Chicago-based bluegrass act The Special Consensus maintain a 30-year-strong commitment to traditional bluegrass music with their upcoming release Signs. Shades of gospel and rich vocal harmonies abound among fast pickers, country ballads and spirituals.

In addition to having formidable playing chops, band members Greg Cahill (banjo), Justin Carbone (guitar), Ashby Frank (mandolin, and Galax champion), and David Thomas (bass) are also skilled harmony singers. This vocal element distinguishes The SC from their musical peers, which is evident throughout Signs. (more…)

Welcome to our new live music blog. We’ll be posting previews, reviews, and links regarding the NRV and Southwest Virginia music scene but we need YOUR help! We would love to make it to every show out there, but that’s impossible. So when you do go a music show, either send us a write-up of your thoughts via e-mail or give us a link to where you’ve written something.

And if you have photos, we’d love those, too!

We have a link here to a review of Jim Weider’s Project Percolator show Sunday night at Kirk Avenue Music in Roanoke. The review is written by John Cordiano, drummer of the Roanoke-based band Triscale. Check out the review, plus this camera-phone photo of the concert from newrivervoice.com reader Sue England!

Another great episode of The Listening Room is available in the archive! Death metal band The Reasons Were Legion cranked up the volume in the WVRU studio.

If heavy metal’s not your thing, be sure to catch other episodes of The Listening Room, by tuning in to WVRU 89.9 FM at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesdays–or listening live online.

More great episodes of WVRU 89.9 FM’s The Listening Room with host Tim Jackson are available in the archive!

From the 2008 Holiday Special with Christmas tunes from local musicians, to Best of 2008 Vol. I and Best of 2008 Vol. II, to highlights from the NRV Music Scene, there’s a treasury of good music out there waiting to be discovered.

Joel Venditti is a Floyd musician who describes his sound as psychedelic, bluesy, rhythmic soul-funk, and musically inventive. Sounds good, no? Hear him play guitar and chat with host Tim Jackson on this episode of WVRU’s the Listening Room.

If you want to hear him live, he’s a regular at Oddfellas Cantina and Cafe del Sol in Floyd, or you can check him out on 2nd Wednesdays at The Cellar in Blacksburg.

Back in December, Nashville-based bluegrass band the Farewell Drifters performed a benefit concert for Craig County School District’s music program.

So Tim Jackson invited them to join him on WVRU’s The Listening Room. If you didn’t get to catch the show then, good news–you can listen to it here.