The opening event for Vance-Granville Community College’s (VGCC) second annual “Fine Arts Days” will be a FREE concert at McGregor Hall Performing Arts and Learning Center by members of The Barefoot Movement, a Nashville-based bluegrass group that includes a former VGCC student.
The concert, like all the events that will follow on Oct. 18 on VGCC’s Main Campus in Vance County, will be free of charge and open to the public.
Singer-songwriter/fiddler Noah Wall and mandolinist Tommy Norris, both from Oxford, will perform as part of The Barefoot Movement. The musicians say that the elements of the “Barefoot sound” are “lush harmonies, thoughtful instrumentation, and memorable melodies.”
A South Granville High School graduate, Wall attended VGCC for two years in the Associate in Arts (College Transfer) program. As a student, she performed on stage with friends at two VGCC cultural fairs, received an endowed scholarship, earned Dean’s List honors and was inducted into the Phi Theta Kappa honor society. From VGCC, Wall transferred to East Tennessee State University, receiving a full scholarship specifically designed for outstanding students transferring from two-year colleges.
Heralded by CMT Edge as "one of the most promising bands on the bluegrass scene," The Barefoot Movement has released two full length albums along with an EP of traditional music, and made appearances at some of the top bluegrass festivals in the United States. The group has enjoyed almost non-stop touring, including a trip to Burkina Faso in Africa, where they were guests of the American Embassy. In 2014, they received a Momentum Award, naming them "Band of the Year" by the International Bluegrass Music Association.
The band has been featured in Country Weekly Magazine, RollingStone.com, CMT Edge, Music City Roots, Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour, the Outdoor Channel program "Huntin' the World: Southern Style," and the Zuus Country Network. They have been selected as showcase artists at both the International Bluegrass Music Association and the Americana Festival conferences and were first runners-up at the 2013 Telluride Bluegrass Festival's New Band Competition.
The day after the concert, members of The Barefoot Movement will be the keynote presenters for the second day of Fine Arts Days, on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at 10 a.m., in the small auditorium in Building 2 on VGCC’s Main Campus. Other presenters and artists will be announced by VGCC prior to the event, which also includes a visual art competition.
For more information about Fine Arts Days, contact Betsy Henderson at hendersonb@vgcc.edu or (252) 738-3371.
Pictured Above: From left, Tommy Norris and Noah Wall of The Barefoot Movement.
