Short Takes: Entertainment news in brief

WACKY WILSON
Comedian Tim Wilson is neither Larry nor Curly nor Moe and certainly not a stooge.
But he sure is funny. Hear the often-topical humor of Wilson when he appears at the Paramount Center for the Arts in Bristol, Tenn., on Feb. 20.
Fellow comedian Stewart Huff will open the show.
But Wilson’s the star. Part musician and full-time comedian, the 48-year-old Georgian mixes music and comedy for such songs as “The Ballad of John Rocker” and albums as his latest “Mr. Wilson Explains America.”
Drawn from politics, pop culture and Southern lifestyles, Wilson’s humor eschews slapstick for observational humor sans political correctness.

IF YOU GO
Who: Tim Wilson
When: Feb. 20, 8 p.m.
Where: Paramount Center for the Arts, 518 State St., Bristol, Tenn.
Admission: $26-$30
Info: (423) 274-8920
Web and audio: www.timwilsonamerica.com

STANLEY CELEBRATION
Ralph Stanley, living monument.
Celebrate the mountain music pioneer’s 83rd birthday on Feb. 20 at the Meadowview Convention Center in Kingsport.
The event will include Stanley and music by the ETSU Bluegrass Band and The VW Boys, and a buffet-style dinner to benefit the Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Mountain Music Center in Clintwood, Va.
Come a bit early. Before dinner, copies of Stanley’s 2009 autobiography “Man of Constant Sorrow: My Life and Times,” will be made available for sale.
Therein Stanley recalled his Southwest Virginia mountain life from childhood to bluegrass star to mountain music legend. Come and see Stanley, celebrate his 83 years and appreciate him while you can.

IF YOU GO
What: Ralph Stanley’s 83rd Birthday Party to Benefit the Ralph Stanley Museum and Traditional Mountain Music Center
When: Feb. 20, 6 p.m.
Where: Meadowview Convention Center, Kingsport, Tenn.
Admission: $100
Info and reservations: (276) 926-8550
Web and audio: www.drralphstanley.com
And: www.ralphstanleymuseum.com

LONG HAUL
Mountaintop coal mining raises the ire of Willie Dodson and Joe Overton.
Together as Appalachian awareness-raising band Here’s to the Long Haul, they will appear on Feb. 24 at East Tennessee State University’s Brown Hall Auditorium in Johnson City. Billed as a Mountaintop Removal Road Show and live musical performance, the pair aim to inform perhaps more than entertain.
Dodson and Overton work as environmental and social activists intent upon raising awareness within Appalachia. They use music via Here’s to the Long Haul, which hearkens back to the early days of old-time string bands, as one vehicle through which to inform.
Entertaining? Perhaps. Eye-opening? They sure hope so.

IF YOU GO
Who: Here’s to the Long Haul
When: Feb. 24, 7 p.m.
Where: East Tennessee State University, Brown Hall Auditorium, 807 University Pkwy., Johnson City, Tenn.
Admission: Free
Info: (423) 794-8629
Web and audio: www.herestothelonghaul.com

MUSIC NOTES
R.I.P. Pinecastle Records. The North Carolina-based bluegrass record company abruptly ended its heralded decade-plus run as one of the genre’s leading labels effective Feb. 1. Pinecastle was home to such artists as Abingdon’s Dixie Bee-Liners, Grasstowne and Larry Stephenson.
Lead singer of the Knack, Doug Fieger, died at age 57 on Feb. 14 following a long bout with cancer. Best known for their song “My Sharona,” the Knack’s song was named Billboard magazine’s song of the year for 1979.
Going solo. Well, at least for one album, Blink 182’s Travis Barker has enlisted the likes of Slipknot lead singer Corey Taylor and hip-hop superstar Lil’ Wayne for his first solo effort. No word on a release date.
Well, it’s about time. MTV, an acronym for music television, long ago spirited what few music videos that it broadcasts to extreme late night hours in favor of such programs as “The Real World” and the brainless “Jersey Shore.” Yet until now, the words “music television” were featured on the cable network’s logo. Not anymore.
This week’s free MP3 download acknowledges Black History Month. Thanks to songs in the public domain, simply go to www.publicdomain4u.com for such blues gems as “Baby, Please Don’t Go” by Big Bill Broonzy, “Slave to the Blues” by Ma Rainey and “When the Levee Breaks” by Kansas Joe and Memphis Minnie. Rock fans may recall the latter song from a cover by rock titans Led Zeppelin.
Fed full of Short Takes and music for the week, digest and by all means stay tuned for more.

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