Music on the Porch: Ryan Cavanaugh & Rex McGee

Our Spring 2018 Music on the Porch season opens with two of the best banjo players in the world. Ryan Cavanaugh gained early fame as a young musician, sharing stages with with traditional greats like Doc Watson, Doug Dillard, and John McEuen. Béla Fleck–to whom Cavanaugh is often compared–has called him “one of the best technical players ever.” Ryan’s latest release, with C Lanzbom of Soulfarm and Deadgrass, is Every Note the Heart Can Play (2017).

Born in Winston-Salem, NC and raised on a family farm near Sauratown Mountain, Rex McGee had early formal training on the piano and fiddle. He learned to play from his father Will, a left-handed fiddler who learned from his father on a fiddle made out of a gourd. Rex performs across several musical genres: rock with Celtic stars Brynmor, traditional and original folk tunes with contra dance group Footloose, and jazz/folk with vocalist Martha Bassett. He is known by 3-finger style banjo players all over the world as a vanguard innovator on an instrument of humble origins.

This event is free and open to the public. Parking is free after 5:00 pm in the Park Place parking lot, approximately two blocks from the Center. Bring a picnic blanket and stay for a while!