Wheeling Jamboree celebrates 83rd year
The Wheeling Jamboree will celebrate its 83rd anniversary with a live show at 7:30 p.m. Friday at the West Virginia University Creative Arts Center.
The concert will be hosted by Keith Bilbrey, country music radio personality and television host in Nashville, Tenn., and feature performances by JoAnn Jones, Darnell Miller, Shana Smith, Steve Smith, Andrea Call, Isaac Cole, Don Hoard and the Jamboree Staff Band and the WVU Bluegrass Band.
“In my hometown, the Jamboree is really very, very important. It’s such a huge part of the culture of the Ohio Valley,” says Brad Paisley, country music star and Grammy Award winner, who launched his career from the Wheeling Jamboree stage.
The Jamboree is the second oldest live country music radio broadcast. Nashville’s “Grand Ole Opry” is the oldest.
The University Arts Series and the WVU College of Creative Arts’ Music Industry Program are collaborating on the show at the CAC. Mon Hills Records, WVU’s record label, also is Steve Smith’s label. Smith has opened for some of music’s biggest names, including Darryl Worley, Lee Brice, David Nail and David Allen Coe.
Jones is an established country vocalist on the QCA label. She was the first winner of StarQuest, the national talent competition presented by the Wheeling Jamboree in 1977, and has been an artist member of the Jamboree ever since. She recently recorded gospel projects with Emmy-winning producer Jamie Peck.
Miller is the reigning patriarch of the Wheeling Jamboree. Recognized for his “hillbilly” style by such country greats as Chet Atkins, Owen Bradley and Gene Autry, Miller has released a number of hit singles, including “Hinges on the Door.” He is a member of the Rockabilly Hall of Fame and the West Virginia Golden Circle of Country Music Honor Society.
Singer/songwriter Shana Smith was inducted into the Wheeling Jamboree in 2013, and has performed at the annual Country Music Association event CMA Fest in Nashville.
Call is a recent inductee into the Wheeling Jamboree, who performs regularly on the show – often with her husband, John Call, a founding member of Pure Prairie League. Her duet with Darnell Miller, “Lovers or Friends,” was released in 2015.
Cole recently gained national notoriety when he was dubbed the “Country Beiber” during his 2016 “American Idol” audition. He has been recognized twice by the Inspirational Country Music Awards, earning the 2012 Youth in Music Award and the 2014 Best New Artist Award.
The WVU Bluegrass Band was formed in 2014 and performs a mixture of traditional and contemporary bluegrass styles. The band recorded its first album “West Virginia Hills” on the Mon Hills Record label. The album is a collection of traditional bluegrass songs, and includes the title song as well as “Country Roads.”
Tickets range from $23 to $35 and can be purchased at the Mountainlair and Creative Arts Center box offices, online at Ticketmaster.com and by phone at 800-745-3000 and 304-293-SHOW.