Bluegrass Blend with Hank, Pattie & The Current VIRTUALLY

DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAM NOTES: 9-2-21 Program Pages FINAL

Violinists Jacqueline Wolborsky and Jeanine Wynton, violist Suzanne Rousso and cellist Bonnie Thron join two of North Carolina’s veteran bluegrass musicians– Hank Smith on Banjo and Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw on fiddle— to create modern, American, acoustic music featuring the full range of their talents as composers and arrangers.

The band, Hank, Pattie & the Current, makes use of traditional bluegrass instrumentation in a nontraditional way to present original music to the listener that goes beyond the limits of the idiom. The arrangements take on a new level of maturation that follows in the footsteps of Bela Fleck, Mark O’Connor, Chris Thile, Sam Bush, Edgar Meyer, and Tony Rice. Hank, Pattie & The Current want to pick up where seminal crossover groups like The Punch Brothers, Strength In Numbers and the ever-changing Bluegrass Allstars call home. The music is vocal and instrumental, allowing the band to experiment with arrangements and tailor the compositions to become vehicles for exploration. Hank Smith plays banjo, Pattie Hopkins Kinlaw plays fiddle and is lead vocalist.  The Current includes Billie Feather on guitar and Stevie Martinez on bass.

In addition to joining the band in their music, Mallarme will perform quartet arrangements of “Amazing Grace” by Jennifer Higdon, ” At the Purchaser’s Option” by Rhiannon Giddens, “Sweeter Than Wine” by Ken Benshoof and “Fisher’s Hornpipe” by Mark O’Connor.

Become a Mallarme Member Subscriber and receive admission to this and all Mallarme’s 2021-22 series concerts!
https://app.arts-people.com/index.php?membership=mmcp

RECORDED BY MARK MANRING

Carolina Theatre of Durham was a co-sponsor of this concert!