Bluegrass instrument petting zoo comes to the library
Published 9:57 pm Friday, July 5, 2019
- The Lafferty Pike Band is an all-female bluegrass band from Ohio. The band will play two concerts, one at the Boyle County Public Library at 10 a.m. and the other at 12:30 p.m. at Junction City Elementary. (Photo contributed)
By JEN BOUTIN
BCPL
The Boyle County Public Library will host the Lafferty Pike Band, an all-female bluegrass band from southwestern Ohio, at two locations on Tuesday, July 9.
The first performance will be held at the library at 10 a.m. in the Community Room. This is a free, ticketed event. Tickets will be available 30 minutes prior to the start of the program.
The library will also offer a second show at 12:30 p.m. at Junction City Elementary School, as part of the library’s outreach partnership with the summer feeding sites. This outreach event is free, and tickets are not required to attend.
During the first half hour of the show, audience members will hear Lafferty Pike’s performance of engaging bluegrass songs. The band members play fiddle, mandolin, banjo, guitar and upright bass.
Between songs, Lafferty Pike will briefly discuss what makes each instrument unique, where it came from and how it produces sound. After the performance, the band will host a “bluegrass instrument petting zoo” where kids will get a chance to try out student-sized instruments for themselves.
Lafferty Pike says, “We enjoy introducing children to the world of music, not just as consumers but as active, creative participants!”
The Boyle County Public Library first had the band perform last summer when music was the theme for the Summer Reading Program.
“Lafferty Pike are excellent musicians and performers,” says Youth Services Librarian Kinsey Hisle. “Their show last year was a lot of fun for all audience members so we knew right away that we wanted them to come back this summer.”
She says they had people in the library who heard their music floating up from the Community Room and liked it so much that they came down to see the show themselves.
During the performance last summer, kids and adults danced along to the music.
“Afterward, during the instrument petting zoo, kids got to try out instruments they had never even seen before with huge smiles on their faces,” says Hisle. “Some were timid at first, but Lafferty Pike band members were really good helping the kids feel comfortable and showing them how to play each instrument. Parents tried some instruments as well because the band was so inviting and it was a great opportunity to try something they don’t normally see. ”
Lafferty Pike will tour around the area this week, visiting public libraries with their music. In addition to visiting Boyle County, the band will also be performing at four Lexington Public Library Branches and Georgetown Library.
About the band
When a generous neighbor gave the Lafferty Pike sisters a banjo in 2013, it completed a circle that has been three generations in the making.
“When she was a girl, our grandmother dreamed of going to Nashville to be a country singer,” explains Leslie, “but instead she moved to Dayton, Ohio, for work during World War II.” Thousands of Appalachian people left home for jobs in the North but longed for their families across the Ohio River. These were the people for whom and by whom Bluegrass music was created.
The girls’ mother grew up singing Bluegrass hits like “Tennessee Stud” and “Rocky Top” during the folk music revival of the 1960s and 70s. When the sisters decided to try their hand at the music, they found it as comfortable as a feed sack quilt.
The band is one of the few young groups intent upon carrying this uniquely American music into the future. Even their name is a nod to their heritage. Located in Harrison County, Kentucky, Lafferty Pike is a winding country road blazed seven generations ago by their pioneering Lafferty grandfather.
As an all-girl band in a predominately male genre, Lafferty Pike describes their Bluegrass as hard-driving but with a lighter hand on the reins. “Fans enjoy our old-time fiddle tunes and Bluegrass classics,” says Harmony, “but people often tell us they love our music even though they usually don’t like Bluegrass!”
Their friend and mentor Dan Gellert, an internationally known fiddler and banjo player, has contributed an old-time flavor to the band’s sound. Other influences include mountain voices such as Ralph Stanley, the Carter Family, Hazel Dickens, and Ola Belle Reed, but you might catch the girls listening to Eva Cassidy or the Chieftains as well. They’re also fans of current Bluegrass artists such as Joe Mullins and the Radio Ramblers, Special Concensus, the Grascals, and Mountain Faith.
“Our individual personalities definitely color our music too,” adds Gemma, the band’s fiddler. “For example, I enjoy Irish music, so I throw in some Irish ornaments once in a while.” Bluegrass itself is a mixture of styles. African rhythms, British folk songs, and harmony singing from churches came together in Appalachia, creating something new out of these deep roots.
The band especially enjoys sharing music with children. “After our shows, we like to let the kids in the audience come up and play our instruments,” explains Rue. “I’d love to inspire them to take up an instrument themselves!”
With an every-growing performance schedule, the girls of Lafferty Pike look forward to bringing their music to new audiences, from porch lights to footlights.
More information about this and other upcoming events can be found at www.BoylePubLib.org or by calling (859) 238-7323.