8:00 pm Stuarts Opera House welcomes NPR Musics Bob Boilen for a special showcase of music featuring Valerie June, Julie Byrne, and River Whyless. This show is presented in collaboration with The Ohio University Scripps College of Communication, in partnership with the Ohio University Performing Arts & Concert Series, the School of Media Arts & Studies, the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, WOUB Public Media, and Arts for OHIO.
Boilen, host of NPRs a?oAll Songs Considereda?? and the creator and host of NPRs a?oTiny Desk Concerts,a?? will curate the evening, which will feature short interview segments with each performer.
Valerie June knows a thing or two about turning hopes and dreams into realities. With Pushin Against A Stone, she went from self-releasing her music as Tennessees best kept secret to being hailed by the New York Times as one of Americas -most intriguing, fully formed new talents.- The New Yorker was captivated by her -unique, stunning voice,- while Rolling Stone dubbed her -unstoppable,- and NPR called her -an elemental talent born with the ability to rearrange the clouds themselves.-
Julie Byrnes second album, Not Even Happiness, has evolved at its own pace. It spans recollections of bustling roadside diners, the stars over the high desert, the aching weariness of change, the wildflowers of the California coast, and the irresolvable mysteries of love. Her new album vividly archives what would have otherwise been lost to the road, and in doing so, Byrne exhibits her extraordinarily innate musicality.
Asheville, North Carolinas River Whyless is a band much like that titular body of water a?" a mingling of currents, a flow of time and physical space, all brought together in a murmuring sense of purpose. It is the expression of a group of musicians, three of which are songwriters, who have played together in various forms since their college days in the North Carolina mountains. Their forthcoming EP, their first release since their 2012 debut album, is the next evolution of the bands collective voice. Composed of Ryan Oa?TKeefe (guitars, vocals), Halli Anderson (violin, vocals), Alex McWalters (drums, percussion) and Daniel Shearin (bass, vocals, harmonium, cello, banjo).
