Bill & the Belles

Location: R.A. Fountain

We cranked up the air conditioning for this special show with one of the best new old-time bands on the national music scene. And it was well worth it, for one of those shows you ought’n to’ve missed, two solid sets of outstanding vocals, harmonies, musicianship & fun.

our promo for this concert

Bill and the Belles Play Old-time String, Vaudeville at Fountain July 21

[Fountain, NC]  Bill and the Belles,  a Tennessee-based quartet, performs original and old-time country string and vaudeville music at Fountain General Store on Saturday night, July 21.

Comprised of excellent musicians who met while students at East Tennessee State University’s bluegrass and Appalachian studies programs, they also host a regular radio program, “Farm and Fun Time” broadcast from Radio Bristol at the Birthplace of Country Music Museum, and a daily morning radio program, “On the Sunny Side.”

“This is one of the most unique bands touring the U.S. today,” said Alex Albright, Fountain General Store proprietor. “They’ve been big hits at the annual World of Bluegrass festival in Raleigh, and we’re really fortunate to have them including us on their touring schedule.”

After Fountain, Bill and the Belles will be featured at RockyGrass, in Lyons, Colorado, before reading back East to headline at Pickin’ in Parsons (West Virginia), which was named the International Bluegrass Music Association’s “2017 Event of the Year.”

They are touring in support of their first studio CD, “DreamSongs, Etc.”

Bill and the Belles includes Kris Turelsen on guitar; Kalia Yeagle on fiddle and guitar; Grace van’t Hof on banjo and banjo ukulele, and Karl Zerfas on bass. They all share in lead and harmony vocals.

Truelsen, who grew up in the mountains of Colorado, met Yeagle, an Alaskan whose musical influences stretch from the native Chugach to the Appalachians, while performing in a honky-tonk band in Johnson City, Tenn. Feeling stifled by straight-ahead traditional country, they began working up songs with their friend and fellow student van’t Hof. 

Truelsen explains: “We quickly discovered our mutual love for rich vocal harmonies and simple catchy melodies from the early commercial recording era and it clicked.” 

The addition of bassist Zerfas, from Manhattan, Kansas, gave the band the full sound it sought to begin hosting their radio shows, which feature guests like the Earls of Leicester and original commercial jingles written and produced by the band. 

Bill and the Belles’ July 21 concert begins at 7:30. General admission is $12.50; reserved seats, $15. Both prices include tax.

Tags: Americana, bluegrass, country, eclectic, hokum, jazz, old-time, original