Short Takes: Dickenson County Fair, Great on State, Song of the Mountains

GREAT ON STATE
To those from near and far, welcome to Bristol, the home of music, American roots style.
Therein lies the general theme of Bristol’s somewhat monthly summer music series, It’s Great on State. This month’s installment, scheduled for July 31 on State Street, features The New Familiars and Christabel and the Jons.
Classify the New Familiars and Christabel and the Jons as bands with brands that aren’t so readily classifiable.
Banjos from the New Familiars suggest bluegrass. But their takes on The Temptations’ soul classic “My Girl” aims their sound elsewhere.
“We have our own sound,” said Josh Daniel of the New Familiars.
Same goes for Christabel and the Jons. Pegged as Tennessee Swing, their sound veers to and from the jazz of Ella Fitzgerald and the sultry country of Patsy Cline.
“We are in a gray area between old country and jazz,” said Christa DeCicco, lead singer, “which is a beautiful place to be.”
Now that sounds like Bristol, and like the name, it’s so great on state.

IF YOU GO
What: It’s Great On State
Who: The New Familiars and Christabel and the Jons
When: July 31, 7 p.m.
Where: State Street, Downtown Bristol
Admission: Free
Info: (423) 764-0188
Web: http://www.myspace.com/christabelmusic
Audio: http://www.reverbnation.com/christabelmusic
Web: http://www.myspace.com/thenewfamiliars
Audio: http://www.reverbnation.com/thenewfamiliars

DICKENSON COUNTY FAIR
Let’s all go to the fair.
Those interested can join the sea of cotton candy smiles at the Dickenson County Fair and Horse Show in Haysi, Va., from Aug. 1-8. Old folks can shed years, perhaps on a Ferris wheel, while youngsters are welcome to do as youngsters do, have clean American fun.
Entertainment includes a battle of the bands on opening night. Following days and nights include the motocross on Aug. 2 at 5 p.m.; a kids’ beauty pageant on Aug. 3 at 6 p.m.; the Miss Dickenson County Fair Pageant on Aug. 4 at 6 p.m.; a Civil War reenactment on Aug. 6 at 6 p.m.; music from Phil Dirt and the Dozers on Aug. 7 at 8 p.m.; and a horse show on Aug. 8 at 7 p.m.
Whew! So eat candy and hot dogs, drink pop and ride rides, groove to music and craft a new round of memories that’ll last far longer than the hot dogs will.

IF YOU GO
What: Dickenson County Fair and Horse Show
When: Aug. 1-8
Where: Haysi Kiwanis Park and Fairgrounds, Haysi, Va.
Info: (276) 865-4884 or (276) 926-8509
Web: http://www.dickensonchamber.net

KARL SHIFLETT
Tradition has a home in the sound and style of Karl Shiflett.
So Shiflett and his band, Big Country Show, ought to feel right at home when he headlines this month’s Song of the Mountains.
Scheduled for Aug. 1 at the Lincoln Theater in Marion, Va., the tradition-based show also includes the Kickin’ Grass Band, Kopper Kanyon and the Scott County Boys on this month’s bill.
Impressive. Now take Shiflett. He looks and sounds as if he stepped out of the 1940s. Sharply dressed in period suits and hats, his music also hearkens to bluegrass’ early days.
Spin any one of his three albums. He’s no carbon copy, but the roots of such influences as Flatt & Scruggs and Bill Monroe show in brilliant hues of blue, as in bluegrass.

IF YOU GO
What: Song of the Mountains
Who: Karl Shiflett & Big Country Show, Kickin’ Grass Band, Kopper Kanyon and the Scott County Boys
When: Aug. 1, 7 p.m.
Where: Lincoln Theater, 117 E. Main St., Marion, Va.
Admission: $15
Info: (423) 783-6093
Web: http://www.karlshiflett.com
Audio: http://www.myspace.com/thekarlshiflettandbigcountryshow
And: http://www.songofthemountains.org

MUSIC NOTES
—Lynyrd Skynyrd’s first all-new album in six years, “God & Guns,” will bullet into stores on Sept. 29. The Southern rock legends are best known for such classics as “Sweet Home Alabama” and “Free Bird.”
“You’re always going to be compared to the classics,” said Rickey Medlocke, one of the band’s guitarists, from an interview in 2004. “Is it fair? No. Is it reality? Yes. But we have no plans of leaving anytime soon. This is one of the really true American bands.”
—Likewise could be said of Alice in Chains. Exactly 17 years after the band’s seminal “Dirt,” the grunge rockers return to stores on Sept. 29 with “Black Gives Way to Blue,” their first album following the 2002 death of founding lead singer Layne Staley.
—Answer songs are about as new as dirt, and here’s the latest. Rapper Eminem said via his song “Bagpipes from Baghdad” that he enjoyed a particular relationship with pop superstar Mariah Carey.
Now she’s answered. In the video for her latest single, “Obsessed,” Carey dresses as a man resembling Eminem, who is creepily depicted as being obsessed with her. A bus flattens him at the end of the video as he attempts to photograph Carey.
Ouch!
—This week’s free MP3 download features the kings of free music, The Grateful Dead. Just go to http://www.archive.org/details/gd77-11-04.sbd.unknown.2595.sbeok.shnf for the Dead’s show from Colgate University in Hamilton, N.Y. from Nov. 4, 1977.
Songs include Dead classics such as “Playin’ in the Band” and “Iko Iko,” along with covers of Chuck Berry’s “Thirty Days” and Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes.”
So from Skynyrd to the Dead, that’s Music Notes for this week. Meantime and by all means, tune in next week for another round of rock, rap, pop, country and whatever and whoever else happens to rock the news.

TOM NETHERLAND is a freelance writer. He can be reached at .