Rissi Palmer + Joe Troop & Friends
Saturday, July 23, 7 p.m.
Adults $20, children 12 & younger admitted free

Rissi Palmer

Rissi Palmer’s gift lies in reaching across all musical boundaries. While she made her mark in country music, she is equally at home in R&B, bringing the entire spectrum of popular music to bear on music she calls “Southern Soul.”

Raised in a musical family, Palmer was a part of a singing and dancing troupe sponsored by a local television station at age 16, and by the time she was 19 years old, she had already been offered her first publishing and label deal. In 2007, she released her debut album, Rissi Palmer, charting singles, “Country Girl,” “Hold On To Me,” and “No Air.”

Since then, Palmer has independently released a Christmas single, a children’s album, Best Day Ever, and an EP titled The Back Porch Sessions. Her most recent album, Revival, was released in 2019 and has been critically hailed as her most personal and uplifting work to date.

As a passionate voice for country artists of color and those who have been marginalized in mainstream country music, Palmer launched her own radio show Color Me Country with Rissi Palmer on Apple Music Country. Since making its debut in August 2020, listeners have been treated to in-depth and riveting conversations with Brittney Spencer, Cam, Chapel Hart, Crystal Shawanda, Maren Morris, Miko Marks, The War and Treaty, Darius Rucker and Mickey Guyton and author/journalist Andrea Williams. 

Highlights throughout her musical career include performances at The White House, New York’s Lincoln Center, and multiple appearances at the Grand Ole Opry. She has shared stages with Taylor Swift, The Eagles, Chris Young, Charley Crockett, and many more.

Learn More About the Artist
RissiPalmerMusic.com

Joe Troop & Friends

Originally from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Joe Troop is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, radical folk singer.

In March of 2020, in the midst of a global pandemic, Joe suddenly found himself back in rural North Carolina, an ocean away from his adopted home of Buenos Aires and from Che Apalache, the Grammy-nominated band he founded with his students. So he did what he knows best: hunkered down with his banjo and sang his heart out. A year later, he recorded his debut solo album, Borrowed Time. 

His new record, coproduced by Jason Richmond (The Avett Brothers, Branford Marsalis), features musical luminaries including Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Tim O’Brien, and Charlie Hunter, but the visceral songwriting speaks for itself and reflects Troop’s lived experience. 

In December of last year, after many months searching for a place to call home, Joe put down roots in Durham, North Carolina. He was invited to do a month-long residency at local arts space called the Fruit, and out of that was born a new quartet with three friends.

Omar Ruiz-Lopez a classically trained violinist/violist born in Panama and raised in Puerto Rico. A longtime resident of Durham, Omar has melded his Caribbean musical heritage and noteworthy virtuosity with the Appalachian string band tradition.

Reed Stutz brings instrumental fluency and a unique voice to string band music, artfully complementing whatever music he is a part of. Hailing from Portland, Oregon the young mandolin player, multi-instrumentalist and singer, he has performed around the country with musicians including Alice Gerrard & Tatiana Hargreaves, Bella White, Bruce Molsky and Allison de Groot.

Rounding out the quartet is Mexican American jazz bassist Ramon Garcia, hailing from Wilmington, NC. Ramon is finishing up his musical studies at UNC Greensboro’s legendary music school and has musical prowess beyond his years.

And as if by magic for one week only, this new ensemble features an old friend from Joe’s former band, GRAMMY-nominated Che Apalache:

Franco Martino is a guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, songwriter and music producer from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Being born in a cosmopolitan city has led Franco to be a versatile musician, an explorer of many styles and traditions. He is the guitarist of the Grammy-nominated band Che Apalache and is now working on a project called Siempre Puente, where he combines different music genres and what he’s learned through years of travelling. Currently living in Mar del Plata, Argentina, Franco has built his own studio where he produces, records and teaches music.

Learn More About the Artist
JoeTroop.com

ADDITIONAL CONCERT DETAILS

Gates open to ticket holders at 5:45 p.m. Season pass holders are allowed into the amphitheater 15 minutes early, at 5:30 p.m.

Bring a chair or blanket to sit on. You may bring a coolers or picnic basket, but no alcohol please.

Concerts are held rain or shine, and it can be cool in the mountains when the sun goes down, so bring a raincoat, poncho or umbrella, and a sweater or jacket.

Please note that advance ticket purchases are nonrefundable.

For more information, view our concert FAQs

SAFETY GUIDELINES FOR ATTENDEES

The Roots of American Music concert series is held in the Blue Ridge Music Center’s spacious outdoor amphitheater on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

To make the experience as safe as possible, please stay at home if you have a fever, cough, aches and pains, loss of smell or taste, difficulty breathing, or are sneezing and coughing.

Concert attendees are asked to maintain six feet of distance between groups throughout the evening, including when standing in line and selecting seating locations in the amphitheater.

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