Wayne Henderson and Helen White at Ashland Coffee and Tea on 3/2/13

Wayne Henderson and Helen White

I know I write about shows coming to Ashland Coffee and Tea more than any other venue, but c'mon, it's walking distance from my house, all shows start promptly at 8pm, and it's a listening room where the music comes first. Although AC&T specializes in touring singer-songwriter types, they also frequently have the kind of trad and roots artists that I love to see.

Some memorable performers I've seen there in past include David Lowery and Johnny Hickman of Cracker (acoustic), Tim O'Brien, The Hot Seats (on multiple occasions), Christabel and the Jons, Zoe Muth and the Lost High Rollers, The Dust Busters, The Green Boys, Lilt, Gypsy Roots with Dallas Vietty, John Doyle and Liz Carroll, Chatham County Line...the list goes on!  And coming soon they will have Ari and Mia Friedman on March 14 and Foghorn Stringband on March 27th!

Show poster created by artist Rob Shelly

But next up for me is this Saturday, March 2nd when Wayne Henderson and Helen White will be there.  Wayne Henderson is considered one of the world's best luthiers, but he is also a mean finger-style guitar player.  He comes from that deep down part of Southwest Virginia where they don't worry too much about whether it's called bluegrass or oldtime - they just play what they play and whatever comes out comes out.  It's called music.

I had never seen Wayne live until this past October at the Richmond Folk Festival where he did a set with pianist Jeff Little; one of the highlights of the whole weekend.  I was more than impressed with Wayne Henderson's playing abilities at that performance (Jeff Little was also impressive - fiddle tunes on piano)!  The only thing more entertaining than Wayne's music are his hilarious stories about his home town of Rugby, VA, population 7.  I hope Wayne's sense of humor is on display when he comes to Ashland Coffee and Tea!

I'm not that familiar with Helen White, but that's her hound dog Spencer in the show poster.  Helen is described as an old time fiddler, guitar player and folk singer who has won or placed at numerous fiddle contests.  She teaches at music camps and is also the founder and executive director of the Junior Appalachian Musicians Program (JAM), which introduces mountain children to their musical heritage.

This is going to be a good one. Call Ashland Coffee and Tea now if you want to get tickets, 804-798-1702. I think they are almost sold out!

Be a Fan