[RP TownTalk] really too good an opportunity to pass up: Stephen Wade free concert Thursday night @Hyattsville City Hall

[Dwight Holmes]

Leslie Plant posted this information earlier. As the day approaches, I
thought I'd send this out as a reminder. How often do you get to see a
show that would cost you $35 or more, for free, almost in your back
yard (Hyattsville City Hall)?  I'll admit to a certain amount of bias,
as Stephen and I have been friends since we were in our teens...  but
I'm confident as can be you'll really love the show. It's wonderful
music presented in the context of a very rich cultural history.  Even
if you caught one of their shows at the Birchmere last October, this
is an entirely new show that Stephen has put together for the
Philadelphia Folk Fest.

Here's the official press release put out by Hyattsville last month:

PRESS RELEASE - City of Hyattsville, MD

Dress Rehearsal Performance of
In Sacred Trust: Remembering the Music of Hobart Smith
Thursday, August 16, 2007, City of Hyattsville

City of Hyattsville, MD -  The Hyattsville community will be treated
to a special dress rehearsal performance by Stephen Wade & Friends of
In Sacred Trust: Remembering the Music of Hobart Smith on Thursday,
August 16, 2007 at 8:00 p.m.  It will take place at the City of
Hyattsville Municipal Building, 4310 Gallatin Street, Hyattsville, on
the second floor, Prangley Room.

"I'm thrilled that our own Stephen Wade has offered to hold the
rehearsal here.  We will be treated to a wonderful show by a great
group of musicians," stated Hyattsville Mayor Bill Gardiner.

Thursday evening's performance will feature banjoist Stephen Wade with
pianist Mike Craver, fiddler James Leva, and guitarist and mandolinist
Zan McLeod. They will perform two sets preparatory to their concert
and workshops that weekend at the 46th Annual Philadelphia Folk
Festival. For the first half, they'll play the show planned for the
Folk Festival main stage where they will be appearing on Saturday
night. Threaded with the spoken word, the concert includes a
simultaneous slide presentation of Hobart Smith's musical past. Hobart
Smith (1897-1965) was a gifted traditional musician from southwestern
Virginia, best known for his virtuoso performances on the banjo,
fiddle, guitar, and piano. He is the subject of a recent release on
Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, In Sacred Trust: The 1963 Fleming
Brown Tapes.

Following intermission, the group will play an assortment of tunes and
instruments they'll also be performing that weekend at the Festival's
workshops. Themes range from old-time fiddling to modern Celtic guitar
styles, from Carolina roots to contemporary songwriting.

Last fall, the Washington Post, called their sold-out performances of
In Sacred Trust at the Birchmere "exhaustive and exhilarating." The
same review added that it was "a woeful shame no future performances
are anticipated." Happily, on the second floor of the Hyattsville
Municipal Building on August 16, 2007, that will no longer be the
case.

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Stephen Wade & Friends will perform In Sacred Trust: Remembering the
Music of Hobart Smith at the Philadelphia Folk Festival August 17-19,
2007. For additional information on the Festival, visit the website at
http://www.pfs.org/PFF.php. For more on  Hobart Smith and Stephen Wade
visit http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4959156.