Saturday events of Renofest include the guitar and banjo competitions starting at 10 a.m. at The Center theatre. Jus’ Cauz, last year’s winner of the South Carolina Championship Bluegrass Band Contest, will entertain after the performances and before the winners are announced.
Following lunch featuring sidewalk vendors, the afternoon concert features Terry Baucom and the Dukes of Drive, Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition, and Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice.
Now after decades as a sideman, Terry Baucom has assembled his first band under his leadership, The Dukes of Drive. Richard Bennett is on guitar, Matt Wallace on bass, and Joey Lemons on mandolin. They’ll be performing music from Terry’s two solo projects, and from Richard and Matt’s records. You can bet there will be solid, hard-core bluegrass from start to finish.
Baucom sounds like he is ready to get out there and pick. “I really do look forward to being on stage with these guys,” Baucom says. “I have always found it a lot of fun to put together great sets of music and then present it to bluegrass audiences. We all have a real passion for the same style of grass. Even though each one of us does other things, it will be a fun time and we’ll just see where it takes us.”
Ronnie Reno, the son of Don Reno, for whom Renofest is named, will perform with his band the Reno Tradition, an act that encapsulates some of the greatest sounds and moments of traditional bluegrass music. Ronnie was born into the world bluegrass, a uniquely American music spawned in the hills of Kentucky by Bill Monroe and a close band of like-minded musicians. His father replaced Earl Scruggs in Monroe’s seminal band, the Bluegrass Boys, and popularized the three-fingered roll.
To watch Ronnie Reno and the Reno Tradition is to witness living traditional and bluegrass history. Ronnie has had one of the most colourful, diverse and distinguished careers in the music industry. On the traditional side, he has toured as an opening act and band member for Merle Haggard, toured with Mel Tillis, done studio work for Johnny Cash, Conway Twitty and Willie Nelson, and written hits for both Haggard and Twitty. On the bluegrass side, he spent several years providing part of the trademark harmonies of the Osborne Brothers.
Ronnie was just a boy when he picked up a mandolin and began playing with Reno and Smiley, often standing on a milk carton just to reach the microphone. He also sang and played mandolin and guitar for the Don Reno Band before joining the Osbornes, with whom he worked for five years and five albums.
In 1998, Junior Sisk formed Ramblers Choice and together they recorded and released their first solo project titled Sounds of the Mountains and also contributed to the award-winning The Stanley Gospel Tradition.
Nominated numerous times for Male Vocalist of the Year by the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) and Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America (SPBGMA), Junior Sisk is at the top of his game and has surrounded himself with a top notch band of musicians including Jason Tomlin on bass and vocals; Chris Davis on mandolin and vocals; Billy Hawks on fiddle and vocals; and Jason Davis on banjo and vocals.
Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice are enjoyed great success with their Rebel Records CD, The Heart Of A Song which garnered numerous accolades including both the International Bluegrass Music Association’s and SPBGMA’s Album of the Year. “A Far Cry From Lester And Earl” won the IBMA and SPBGMA Song of the Year award as well. In addition, Junior also received SPBGMA’s Contemporary Male Vocalist of the Year Honor for 2013.
The evening concert brings back professional bluegrass bands of Virginia Luthiers, Terry Baucom & the Dukes of Drive, Ronnie Reno& the Reno Tradition, and Junior Sisk & Ramblers Choice.
The final event is the favorite of concert goers, a Gospel Sing on Palm Sunday at Wesley United Methodist Church on College Avenue, right down from The Center Theatre.
The mission of Black Creek Arts Council is to promote and foster the Arts in Darlington County. BCAC’s offices are housed in a state of the art 10,000 square foot facility at 116 West College Avenue in Hartsville, SC. BCAC offers a variety of programs including art classes of all styles, after-school activities, pre-school aged programs, private music lessons, and various types of gallery exhibits. BCAC also offers assistance with arts management, funding, education, and program coordination to arts and cultural organizations in Darlington County.
