Historic Rugby’s new event series “Rugby Roots: Appalachian Arts with a British Beat” debuts Friday, April 24, with a concert by Katie Hoffman and Brett Tiller, a ballads, folk & bluegrass duo from Jonesborough, Tn.
Ms. Hoffman is a singer of traditional Appalachian ballads and a singer/songwriter with a CD to her credit, Beautiful Day, featuring nine of her original songs. She was also the producer of a four-part PBS series, Appalachia: A History of Mountains and People, and specializes in Appalachian studies.
Mr. Tiller, her husband, resumed his early banjo playing at age 39 and became part of the East Tennessee State University bluegrass program. He has been a member of the Rockingham Road bluegrass band since 2007.
The show is at 7 p.m. at the Rebecca Johnson Theatre in Rugby’s Visitor Centre. Admission is $10 in advance (with tickets available online at HistoricRugby.org or by calling 423-628-2441) or $12 at the door. Proceeds benefit non-profit Historic Rugby, working since 1966 to preserve the British-American 1880 settlement of Rugby and tell its stories.
Rugby’s Harrow Road Café will remain open until 10 p.m. for those who want an after-concert meal, dessert or drinks. Lodging is also available, with details on the website.
The “Rugby Roots” series continues May 23, the Saturday of Memorial Day weekend, with a new version of Rugby’s spring festival that will showcase the talents of musicians, dancers, and storytellers.
Rugby, founded in 1880 as a British-American Utopian village, is just off State Scenic Hwy. 52, 16 miles southeast of Jamestown and 35 miles from either Interstate 40 or I-75 in East Tennessee on the southern edge of the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.