Mike Compton and David Long, virtuoso mandolin duo from Nashville, and the Groundhawgs, local bluegrass and Americana band, will perform at the 2^nd Annual “An Evening of Bluegrass,” a fund and awareness raising event for the New Echota Rivers Alliance and Calhoun Gordon County Council for the Arts. The concert will take place on Saturday, May 27^th at 7:00pm at the Ratner Theater in downtown Calhoun. Tickets can be purchased at the Ratner Theater or by calling 706-629-2259. Also, you can visit www.newechotarivers.org or www.cgarts.org for more information.

Member of the Nashville Bluegrass Band, Mike Compton is best known for his mandolin work on the Oh Brother, Where Art Thou and Cold Mountain soundtracks. In 2002, the Mississippi state Senate passed a resolution that commended Compton on his acknowledgement in Grammy award winning productions.

Compton was a member of the John Hartford String Band from 1990-2001.  According to Hartford, writer of “Gentle on My Mind” and riverboat captain of the Julia Belle Swain, Compton knows more about the Bill Monroe style of mandolin playing than Monroe himself.

It is easy to see why Compton supports fundraising events such as these. “When I was working with John [Hartford], he used to say that the rivers would wash themselves out—of pollution and garbage—if we would just leave them alone for a while. Unfortunately, that is an implausibility these days,” said Compton.

Compton and his protégé David Long recently released a new album entitled Stomp. They recorded it in San Francisco with legendary mandolin player David Grisman. Compton calls the music that he and Long play on the album “bluegrass in reverse”.

The Groundhawgs, formed in late 2000 by the Jones brothers, Clark and Clayton, was originally conceived as a songwriting project that would resurrect the sound of old-time Appalachian string bands. “We’ve always pushed our musical boundaries, but have always been rooted in tradition even with our original compositions,” said Clark Jones, co-vocalist and guitarist for the band.

Mike Compton co-produced the Groundhawgs debut self-titled album release. “This is essentially why we went to Mike [Compton] when we decided that we needed a co-producer for our first album. Not only has Mike consistently pushed the boundaries of what he does, but that of tradition. The paradox is that he stays within the tradition,” said Clayton Jones, lead vocalist and banjoist for the Groundhawgs.

Joseph Evans, President of the NERA Executive Board, looks forward to the event. “NERA and CGARTS share the same goal,” he said. “Both organizations celebrate and nurture things of beauty. Yes, the environment and arts have always been connected. This is a great fit,” Evans said.