A Tribute to Joe Wilson: Reading & Concert

Virginia Folklife Program, The Prism Coffeehouse, and The Front Porch host “A Tribute to Joe Wilson: Reading & Concert”

Free

at C’ville Coffee, 1301 Harris St. Charlottesville, VA 22903

With author Fred Bartenstein, musicians Phil Wiggins, Sammy Shelor, Frank Newsome, and Linda and David Lay.

Fred Bartenstein, editor of Lucky Joe’s Namesake and Roots Music in America, shares the writing of National Heritage Fellow Joe Wilson, an instrumental figure in the world of traditional music. Musicians Phil Wiggins, Sammy Shelor, Frank Newsome, and Linda and David Lay will perform in honor of Wilson’s life and legacy.

Virginia state folklorist Jon Lohman describes Joe Wilson’s impact on artists and the music world:

“It would not be an overstatement to say that Joe Wilson was one of the most productive and influential cultural figures of his generation. His tireless work on behalf of artists and the community-based folk traditions that they mastered transformed not only the lives of these artists but of countless communities and audiences he exposed to them. His work touched the lives of so many, and will resonate for years to come.

“Joe was one of the best friends that traditional music has ever known—he headed and transformed the National Council for the Traditional Arts for twenty-eight years, produced countless music festivals, recordings, and publications, and was instrumental in the creation of the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and other critically important cultural institutions and legislation. He prowled the halls of Capitol Hill in support of the traditional arts, and rubbed elbows with many people of influence and power, yet his greatest love and devotion was to the regular folks across the country and the world.

“He was the inspiration and driving force behind the creation of the Blue Ridge Music Center and Virginia’s Heritage Music Trail, the Crooked Road. He was instrumental in the careers of countless Virginia artists, including Wayne Henderson, John Cephas, John Jackson, Eddie Bond, and those performing at this event.”