scholarship funds average $1.5 million and we have seen the physical size of the college property double under his direction. His leadership and vision for the development of this college is unparalleled.”