‘Authenticity never goes out of style’

Stecoah – To sit back and enjoy a performance by Appalachian Road Show is to sit back and enjoy a trip through musical history.

In today’s market, it’s a challenge to be unique enough to stick out from the rest of the pack. But Appalachian Road Show has managed to find the right combination and brand to do just that.

How? By finding a universal way to reach their audience.

Though just four years old, the band is chocked full of world-class talent. The ensemble – Barry Abernathy, Todd Phillips, Zeb Snyder, Jim VanCleve and Darrell Webb – will gather on the stage at the Stecoah Valley Cultural Arts Center on Saturday for the next segment in the facility’s “An Appalachian Evening” concert series.

“We want to bring to light the lifestyle and culture – especially the musical culture – of the Appalachian people, after they came over and settled in the Old World, (and) how those different sounds those people brought over with them melded together over time,” said Abernathy, lead singer and banjoist for the group. “Their fiddle tunes, their English folk ballads, the banjo and rhythm from West Africa – how it all came together and has evolved.

“The audience is going to get a group of guys that understand authentic music. It’s a high-energy show, but there’s some history to it, too. The show is always moving – even if there is a little storyline going on, there’s music behind it. We talk about the evolution of Appalachian music, the people, the ways they made their livings; we do two-three segments of that.”

Abernathy, who grew up in Ellijay, Ga., has been professionally plying the five-string since the late 1980s. His original group, Silver Creek, was an all-gospel trio that once performed in Robbinsville around 1989-90. Throughout his career, Abernathy has played with such groups as IIIrd Time Out, Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver and Mountain Heart – the latter of which he helped form with the late Steve Gulley in 1999.

It was through Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver that Abernathy first played with Canton native VanCleve, a Grammy-award winning fiddler who has now collaborated with Abernathy for almost 25 years. Webb handles tenor vocals and the mandolin for Appalachian Road Show. Rounding out the group is Phillips on the upright bass and Snyder, a guitar guru who lives in Lexington and has performed at Stecoah before.

Noted on its website as “a visionary acoustic ensemble, bringing new-generation interpretations of traditional Americana, bluegrass and folk songs,” the band draws its inspiration from each member’s foundation.

“We try to dress the part and look the part – but we are the part. It’s part of who we are,” said Abernathy, who has also been nominated for his own Grammy and released a solo album, Barry Abernathy & Friends, in 2021.

“There is a lot of musical heritage where I grew up. Jimmy grew up in Canton – right in the heart of it – and Darrell grew up in West Virginia, which is coal-mining country. We’ve all got family members that have done some of the stuff that we sing and talk about.

“My grandparents, great-grandparents and my uncle Jerry all logged. It’s a multi-faceted show. These are real-life experiences we’re talking about; it’s not just hearsay.”

With all the talent on-board, once the band’s debut album – Barry Abernathy and Darrell Webb Present Appalachian Road Show – was released on the Billy Blue Records label in 2019, the “show” hit the “road” running. The albums featured such instant hits as “Dance Dance Dance,” “Milwaukee Blues” and “I Am Just a Pilgrim.”

All three were accompanied by music videos and each spent time atop the Bluegrass Today weekly airplay charts.

“We’ve branded what we’re doing here,” Abernathy said. “We’re really, really careful to protect that brand. We want to make sure that every way we’re presented is a part of what Appalachian Road Show represents and stands for.

“Our slogan is ‘Authenticity Never Goes Out of Style’ and there are bands that have already came out using names similar to that, or parts of it – whether intentional or unintentional – but we just keep doubling down on our motto.”

The band’s sophomore effort, Tribulation, was released on March 27, 2020 – just after the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the United States. The halt for the group was only temporary, however.

“We were starting to tour heavy in early 2020; we had a full schedule, all we wanted,” Abernathy said. “We had the release date for Tribulation set four months in advance and, of course, had no clue we would be going into a global pandemic.

“We release the record and we’re all in ‘tribulations’ ourselves. That theme resonated with everybody, so we sold a good amount of records. We had that, but our touring schedule was pretty heavy in the Midwest, which didn’t seem to be hit as hard. Later in 2020, we had some shows in Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas and Kansas, where they went ahead and had the shows. They were careful – people wore their masks and social distanced – but we actually got to play quite a bit in the latter part of that year, but then it got shut down hard when things went back inside. Last year kind of ran the same cycle, but we still had festivals to perform at, in a tightly-packed schedule.”

A video for “Wish the Wars Were All Over,” which was included on Tribulation, was released last year.

Appalachian Road Show also won two awards from the International Bluegrass Music Association, both in 2021: New Artist of the Year and Instrumental Group of the Year. Abernathy and VanCleve received another award last year for Gospel Recording of the Year, “In the Resurrection Morning,” which featured Vince Gill and paid tribute to Gulley, who passed away in 2020.

Abernathy confirmed that the final touches have been placed on the group’s third album, Jubilation, which will also be the first time an Appalachian Road Show recording has ventured into the field of vinyl. The lead single from the effort – “Blue Ridge Mountain Baby” – has already made a splash, with the video for the song receiving a June 27 release.

As for the seamless transition from Tribulation to Jubilation, Abernathy explained that the group was putting the final touches on its latest project when the title clicked.

“The mood all throughout isn’t ‘jubilant,’ but the very last line (of the album) says, ‘Because I love my Jesus,’” Abernathy said of the new release. “We didn’t plan to call it Jubilation; we thought of it after we were about finished with the album. I wanted to stack the record where it felt jubilant and happy, so we put all the up-tempo bluegrass songs up-front.”

In addition, fans will be in for a terrific surprise when they begin playing the album, as a voice synonymous with the Great Smoky Mountains will greet them.

All five music videos are available on YouTube. You can learn more about the band by visiting theappalachianroadshow.com.

Tickets for the 7:30 p.m. concert Saturday are $25 for adults; students in grades K-12, $10. Doors open to the Lynn L. Shields Auditorium at 6 p.m. For details on the event – including how to buy tickets – visit stecoahvalleycenter.com.