Free Planet Radio. Photo by Jesse Kitt
By Natasha Anderson
Asheville songstress Jane Kramer, joined by local favorites Free Planet Radio and Billy Cardine, will bring her gritty, introspective music to the Diana Wortham Theatre (DWT) Mainstage concert series at 8 p.m. on Saturday, May 5, for a show to benefit the Youth Education Scholarship (Y.E.S.) Fund. The 2018 scholarship winners will be showcased during the performance.
“The thing that elevates this whole experience for me is having the opportunity to mentor and perform with incredibly talented young people who are at such an exciting and impressionable point in the pursuit of their own artistic careers,” says Kramer, who holds a degree in social work and spent her first decade in the profession serving youth in various organizations.
After releasing her sophomore solo album Carnival of Hopes to a sold-out crowd at Asheville’s Grey Eagle in February 2016, Kramer has been playing listening rooms, theaters, pubs, prisons, rescue ministries, classrooms and festivals in the US and UK to support the record and share her mission of music as a powerful tool for healing. Kramer’s connection to the Appalachian song tradition is evident in her lyrics, which tell stories of self-discovery, travel and the beauty and heartbreak of our shared human experience.
Jane Kramer. Photo by Daniel Judson
“Music has always been my dearest companion, my tool for understanding myself and my way of giving of myself,” says Kramer. “I want other people, especially young people, to know that this is accessible to them as well and that there is a place for them to be and to express exactly who they are through the arts.”
Kramer’s music will be backed by Free Planet Radio and virtuoso dobro player Billy Cardine. Free Planet Radio, which was featured at last year’s DWT Y.E.S. Fund performance, is composed of two-time Grammy winner Eliot Wadopian on bass, River Guerguerian on percussion and Chris Rosser on guitar and piano.
“We had a great time collaborating with the students last year and were incredibly impressed with their talent,” says Rosser. “The three of us in Free Planet Radio are definitely products of many years of arts education. We love working with students because we remember how important it was to us when we were in school.”
The Y.E.S. Fund supports underserved children by providing tickets to DWT’s Matinee Series for Students and Families, the theatre’s school programming series. The Y.E.S. program expanded in 2015 to cover artist workshops in local schools and the Emerging Artists Fund scholarship.
Diana Wortham Theatre is located at 18 Biltmore Avenue in Asheville. Tickets are $35, $30 for students and $20 for children 12 and under. Student rush day-of- show tickets are $10. Tickets can be purchased at dwtheatre.com or by calling 828.257.4530. Donate to the Y.E.S. Fund at dwtheatre.com/Y-E-S-Fund.
