Bristol, Tenn.-Va. (January 7, 2022) – You’re invited to be part of the studio audience for WBCM Radio Bristol’s Farm and Fun Time live variety show, featuring special guests Darin & Brooke Aldridge and Unspoken Tradition, on Thursday, January 13 at 7:00 p.m. ET in the performance theater at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum in Historic Downtown Bristol, Virginia-Tennessee. There are a small number of tickets left to be part of the studio audience – on sale now for $35.
Presented by the nonprofit Birthplace of Country Music organization and hosted by Radio Bristol Program Director Kris Truelsen and his house band, Bill and the Belles, Farm and Fun Time is a celebration of Appalachian music and culture with various segments, original jingles, and featured artists. An homage to the classic program of the same name that aired on WCYB radio in the 1940s and 1950s, this nostalgic show hearkens back to the golden era of radio when it was the dominant choice of entertainment for families.
“This should be a great way to kick off the new year!” said Truelsen. “I’m a big fan of both of these North Carolina acts that, surprisingly, come from the same hometown of Cherryville. I find it interesting that both are fundamentally bluegrass bands, yet sound so very distinct from one another. Darin and Brooke will be joining us following one of their regular appearances at the Grand Ole Opry.”
Husband-and-wife duo Darin and Brooke Aldridge headline Farm and Fun Time in the New Year, drawing on the traditions of their native North Carolina roots. Darin and Brooke have performed at Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion and appeared on a number of programs including Woodsongs, Great American Gospel, Song of the Mountains, Music City Roots, and Larry’s Country Diner. Brooke is the four-time reigning Female Vocalist of the Year with the International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA), and Darin was named IBMA’s Momentum Mentor of the Year in 2017 for his work teaching and mentoring youth on guitar and mandolin.
Inspired by traditional bluegrass and newgrass, Unspoken Tradition brings a sound that is both impassioned and nostalgic, hard-driving but sincere. Like the Aldridges, Unspoken Tradition calls North Carolina home and the group is known to play to sold-out rooms in Asheville and at Nashville’s legendary Station Inn. The band is a Top 20 Bluegrass Today chart-topper and has been featured on NPR and The World Cafe. With heavy airplay on Sirius XM’s Bluegrass Junction and ever-growing streaming numbers, Unspoken Tradition is a fast-rising voice of a new generation of roots music acts.
Based in Johnson City, Tennessee, Bill and the Belles is known for combining a stringband format with their signature harmonies, candid songwriting, and pop sensibilities. Composed of Truelsen on guitar, fiddler Kalia Yeagle, banjo/banjo-uke player Aidan Van Suetendael, and bassist Andrew Small, the group has a knack for saying sad things with a bit of an ironic smirk and revels in the in-between. Deeply engaged with the stringband tradition and eager to stretch those influences to a contemporary setting, the band’s latest album Happy Again is full of life, humor, and tongue-in-cheek explorations of love and loss.
Farm and Fun Time broadcasts live before a studio audience and can be accessed in its entirety on WBCM Radio Bristol’s Facebook page live. You may also tune in to the program on the air at 100.1 FM in the Bristol area, through the station’s free mobile app or online at ListenRadioBristol.org.
Farm and Fun Time is syndicated on Blue Ridge PBS, East Tennessee PBS, and PBS North Carolina. Viewers in these markets should check local listings for program scheduling.
For tickets and more information, visit the Events page a BirthplaceOfCountryMusic.org.