From rockin’ new roots music to Americana royalty, March’s Farm and Fun Time was a thrilling conclusion to our 2020 Radio Bristol Fund Drive! A special thanks to all the generous donors who helped exceed our stretch goal of $25,000! And through the support of our sponsor Eastman Credit Union, Radio Bristol was able to bring Farm and Fun Time not only to those in the audience or tuned in to WBCM-LP, but to viewers far and wide via Facebook Live. Be sure to like WBCM – Radio Bristol on Facebook to tune in every month!
Host band Bill and the Belles got the show rolling with their lighthearted sound ready to soothe the soul in these turbulent times. Farm and Fun Time strives to preserve the traditions of early country radio in Bristol, and our “Heirloom Recipe” presenters for the evening brought an early Bristol tradition to the stage. Tonight’s recipe was presented by members of Bristol’s Blue Stocking Club, a philanthropic organization that has been doing good deeds in the community for 100 years. Clad in costumes worn by Blue Stocking club members in the 1940s, our presenters brought to life an old recipe for Brunswick Stew from a historic cookbook published by the club decades ago. However, no conclusion was drawn about what meat goes in Brunswick Stew. Beef? Pork? Possum? Chicken? Bill and the Belles then crooned a speculative tune, still not revealing a conclusion.
The “Heirloom Recipe” was followed by our first musical guest of the evening: Miss Tess. If you listen to Radio Bristol, you’re certainly not a stranger the music of Miss Tess and the Talkbacks. With tasteful electric guitar riffs and jazzy arrangements, Miss Tess blends early rock ’n’ roll, blues, jazz, and country into a distinctive style all her own. A gifted vocalist, Miss Tess brought down the house with performances of selections from her new record, The Moon is an Ashtray. A brilliant release, it came at an inopportune time, as many artists are losing tour dates due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Because musicians are unable to tour right now, be sure to check out all the recordings available from Miss Tess and countless others to help artists through this difficult time.
For this month’s “Farm Report” segment, we visited the Tilted Tavern Animal Sanctuary near Jonesborough, Tennessee, where we learned a lot about rehabilitating abused and neglected farm animals! Here’s a video from our visit:
Our final guest of the evening was the King of Americana, the legendary Jim Lauderdale. A prolific songwriter and versatile performer, Jim put on a tremendous performance with a bluegrass band, featuring Alex Leach, Thomas Cassell, and other regional super pickers. Jim is a favorite in Bristol, and he had the crowd singing right along for most his performance. Jim featured many power songs in his set, including “Lost in the Lonesome Pines” and “Old Time Angels,” an homage to women who were victimized in the murder ballads that are such a large piece of the Appalachian musical tradition. It was a pleasure to work with Jim on March’s show, and we can’t wait to hear new music from him soon!
Thanks to everyone who came out and joined in this great night of music! April’s Farm and Fun Time has been postponed, but good news: You can tune in to Blue Ridge PBS on April 4 at 7:00pm for the debut of Farm and Fun Time as a television show! Thanks for your continued support of Radio Bristol, and we hope to see you soon!