Buzzworthy: Dixie Bee-Liners to perform

EDITOR'S NOTE: THIS STORY WAS UPDATED AT 4:24 P.M. FEB. 18. DUE TO A BAND MEMBER'S ILLNESS, THE DIXIE BEE-LINERS HAVE CANCELLED THEIR FEB. 19 PERFORMANCE AT THE ABINGDON SENIOR CENTER.

Buzz along with the Bee-Liners. The Dixie Bee-Liners, that is.
See the Abingdon-based bluegrass band on Feb. 19 at the Abingdon Senior Center and then on Feb. 21 as one of a bevy of bands scheduled to appear at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tenn.
First show, all fun and all Bee-Liners. Second show, a benefit for Carter Family Fold matriarch Rita Forrester.
Recall that Forrester lost her husband when a December fire destroyed her Hiltons, Va., home.
“I can’t get my mind around a tragedy like that,” said Buddy Woodward of the Dixie Bee-Liners. “You lose your husband, you lose your house, you lose everything. When I talked to her, she didn’t even have any ID.”
Ponder that. Lose any one of those aspects and personal chaos ensues. Lose it all as Forrester did, and the need for friends becomes paramount.
“It’ll rock anybody’s world,” Woodward said. “But she comes from really strong stock. She’ll survive this.”
Yep, Forrester will get by, to borrow from the Beatles, with a little help from her friends.
“We have a special affection for Rita,” Woodward said. “She was one of the first people to accept us in the community.”
Since moving to Abingdon and forming the Dixie Bee-Liners, Woodward’s inroads into the bluegrass world have not been easy. Yet particularly with last year’s spectacular and ambitious album “Susanville,” the Bee-Liners’ foothold took serious root.
“We’re proud of it,” Woodward said. “It was hard labor. Brandi [Hart] and I wrote all the songs together because we are complete opposites. It’s trying to find something in the middle to serve the song. Sometimes, you have to do what’s best for the song and not your ego.”
Song to song, “Susanville” withstands scrutiny as an album of high musicianship and lyrical quality. Melodic songs feature individual and compelling stories. However, the songs are like chapters in a book and thus compile to complete a whole.
“It’s a concept record,” Woodward said. “Every song is about a person or a car or a truck going to or from Susanville, Calif. Open up the packaging, and you get a map where the songs are placed on different points on the map.”
Now folks, that’s just plain cool.
“For us, it’s like a painting or a novel or a film script,” Woodward said. “I think very cinematically. Every song is like a film treatment. There is a protagonist and an antagonist and some sort of resolution at the end.”
Coming up around a future bend for the Dixie Bee-Liners is a new album. Given the high art of “Susanville” and Woodward and Hart’s widescreen musical vision, expect continued panoramic musical exploration spawned from a base of bluegrass.
“Our next album will be called ‘The Exotic Mountain Sounds of the Dixie Bee-Liners,’ ” Woodward said. “We are digging deep.”
And so the musically wandering Woodward and his Dixie Bee-Liners have a couple of local shows to play, songs to write, an album to record and goodwill to spread. Upon the latter, the song’s for you, Rita Forrester.
“I’m so lucky and fortunate. Really, my God, count your blessings,” Woodward said. “We want to envelope Rita with the music and lift her up.”

IF YOU GO
What: Virginia Ballroom Concert Series
Who: The Dixie Bee-Liners
When: Feb. 19, 7 p.m.
Where: Abingdon Senior Center, 300 Senior Drive, Abingdon, Va.
Admission: $10
Info: (276) 628-3911
Web and audio: www.dixiebeeliners.com

AND
What: Benefit concert for Rita Forrester
Who: The Dixie Bee-Liners, The Brother Boys, Ed Snodderly, The VW Boys, Annie Robinette, Brandon Story, Duty Free, Wolf Creek, The Matt Osborne Band, etc.
When: Feb. 21, 3 p.m.
Where: Paramount Center for the Arts, 518 State St., Bristol, Tenn.
Admission: A $10 donation is suggested
Info: (423) 274-8920

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at features@bristolnews.com.