CULTURAL CROSSROADS
The Cultural Crossroads Series brings together a revered tradition-bearer and a bold innovator, creating a rich and dynamic musical dialogue.
Grant supported by South Arts ‘In These Mountains’ grant.
STUART, SPENCE, & SHEBISH
Travis Stuart, Micah Spence, and Deb Shebish play hard driving Old-Time Music. Based in North Carolina and Georgia, they combine their distinctive old-time styles to create a powerful and nuanced trio of fiddle, banjo, and vocals. Stuart, Spence & Shebish headlined the 2024 Rootsinphytaa Bluegrass festival in Finland.
Travis and Deb were granted the prestigious 2023 North Carolina Folklife Apprenticeship Grant and Travis Stuart is the recipient of the 2019 South Arts Folk & Traditional Arts Master Artist Fellowship. This dynamic trio breathes new life into traditional Old-Time music.
NATHAN BOWLES
Nathan Bowles is a multi-instrumentalist musician and teacher living in Durham, North Carolina. His work, both as an accomplished solo artist and as a sought-after ensemble player, explores the rugged country between the poles of Appalachian old-time traditions and ecstatic, minimalist drone. Although his recordings prominently feature his idiosyncratic approach to clawhammer banjo, Bowles is also widely recognized as a masterful and versatile drummer, and he considers himself first and foremost a percussionist, with banjo and keyboards as a natural extension of his percussive practice. His recent solo sets incorporate a mix of original and traditional banjo material with homemade-tape-loop accompaniment.