Jeff Little Trio & The Piney Wood Boys

The quality and diversity of North Carolina’s traditional music scene will be on display during the third annual Sounds of the Mountains concert series in January at the Willingham Theater in Yadkinville, North Carolina. The series is a collaboration between the Blue Ridge Music Center and the Yadkin Cultural Arts Center. The performances will feature old-time mountain music, progressive bluegrass, and contemporary Americana with some of the Old North State’s best roots and traditional performers including Chatham County Line (Raleigh), The Jeff Little Trio (Todd), and the Snyder Family Band (Lexington).

Only January 13th, Jeff Little Trio will be taking the stage! With few exceptions, the piano does not play a prominent part in Appalachian or Americana music, and is rarely the lead instrument. But The Jeff Little Trio is an exception. A remarkable pianist, Little’s distinctive two-handed style, much influenced by the mountain flat-picked guitar tradition, is breathtaking in its speed, precision, and clarity. Little’s involvement with fiddle tunes, old-time country, and traditional blues dates back to his childhood in Boone, where his family owned a music shop. The shop was a regular gathering place for musicians who would stop by just to pick a few tunes. At an early age, Little sat in with many of the musicians from the region, including Doc Watson. These influences helped shape his approach to the piano, which is based on deep musical traditions but also highlights more contemporary mountain music styles and traditions. Little has released four CDs and was inducted into the Blue Ridge Music Hall of Fame in 2014. The Jeff Little Trio features Steve Lewis on banjo and guitar and Josh Scott on bass.