The Brevard Music Center (BMC) will host the Grammy Award-winning bluegrass band Steep Canyon Rangers Thursday, August 27, at 8:30 p.m., as the group kicks off its three-concert WNC Drive-In Tour. Attendees will enjoy the show from the safety of their cars while watching music live on a mobile stage, broadcast on a big screen and transmitted through their FM radios. The sold-out performance will be livestreamed by the Brevard Music Center on its website through the sponsorship of Ingles Markets.
Steep Canyon Rangers
“Ingles is thrilled to be part of this fun and creative way to continue Brevard Music Center’s rich tradition of entertaining WNC,” said Melissa Leavell, director of advertising at Ingles Markets.
Woody Platt, acoustic guitarist and lead vocalist for Steep Canyon Rangers, is excited to get back out in front of the fans. “It will be very different,” he says. “I think it’s a very cool concept in the current situation. I feel like applause will probably be horns. It will be a new experience for the band and the fans and that will make it unique and fun.”
The concert highlights BMC’s community engagement throughout the summer. BMC presented drive-in movies from May through July, and is currently offering free COVID-19 testing on its campus to all individuals regardless of health insurance status.
“BMC loves being part of this special community of ours,” says BMC president Mark Weinstein. “Though we couldn’t present our regular season this year, in this moment we have been able to help those in need. This is what neighbors do for each other. This is who we are.”
The Steep Canyon Rangers will perform a variety of their favorites, as well as songs from their upcoming album Arm in Arm, set for release October 16 on Yep Roc Records. The concert tour is made possible by a consortium of state and local sponsors, and will support the Can’d Aid TUNES program, which works to provide musical instruments and education to underserved youth.
BMC will ask listeners to support its community partner Rise & Shine, a year-round after school program based in Brevard, whose mission is to help economically disadvantaged and racial minority children learn about the fundamental importance of education, about their community and culture, and about themselves.
The concert can be livestreamed at BrevardMusic.org.
