Eddie Owen Presents: Andy Offutt Irwin & Pierce Pettis Christmas Special with The Night Travelers

Eddie Owen Presents: Andy Offutt Irwin & Pierce Pettis Christmas Special with The Night Travelers
Saturday, December 14th at 8 pm
Live at Red Clay Music Foundry

Pierce Pettis
“Pierce Pettis doesn’t write mere songs, he writes literature…End to end the songwriting is brilliant…Pierce Pettis albums are events in my listening. His writing just gets better all the time and his singing is marvelous, wry and warm…” -Sing Out!
“…One of the more vital and critically acclaimed folk stars of recent years.”​-Performing Songwriter Magazine
Pettis was a staff songwriter for PolyGram from 1993-2000 and when his High Street contract ended, Pettis signed to Compass Records where he has released Making Light of It (1996), Everything Matters (1998), State of Grace (2001), and Great Big World (2004). Pierce Pettis’ songs have been recorded by artists including Susan Ashton, Dar Williams, Garth Brooks and Art Garfunkel.

Andy Offutt Irwin
A storyteller, theatre director, singer-songwriter, and Shakespearean actor, Andy has been Artist-in-Residence at Emory University’s Oxford College since 1991. He has performed at LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts in New York, The Library of Congress, Walt Disney World, and a bunch of times at the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, Tennessee.
Andy lives in Covington, Georgia. He thinks he is funny.

The Night Travelers
The Night Travelers are a virtuosic, artistic and charismatic musical duo with the acoustic impact and harmonic depth to please any audience.
Drawing on multiple genres (World, Bluegrass, Folk, Country,Americana, Blues, Jazz, Dawg, Celtic, Classical, and Pop/Rock) and focusing on tone and presence by creating incredible virtuoso arrangements for each instrument, The Night Travelers create a sound which presents as if way more than two people were playing. As detailed melodic lines on both instruments weave and dance around each other, audiences often comment that they could swear they hear at least 4 instruments playing and are mesmerized by the sound and carried away.
Combining these special techniques and philosophies with Master level musicianship allows The Night Travelers to lift the simple combination of a banjo, and bass above average expectations, radiating an orchestral quality which transcends genres in a distinctive voice all their own.
James McKinney, banjoist, vocalist, and band leader, is one of the most innovative and masterful players in the world today and will continually surprise and amaze you. James, 1982 national banjo champion, has performed, toured, or recorded with all the master bluegrass players and musical legends such as Vassar Clements, John Hartford, Barbara Mandrell, Porter Wagoner, Johnny Cash, and also The Grateful Dead.
Niki Portmann, the group’s bassist and second vocalist, is an astounding and highly skilled player in her own right, producing soulful and wonderfully tuned bass lines which will hypnotize and have you moving to the music. An electrical engineer and physicist, Niki started her musicianship late in life and combined her love of music with her driving work ethic and rapidly developed exceptional skills with her Bass and composition.
Together they create a blend of Americana, Folk, and World acoustic music that is truly unique and memorable.