Lunch and Listen concert series kicks off Smithsonian Exhibit

(Update September 26: The series starts today with folk musicians Laura Lee Rose and Friends will kick off the series with variety of folk songs and Civil War tunes.)

The Beaufort library will soon be the home of "New Harmonies: Celebrating American Roots Music," a Smithsonian exhibit that celebrates the music woven into the fabric of American history and culture.

To get ready for the opening of the New Harmonies, the Beaufort Branch Library, USC Beaufort Center for the Arts, and the Friends of the Beaufort County Library have teamed up to present, Lunch and Listen, a special music series featuring local musicians. These one hour lunchtime music performances will be held in the USC-Beaufort Center for the Arts auditorium on the historic Beaufort campus, 801 Carteret Street.

The Lunch and Listen series runs from September 26 through December 12, and the Smithsonian exhibit follows from December 17 through February 4.

All Lunch and Listen music performances are free and open to the public. Doors open at 11:30 am. and performances will last from Noon to 1 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring a lunch or purchase one at Outtakes Cafe next door to the Performing Arts Center.

The full performance schedule is listed below:

  • Monday, September 26th folk musicians Laura Lee Rose and Friends will kick off the series with variety of folk songs and Civil War tunes.
  • Monday, October 10th guitarist Craig Washington will play his favorite jazz selections on electric guitar.
  • Monday, October 24th will feature Kirk Dempsey, of Dempsey Farms, performing soul stirring blues on harmonica and guitar.
  • Monday, November 14th showcases one-man band performer Chris Jones tracing the history of the blues guitar covering blues mid 1930's up to the present.
  • Monday, December 12th features Chris Jones returning to the stage with a high energy set tracing the evolution of the guitar. This performance will include Jones on his custom double neck guitar and harmonica.

For questions regarding the events listed above, please contact Amanda Brewer at 255-6439 or by email at abrewer@bcgov.net

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