Alice Zincone & Carolina Lightnin’

Location: R.A. Fountain

Alice Zincone & Carolina Lighntin’ plays traditional, contemporary and original bluegrass in a concert tonight that’s also a homecoming for Zincone, who grew up picking and singing with her family in Greenville. After moving to the piedmont, she started playing side gigs with the Bluegrass Experience front man Tommy Edwards.

Alice will open tonight’s show solo, sharing songs from her favorite songwriters as well as some originals. The rest of Carolina Lightnin’ will gradually fill out the stage until they’ve become a 5-piece all star band:

Banjo, Rick Lafleur
Guitar, Alan Mullen
Fiddle, Stephen Fraleigh
Mandolin, Allen Ray
Bass & lead vocals, Alice Zincone

Alice met Allen Ray at the County Line Bluegrass Barn in the late 1990s. He and Stephen Fraleigh have performed with Rick and Alice on many occasions over the last 20 years. Stephen’s a two-time Fiddle Champion at the Galax Fiddlers Convention and has played with Jennette and Johnny Williams and many others. Alan Mullen, from Youngsville, was guitarist for the Grass Cats alongside Rick Lafleur for four years. He plays electric and acoustic guitar in his church’s praise band.

Soon after Rick Lafleur moved to North Carolina from his native Ontario, Canada 25 years ago, he and Alice began playing music together. Like Alice, he grew up playing in a family band. Rick excels in playing  Scrugg-style banjo. In 2006, as Haywire, Alice and Rick recorded and produced the album “Moma’s Voice.” One track, “Last of You,” was adapted by Rhonda Vincent and became the lead off song on her Grammy nominated album Destination Life–it’s on the album as “Last Time Loving You.” 

Carolina Lightnin’s previous shows here have always been with the band’s founder, Tommy Edwards, who died in 2021 and was an extraordinarily gifted guitarist and songwriter. In continuing on with the band’s name, they play tonight in his memory, Alice said, “with the hope we can touch others’ lives with music the way Tommy did.” Tommy was one of Alice’s earliest bluegrass influences. He enjoyed talking about having met her when she was an infant at the Zincone home in Greenville, where Alice’s dad hosted a renowned bluegrass jam weekly for decades--Buddy Zincone also fronted his own band, Greenville Grass. Tommy was active in those jams while a student at ECU and was proud to watch Alice grow up and become such an important part of his musical life. 

And we’re delighted to host this musical homecoming.

Links to purchase general admission, student general admission & reserved seats are below photos.

 

 

 

Tags: acoustic Carolina, bluegrass, Concert, original