GrassStreet

Location: R.A. Fountain

GrassStreet brought its “bluegrass drive with style” to Fountain General Store for a Saturday night concert of traditional and original music.

Bluegrass press has been generous in praising this quintet from piedmont and eastern North Carolina. “Exceptional talent,” Bluegrass Now said. The Good-Tyme Bluegrass Show says to expect from GrassStreet “stunning originals graced with fine crafted musicianship” in both their “recorded music and live performances.”

Like many of the bands that play Fountain, GrassStreet features a family component, the father/son duo of Wayne and David Kinton. A native of Henderson, Wayne is guitarist and bandleader; his son David, who plays upright bass, is a recent graduate of UNC-CH, where he was active in the jazz studies program and played with the university’s jazz band and jazz combos.

Mandolinist for the band, Joe Martin, of Kinston, also plays banjo and guitar. He is an active session musician, having performed on over 25 CD projects.

On banjo is Barney Rogers, who plays three finger, Earl Scruggs style. A Cary resident, Rogers has recorded two solo CDs, including Pig Pickin Picks, with his friend Jerry Hart, who owns Ole Time BBQ in Raleigh.

Kevin Thompkins, a native of Richmond who lives in Franklin County, plays Dobro. He also writes some of the band’s songs and sings.

GrassStreet is a derivative of the band Swift Run, which began playing bluegrass in the 1980s. 

Tags: bluegrass, bluegrass gospel, Concert, original, tradtional bluegrass