Jeanette Williams Band to Perform at KASU’s Bluegrass Monday Oct. 23

JONESBORO – The Jeanette Williams Band will perform a concert of bluegrass music Monday, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. at the Collins Theatre, 120 West Emerson Street, in Paragould.  The concert is part of the Bluegrass Monday concert series presented by KASU 91.9 FM. 

Jeanette Williams is a three-time winner of the Female Vocalist of the Year award given by the Society for the Preservation of Bluegrass Music in America, and has been nominated for seven other awards from that same organization.  She has also received awards for her songwriting from the International Acoustic Music Awards and the MerleFest music festival.

Born in North Carolina and raised in Virginia, Williams began singing at a young age.  Her professional career began when she was in her early 20s, singing country music.  In 1989, she switched from country to bluegrass, joining the band Clearwater.  Williams released her debut solo CD in 1994, and has been a fixture on the bluegrass music scene since.

Williams is known for her rich, beautiful, uniquely expressive voice.  She and her band perform traditional bluegrass music, but they are also influenced by classic country music, the blues, roots music, and rock and roll.  Williams appears at bluegrass venues and festivals in the United States and abroad.

For this Bluegrass Monday concert, Williams will be accompanied by a full bluegrass band.  Her husband Johnny is one of her backing musicians.  He also has a career as a solo artist in bluegrass music, having produced numerous CDs of his own.  He has won awards for his singing and songwriting.  His songs have been recorded by artists Special Consensus, Larry Stephenson, Mark Newton and Rambler’s Choice.  He has collaborated with numerous other well-known songwriters, including the legendary Tom T. Hall.

KASU will literally “pass the hat” to collect money to pay the group.  The suggested donation is $5 per person.

In addition to the concert, Terry’s Café, 201 South Pruett Street in Paragould, opens on Bluegrass Monday nights to welcome bluegrass music fans.  The café serves a catfish buffet meal beginning at 4:30 p.m. on the evenings of Bluegrass Monday concerts.  Concessions are also available at the Collins Theatre.

Bluegrass Monday concerts are held on the fourth Monday night of each month.  These concerts are presented with support from Bibb Chiropractic Center, the Posey Peddler, Holiday Inn Express and Suites of Paragould, the Northeast Arkansas Bluegrass Association and KASU.

KASU, 91.9 FM, is the 100,000-watt public broadcasting service of Arkansas State University in Jonesboro.  For more information, contact KASU program director Marty Scarbrough at mscarbro@astate.edu or 870-972-2367.  Bluegrass Monday is also on Facebook (search “Bluegrass Monday”).